The world middleweight championship bout on Sunday has been tagged Fight of the Century days ahead of the official weigh-in. There are also those who said it would be a continuation 13th round of the first fight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, which was indecently declared a draw after 12 rounds last year.
As in their first encounter, the unbeaten Golovkin, legendary warrior from Kazakhstan, is the firm favorite.
There’s nothing clear how the fight would evolve and finish.
What seems certain is that there would be no repeat of a hazy drawn verdict.
There should be no incessant slip-aways from Canelo, while Golovkin should finish sharper and stronger.
Golovkin-Canelo Part 2 has the makings of a full-scale war.
The super bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is also being propped up as the biggest, fiercest mano-a-mano between two prizefight superstars since the deathly third encounter between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in Manila in October 1975.
Action may not rise to celestial level, the way the Thrilla in Manila did.
But the raging animosity between Golovkin and Alvarez has provided enough blind anger to fuel a furious no-tomorrow war.
Canelo has been called an injustice to boxing by the Golovkin camp.
“I’m mad,” cried the 28-year-old Canelo, who’s checking in from a six-month suspension imposed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after he was checked positive (twice) for use of performance enhancing drugs.
Alvarez blamed the anomaly on contaminated meat he had consumed in Mexico.
Golovkin said they’ve got photos showing all needle marks in arms, legs, stomach, all over Canelo’s body.
Canelo countered madly that Golovkin was crying like a drowning man.
“His defeat is inevitable, I see myself out-boxing him en-route to a knockout,” Canelo bragged.
He must stay firm, fully combative without slipping out, in order to do that.