Gennady Golovkin retained his boxing titles after he and Mexican brawler Canelo Alvarez battled to a draw. The bad news is that it has yet to be determined who is the best middleweight fighter of this era.
To recall, GGG was a favorite to win over Alvarez. Betting odds favored the Kazakh KO artist plus the fact that he has yet to taste defeat. Despite being an obvious underdog, such hardly mattered to the Mexican brawler who even said he was focused on knocking out Golovkin.
Shades of Horn and Pacquiao
In a way, the fight recalled how the Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn fight went.
Golovkin started out strong but Alvarez came back charging in the latter stages of the fight.
Ironically, it was in the 10th round where Alvarez showed his true punching power. Pacquiao did the same against Horn though the outcome for both bouts was different. Horn won over Pacquiao in the “Battle of Brisbane” and a rematch has yet to be booked.
In the case of Golovkin and Alvarez, a rematch is also expected. Compared to the Horn vs Pacquiao match, the case of GGG and Canelo is far different. There was no clear winner and hence the need to hold a sequel. All that should be discussed in the following weeks unless either fighter has a reason not to meet again.
Saunders will have to wait
One boxer who was keeping tabs of the fight is Billy Joe Saunders.
The 28-year-old outpointed Willie Monroe Jr. to keep his WBO middleweight plum. It was Monroe’s third career defeat.
Prior to their fight, Saunders and Monroe had set their sights on facing the winner of the Golovkin-Alvarez tiff. With that fight ending in a draw, Saunders will have to wait until the score is settled between the two high-profile fighters.
Long wait for other challengers
For Saunders and other challengers, a shot at either Golovkin or Alvarez may be a long wait. The rematch could produce a winner and the loser would want another shot. There is a possibility that it may go as far as a fourth installment, something that may go on until one truly proves superior to the other.
A potential rematch could happen as early as 2018. Like the first meeting, setting the date would depend on how both parties would come together and make it happen.
Most know how hard it was to book Golovkin and Alvarez and the same is expected moving forward. The draw hardly proved anything. GGG still gets to keep his titles while Alvarez only added a draw to boxing career record. Seeing how these boxers take pride in their skills, determining who is more superior has yet to be decided for now.
