GGG: Beating Canelo in 3rd fight won't make up for disappointment of first two
Plus tons of notes: Wilder-Helenius PPV undercard details; Wood-Lara is off; 'Ammo' Williams' journey; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Gennadiy Golovkin knows the history of the disappointment he felt from the controversial results of his two middleweight championship fights against Canelo Alvarez, but he said a win in their long-awaited third fight will not in any way make for those decisions.
“No, I don’t think so and I don’t want people to think that the result of the third fight is going to erase the results of the first two because we need to separate the first two and the third fight,” Golovkin told Fight Freaks Unite through an interpreter. “This is a different time, different weight category, and the first two fights were very interesting.
“They went into history already. So any result, any outcome of the third fight, should not affect the memory of the first two and should not erase what happened there.”
The third fight will see unified middleweight titleholder Golovkin move up to super middleweight to challenge undisputed champion Alvarez on Saturday (DAZN PPV and PPV.com, 8 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena, the same venue for all three bouts, in Las Vegas with all three taking place on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
The first fight in 2017, for Golovkin’s unified middleweight title, ended with one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history, a split draw that most had GGG clearly winning — even though the judge who gave it to Alvarez, Adalaide Byrd, had it a stunning 118-110.
The 2018 rematch resulted in Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs), 32, of Mexico, claiming a heavily disputed majority decision win to take Golovkin’s middleweight belts and end his historic title reign at a division-tying 20 successful defenses.
Now, almost four years to the day since the rematch, and five years since the first fight, they will meet again.
“Finally! That explains it all. Finally! I’m very happy that it’s going to take place,” Golovkin said of securing a fight he has wanted since the rematch and one his DAZN contract guaranteed him when he signed with the streaming service after Alvarez had.
The problem was that Alvarez’s contract did not obligate him to the third fight and he decided to go in another direction and make Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs), a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Santa Monica, California, wait until he was 40.
“So many things happened. You’re well aware,” Golovkin said. “He was avoiding this fight for four years. We’ve been waiting, plus the pandemic times. So, finally, I’m excited for this fight to happen.”
GGG said he has never dwelled on the scoring of the first two bouts, both of which have legions of boxing fans believing he won both.
“Those two fights were great fights, very interesting, fascinating, very competitive,” Golovkin said of their 24 rounds together that produced a pair of action-packed classics. “I’m satisfied with those fights.”
He has a different view of the judges that scored against him.
“As for the judges, the decisions are on their conscience,” he said. “They were used like disposable napkins. Got used. That’s what they were and I stepped over it. I didn’t think much about it. I am a professional athlete. I know what I need to do in the ring. I do my job. I strive for the best.”
Wilder-Helenius PPV undercard
The pay-per-view undercard for the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius WBC semifinal heavyweight title eliminator on Oct. 15 (Fox PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, is set.
In addition to the previously announced co-feature of former super middleweight titleholders Caleb Plant and Anthony Dirrell meeting in a title eliminator, two other fights have been finalized.
Heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (20-0, 13 KOs), 30, a Miami-based Cuban, will face Carlos Negron (25-3, 20 KOs), 35, of Puerto Rico, in a 10-rounder that Sanchez trainer Joe Goossen had already said was going to be on the card.
It’s a fight that was scheduled for Jan. 1 before Negron dropped out a week beforehand due to Covid-19 and Sanchez routed late replacement Christian Hammer.
“I intend to look for a knockout against Negron to demonstrate to boxing fans that I am both a boxer and a puncher,” Sanchez said. “I feel I am the best heavyweight in the world and Oct. 15 will bring me one step closer to the very important goal of becoming mandatory contender for a world title opportunity in 2023.”
Said Negron: “I know Frank, and I’ve never been a fighter to call any other fighters out or speak of any other boxer, so I don’t know why he asked to fight me. When my coach told me he wanted to fight me, I didn’t take it personally. I took it like a challenge. It gave me incredible motivation, and now I want to fight him. Let’s see what I can do against good competition.”
In the opener, bantamweights Gary Antonio Russell (19-0, 12 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Capitol Heights, Maryland, and former world titlist Emmanuel Rodriguez (20-2, 13 KOs), 30, of Puerto Rico, will meet in a 12-round rematch.
