The trilogy of the duel between Canelo Álvarez and Golovkin comes with four titles up for grabs and with the promise to settle the controversy

Located in the heart of the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas is the second driest city in the United States, with an average annual rainfall of 106mm (it rains less only in Yuma), so the analogy of water flowing under the bridge is not appropriate. However, A lot has happened since the last time Saúl Álvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin saw each other in a ringthat this Saturday will meet for the third time in City of Sin to close the story of a confrontation that has already transcended the boundaries of the ensogado. This time, in the fight, which will begin after midnight (ESPN will air from 21:00), the four belts of the supermedium division, which belong to Cinnamon.

Eight hundred and twenty-seven days have passed since the first contest, on September 16, 2017 at the T-Mobile Arena, which ended in a draw, despite the fact that most specialists had seen the Kazakh, then lord and middleweight master, win. And 1463 days have passed since the rematch, on 15 September 2018 in the same venue, in which a majority decision e also much discussed gave the Mexican victory and the 160-pound belts of the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Council, and put an end to the undefeated 12-year, 39-fights DD. Their paths have since diverged, but they have never diverged, like the lanes of a highway.

Convinced of the injustice of the failures in both fights, Golovkin swallowed the bile and recovered: he got a belt again in October 2019, defeating the Ukrainian Sergio Derevyanchenko in New York, and in April of this year, one day after his 40th birthday, he added that of the WBA, eliminating the Japanese in the ninth episode Ryota Murata in Saitama. Now he will have a chance to avenge the one blemish on a resume that, apart from the draw and defeat to Cinnamonis perfect: he has won his other 42 professional matches (37 before the limit), including 23 for world crowns.

After the triumph against the Kazakh, Álvarez, already established as the highest grossing figure in the boxing world, set out in search of new challenges in the higher categories. He won a heavyweight middleweight title, that of the World Boxing Organization, against the veteran and frayed Russian Sergej Kovalev, and then he went down and swept the super middleweight division, of which he is still the undisputed champion. But when he tried to climb up to 175 pounds in May of this year, he got a lesson from the Russian Dmitry Bivol. It was the second setback of his career (in which he recorded 57 wins and 2 draws) and the first since Floyd Mayweather He beat him in September 2013. With that defeat behind him, he will meet his nemesis again.

Cinnamon Y DD they don’t love each other The hostility between them had been steeping in the past five years, with particularly sharp peaks. Nothing remains of the cordial bond these two men built in 2011 when they were making their first sticks in the United States and were training partners for a month at a gym in Big Bear Lake, California.

The Kazakh was particularly critical when his opponent, in March 2018, tested positive in two doping controls for the use of clenbuterol (a drug that has anabolic effects and allows you to reduce fat content and increase muscle mass), which which the Mexican attributed to the consumption of contaminated beef, but which earned him a suspension of six months and forced to postpone the rematch between the two. “The experts determined that it was doping and uncontaminated meat. He had injection marks on his hands and arms. “accused him.

Álvarez, usually moderate in his expressions, never digested those questions and fueled the revolt. Less than three months ago, he called his rival “fool” Y “double-sided”, and assured that the duel between the two had become “something personal”. “This is just sport,” replied Golovkin, who has since stepped up the role of moderate. This week he regretted that the verbal battle has escalated so much (“if you can’t talk boxing with your rival and converse with him without insulting or swearing, it’s not worth communicating,” he said), but he assured than the Mexican “Does not exist as a person”.

This Thursday, at the last press conference, the animosity was put aside and calm and respect reign. “I know I will have a great rival, a very strong and very intelligent rival. It will be difficult, but I have come to achieve the complicated. ” the champion said. “I feel comfortable, strong and ready. I believe in myself, in my team, in the people who support me and in my family. We are professional athletes and the ring will show us who is the best. ” the challenger was excited.

With time running out for words, the time for action will come on a weekend that is always special for Mexicans, as September 16 marks the anniversary of the start of the independence process of the country, with the so-called Grito de Dolores by Miguel Hidalgo in 1810.

Until then doubts will persist on the impact that the defeat against Bivol had (or not) on Álvarez, after which the criticisms (for years underhanded) for the construction of his career returned: He is questioned for facing rivals who were in the declining segment of their career – his compatriot Julio César Chávez Jr. or the Russian Sergey Kovalev -, who gave weight advantage – the English Amir Khan or the Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto – or who they simply weren’t up to such a challenge: the Englishman Rocky Fielding or the Turkish Avni Yildirim.

Beyond the objections to long-distance commitments, the biggest problem for the red born 32 years ago in San Agustín, on the outskirts of Guadalajara, is the image he left towards Bivol: he was clearly outclassed by a taller boxer , with greater range and power, and extremely fast, ahead of which he could not close the distance and land his power shots. He will now return to 168lbs, the category that seems more suitable for him, despite having the body of a super welterweight.

Until T-Mobile’s first doorbell, on Golovkin will also raise a great intrigue: how he will adapt to a division that is alien to him and in which he will fight for the crown of the world for the first time, having reigned among the middleweights for the past 12 years, except for the 13-month gap between his defeat to Álvarez and his victory against Ukrainian Derevyanchenko. And we will also have to see how his four-decade-old body responds to an opponent eight years younger.

A priori, the chances of the Karaganda-born boxer, who starts from point, will go through stifling pressures in the first rounds and bet on a categorical definition. A long-winded race would favor Cinnamon. And if the definition is transferred to the cards, the die seems to have been cast. At least that’s what Golovkin suspects, who last week compared the judges of the first two fights against the Mexican with disposable handkerchiefs and assured that they had been used in virtue of the interests of the boxing business.

Some reason supports his reasoning. Álvarez has long been a money-making machine. In May he appeared in eighth place in the ranking of the highest paid athletes on the planet, compiled by Forbes magazine and directed by Leone Messi, with revenues of $ 130 million. Over the past year, Red has made $ 90 million in profits, with one caveat: he billed $ 40 million more for his fight against Bivol, but that match took place just six days after the relief period ended. If he was included, the multiple champion would have shared the first place with the captain of the Argentine football team.

A convincing win for the Guadalajara man would be optimal for the boxing industry, which is already planning a rematch with Dmitry Bivol. For this the Russian must beat the Mexican Gilberto Ramirez on November 5 in Abu Dhabi, in the twelfth defense of his WBA light heavyweight title. And, of course, Álvarez must successfully close the trilogy with Golovkin.