Gennady Golovkin once delivered his expert verdict on the punching power of former rival Canelo Alvarez.
Golovkin and Canelo provided the boxing world with one of the most memorable trilogies of all time, kicking things off with their thrilling first encounter which took place back in September of 2017.
After a competitive 12-round bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the fight was declared a split decision draw although the judges’ scorecards were heavily criticised with many fans feeling that Golovkin should have been declared the winner.
They clashed in a rematch almost exactly one year later, and after yet another closely fought battle between the duo, it was Canelo who got the nod this time around, defeating the Kazakh star via majority decision to capture the WBC and WBA middleweight titles.
Their third and final meeting, which took place in September of 2022, saw Canelo put on a dominant performance over a relatively inactive ‘GGG’ to settle their rivalry and successfully retain his undisputed super-middleweight championship with a unanimous decision victory.
Speaking to the media ahead of that third and final fight, Golovkin shared his thoughts on the punching power of Canelo, saying his biggest shots ‘brought no result.’
“I fought Canelo at 160 and I could say he was a faster puncher, he had faster combinations but I wouldn’t say they were power punches, knockout punches. You saw that. You saw his clean shots that brought no result.”
Whilst ‘GGG’ has never officially retired from boxing, the 43-year-old is yet to make a return to the ring following his third bout with Canelo, although it has been reported in recent weeks that the Kazakh star could actually make a comeback to the sport in the near future.
As for Canelo, the 35-year-old from Guadalajara is gearing up for his much anticipated ‘super-fight’ with fellow pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford, which is set to take place on Saturday September 13 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He will be looking to prove Golovkin wrong and score a stoppage – the first since 2021 against Caleb Plant.