Russell, the middle brother between former featherweight titlist Gary Jr. and junior welterweight contender Gary Antuanne, and Rodriguez met in August 2021 in a no contest. The fight lasted only 16 seconds because an immediate accidental head butt left Rodriguez badly cut and unable to continue. Both fighters have won their only bouts since.
“I’m glad that Emmanuel and I will get our chance to have a redo,” Russell said. “Nothing has changed as far as my objective. I’m coming into the ring at Barclays Center to do whatever I have to do in order to finish this fight victorious.”
Rodriguez added, “I’ve been training in Mexico for a long time and away from my family so that I can focus on this fight that will define my future. Russell is a good fighter who has been avoided throughout his career, but I’ve come to show that I’m on another level. I will win hands down and be back on top of the bantamweight division. He’s going to realize that he’s not on my level.”
Wood injured, Lara fight off
Leigh Wood suffered a torn biceps in a sparring session, forcing him to withdraw from his WBA “regular” featherweight title defense against Mauricio Lara on Sept. 24 at Motorpoint Arena in Wood’s hometown of Nottingham, England, Matchroom Boxing announced on Tuesday.
Although the featured bout is off, the DAZN card will still go on with the lightweight co-feature of Maxi Hughes against former featherweight titlist Kid Galahad moving into the main event position.
Hughes (25-5-2, 5 KOs), 32, will face Galahad (28-2, 17 KOs), 32, in an all-British 12-rounder. Galahad is moving up two divisions and will be fighting for the first time since losing his featherweight title in his first defense by sixth-round upset knockout to Kiko Martinez in November.
The card also features Hannah Rankin (12-5, 3 KOs), 32, of Scotland, defending the WBA junior middleweight women’s title against former junior lightweight titlist Terri Harper (12-1-1, 6 KOs), 25, of England, who had her last fight at lightweight but is moving up three divisions, from 135 to 154 pounds.
“We’re gutted to lose such an explosive headliner in Leigh Wood versus Mauricio Lara so close to fight week but unfortunately Leigh suffered a torn bicep during sparring and there’s no way he can get in the ring against such a dangerous opponent with only one arm,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “I’m pleased to confirm that our show will go ahead.”
Ticket refunds are available from the point of purchase until Sept. 20.
Wood (26-2, 16 KOs), 34, was due to make his second defense against Lara (24-2-1, 17 KOs), 24, of Mexico. The fight would have been Wood’s first since his ultra dramatic 12th-round comeback knockout of Michael Conlan, whom he ejected from ring and onto the arena floor with the final flurry on March 12 at the same arena.
‘Ammo’ Williams feels good
Middleweight up-and-comer Austin “Ammo” Williams (11-0, 9 KOs), 26, of Houston, feels like he is in a good spot going into a 10-round regional title bout against Kieron Conway (17-2-1, 3 KOs), 26, of England, on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin III undercard on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Williams, who will be fighting on his second Alvarez undercard, was not always in such a good position. In April 2021, he took some time off due to mental health struggles. When he retuned, Williams made changes to his training team and joined veteran trainer Kevin Cunningham at his South Florida camp.
Since Williams’ return, he has won three fights with no victory more impressive than in his last fight, a first-round knockout of Chordale Booker on April 30 at New York’s Madison Square Garden on the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano undercard.
For Saturday’s fight, Williams said he and Cunningham amicably parted ways and he returned to trainer Dwight Pratchett.
“I decided to make a change and go back to my regular team,” Williams said. “I learned so much from Kevin Cunningham. It was a great place for me to be at the time with the struggles I went through with my mental health, to be with someone that is very structured.
“I was given the chance to go to South Florida and I always said the best thing for me is a great environment to keep me right in mind, body, and soul. So, that was a real blessing, and he came into my life at the right time, and it was a mutual understanding to part ways. We all have stuff going on. Boxing is the loneliest sport in the world, so we’re dealing with something that’s so high level, putting your life on the line for a living.
“You are out there to be judged in front of a crowd, your heart on your sleeve, and your physical health is attached to that. If you don’t learn how to manage that it’s so easy to fall into depression and things like that, so I love when athletes, especially boxers, open up and talk about it because acceptance is the first step to heal anything.”
