Boxing

No rematch. Klit retired. I'm kinda of surprised at that, but it's the right decision.

Wladimir Klitschko retires and will not fight Anthony Joshua in rematch

Im somewhat of a boxing purist, its my favorite sport since I been a kid, just above football. I used to watch Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. I remember my step dad ordering the PPVs and him and my mom would just let me watch I think I was 6 years old when Tyson lost in Tokyo. I remember the shock in the house. And i always wanted him to comeback, and when he got out of jail he did and WASHED Frank Bruno. It was a glorious and very odd feeling as a kid, watching one of your heroes comeback from getting knocked out by some fat guy named Buster and then do a 3 year bid for raping a girl to knock out a guy in spectacular fashion on live TV.

Roy Jones Jr rose to prominence around that same period, and then came Shane Mosley, TitoTrinidad, DeLaHoya, and then Floyd. That mid to late 90's era was a legendary time for boxing. Roy Jones Jr even made a rap video lol. The mid 2000's were also very exciting in the middleweight and welterweight division. Who remembers Antonio Margarito destroying Cottos face with loaded gloves?

Anyway, GGG is one of the most powerful fighters I have ever seen. His endurance is questionable for me, but he seems to have enough stamina to carry him to the late rounds and maintain his power. Canelo is in top top shape but has suffered from stamina problems himself. He also seems to find a way to stay in fights and wear down his opponent, so I think this is going to be the deciding factor in this fight. I dont see a knock out in the first 6 or 7 rounds. I think they will take 2 rounds to feel each other out, given whats on the line, and the enormity of the fight. Then once GGG finds his range I think he will begin to take some chances. Canelo is a good defender so he will weather the storm and throw back himself but the fight wont really start to matter until the 6th or 7th round when they have expended some of their energy.

Thats when we will see who is in better shape, and whoever that is will start to take over the fight. We could see a late round TKO but it could go to decision. I think GGG wins in 11 round KO.

Canelo has gotten visibly better since he lost to Floyd, but Golovkin is at his apex.

Mayweather took that fight knowing Alvarez was much too green to be in the ring with him. That's why he agreed to face such a dangerous, much younger opponent, because he knew he was very young and has never been under that much pressure in a mega fight.

What was he when he fought Floyd? 23? 22? I know he had a ton of fights under his belt and was a seasoned veteran by that point, but he had never fought someone like Mayweather before.

I mean, Floyd WALKED Canelo down at 148 lbs compared to Canelos fight night weight of 160 lbs+. He knew how to neutralize him and tire him out. That's what I'm worried about in the GGG fight. This is Golovkin's time, this is the big fight he was always supposed to get and now he has it. There is no way he lets Canelo beat him.

Crazy GGG is only making 12 million for this fight (not counting PPV, just his purse). Floyd will end up with 250+ million for fighting Mcgregor....lol.

Anyway, I have been doing some rewatching of GGG's fights and he literally NEVER throws jabs. And....it works. He is one of the best pressure fighters I have ever seen. He will shove you away to set you up to be in range to land a hook, rather than throw a jab or arm measure someone. And he virtually ONLY throws hooks! You would think that strategy wouldnt work at the highest levels of boxing,but it works for him because he has one of the best chins in the sport. I guess he has never been knocked down in over 350 pro and amateur fights. We have also seen him take some heavy shots and continue pressuring.

So he can walk through salvos of punches most mortals couldnt, and then dishes out he highest knock out percentage in middleweight championship history. He is a true fighter. When he was younger his older brothers would walk him through the streets of the Soviet Union and pick random other kids and sometimes grown men and ask Gennady if he was scared of them. He would say "No." each time, and then fight the random. Brutal shit. It starts to really make you understand why this guy is such a destroyer.

He is visibly bigger than Canelo too. I think this could get ugly for Alvarez.

Floyd also gets the promoter fee as well since he does all his own promotion.

For a casual fan, GGG is the only major non-Klitschko boxer I know/and or care about.

I hope he does well.

After someone called me out for saying GGG never jabs,I watched his fight against Lemiuex.

Boy was I wrong. He jabbed that guys head the fuck off of his body. It is amazing actually, because it seems like he abandons the jab altogether in certain situations, but then uses it when it fancies him.

Yeah GGG is tough to discuss because he changes his style depending on his opponent. People will call his defense shit against a guy like Brook...But it seems like it's obvious he takes a lot of risks when he doesn't respect his opponent's power. It gives a lot of fodder to the GGG skeptics/haters because he looks 'sloppier', but it's apart of his strategy to go for the kill.

He has one of the best amateur backgrounds of ANY active boxer, so it's insane to think he can't box. Part of the problem is that a lot of fighters get really defensive against him, so he almost has to open himself up so they will actually throw at him and give him opportunities.

I don't think he can afford to do that versus Canelo, and we'll like see a much more disciplined fight from Golovkin. I think this fight like 55-45 or 60-40 in GGG's favor. Alvarez has looked really good lately, but he also hasn't fought someone of GGG's size and caliber. It's really going to come down to who has the better game plan, and can control the fight, or make the quickest adjustments.

I feel like GGG needs a KO, or atleast a knockdown or two. Alvarez, for whatever reason, gets some really weird fucking scorecards in his favor (a Draw against Mayweather by one judge, for example)

I dont know if GGG needs a KO win. I think if he wins by decision Canelo will get a ton of credit and has an automatic rematch clause. It will make the 2nd fight even bigger.

If GGG does trash him in like the 8th round or something, and wins convincingly, Im not sure Canelo will accept a rematch, and there wont be as much public desire to see another fight between them. If Canelo somehow wins, Gennady does NOT have a rematch clause, and it would be very unlikely he gets another fight. So this is going to be an interesting fight from many different perspectives.

Golovkin is a great boxer. After watching his fights again, and not relying on memory, he does jab quite a bit and will box you to death if he has to, you just tend to remember the savage hooks and body shots blasting people.

Best outcome for both fighters is if Canelo drops a close decision and activates the rematch.

Maybe not for Canelos health but for his pocket. Same for Golovkin. He mine as well get 2 paydays out of this.