Most boxing fans felt like Gennady Golovkin did more than enough to defeat Canelo Alvarez in their Sept. 2017 mega bout, which was ruled a split draw. Should the fact that GGG landed more punches in 10 of those 12 rounds, according to CompuBox punch stats , spell that Golovkin will defeat Alvarez in their highly-anticipated rematch on Sept. 15?
Well, not if you ask Andre Ward. Sporting News recently asked the retired, undefeated unified super middleweight and lightweight champion for his prediction on the big fight. And the S.O.G. (“Son of God”) is giving the slightest nod to Alvarez in the rematch.
“I think historically, when you look at rematches, the guy who could do more typically does better in the second fight,” Ward told SN on Tuesday following a press conference in New York City to promote the reality boxing show “The Contender.” “Golovkin is getting older. He’s 36-years-old. He’s got some miles on him and has been in some tough fights. But Canelo has been in some tough fights, too. I think Canelo in his mind has made the adjustment. He knows he needs to box more, be smarter and just has to go out there and execute. I’m leaning towards Canelo.”
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While Golovkin threw more punches in that first fight — 703 to Alvarez’s 505 — the younger Canelo was slightly more efficient, landing 34 percent of his shots in comparison to GGG’s 31 percent. Alvarez knows he’s going to have to be the busier fighter to have his hand raised at the end of this second bout. And that probably means a higher volume of punches from the 28-year-old.
“But again, this is boxing,” Ward said as a caveat. “Golovkin is the bigger man. It just takes one shot in the right place and [Alvarez’s] game plan is out the window.”
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The rematch originally being scrapped from its proposed Cinco de Mayo weekend due to Alvarez testing positive for a substance called clenbuterol certainly irked GGG. Whether that translates to extra incentive to knock Alvarez out remains to be seen.