Quick hits
Prosecutors in Fort Bend County, Texas, have dropped felony assault charges against WBC middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo. He was accused of assaulting a nephew during an incident on Sept. 5, 2021 and eventually arrested and charged in February. The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office told TMZ a motion to dismiss the case was filed on Monday “based on the reason that we cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Evidence developed in a way that did not support the charge to conclusion.” Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), 32, of Houston, has not fought since June 2021. He had a title defense this past June canceled to due to back injury.
Oscar Rivas’ first WBC bridgerweight title defense against Poland’s Luckaz Rozanski (14-0, 13 KOs), 36, has been rescheduled for Nov. 5 in Barranquilla, Colombia, Rivas promoter Yvon Michel told Fight Freaks Unite. It was slated for Aug. 13 in Cali, Colombia but postponed for reasons that were never made clear. Then it was ticketed for Oct. 15 in Cali but has been moved again. It will be a homecoming for Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs), 35, who is from Cali but has boxed his entire career out of Montreal. Michel said former longtime undisputed women’s welterweight champion and pound-for-pound No. 1 Cecilia Braekhus (36-2, 9 KOs), 40, a Colombia native, who has lived most of her life in Norway, is still slated to be on the card. She won’t, however, face Sweden’s Patricia Berghult for the WBC junior middleweight title as originally planned because Berghult lost the title to Natasha Jonas on Sept. 3.
Former lightweight and unified junior lightweight titlist Acelino “Popo” Freitas, 47, will face Brazilian countryman and MMA fighter Jose Landi-Jons, 49, in a boxing exhibition bout on Sept. 25 (FITE) in Curitiba, Brazil. The bout is on the card headlined by the previously announced 10-round women’s middleweight fight between MMA star Cris Cyborg, who is making her professional boxing debut, against Simone de Silva (17-22, 6 KOs) in Cyborg’s hometown. Freitas (41-2, 34 KOs), a legend in Brazil, boxed from 1995 to 2007 and was one of the biggest punchers in the sport. He unretired three times for one-off fights in 2012, 2015 and 2017, winning all three.
Show and tell
It’s Canelo-GGG III fight week! I am looking forward being in Las Vegas to cover the fight at T-Mobile Arena. I am, of course, also looking forward to picking up fight stuff for my boxing collection as I did when I covered their first two fights there in 2017 and 2018 — which also took place on Mexican Independence Day weekend as No. 3 will. Hennessy was a sponsor of Canelo-GGG I and II and the company made commemorative posters for both fights and gave them away to fans on hand during fight week, but mostly at the weigh-in. Here are both of those posters in my collection.
Canelo-GGG and Williams photos: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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Can a 40 year old GGG move UP in weight and beat Canelo although most of the scribes (writers) believe it’s a “wash” for Canelo. I don’t think so. Although The location fits Canelo.....will the “BYRDS” show up (someone like the BYRD) and have a pre made score in their mind mentally. At this time the judges are under more scrutiny than ever before. The social media public is “wired up” more than ever. Don’t fool yourself. This will be the MOST action packed fight of the 3. GGG may make history on this night. He’s busier and has the jab advantage. Will being 40 make a difference? Yes, it does..... but his heart and desire will show up. We may be in for a huge surprise. I saw something in the Bivol fight that the 40 year does like Bivol but only better. Of course, GGG is smaller but we are in for a MAJOR contest. Keep punching.
Watch them today and its clear Leonard is taller. against Hagler Leonard id slightly talller but against Duran Hagler's a couple of inches taller. Fighters who've fought them both said Duran was the shorter man, Hagler's biography by Brian Hughes to Leonard himself. Look at the first fight when both men faced each other during the promotion of the fight, Leonard is clearly inches talle, in fact he looks more than 3 inches taller. Regardless it doesnt matter, Leonard is probably the first boxer to make rematches when fighters had aged out, be it Duran who called for a third fight straight away but waited 9 years for a rubber match to Hearns waiting 8 years. The problem with the A side fighter is judges are biased towards them to that they get to call all the shots even to the detriment of the sport. Sadly money rules over the sport.