Gennady Golovkin Looks Ready for his Sep. 15 Rematch vs. Canelo Alvarez (Photo: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos)
By Chris Robinson
Lineal middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin worked out for the press and thousands of fans on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, at the Banc of California Stadium. Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KO’s) will face former two-division world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-2, 34 KO’s) on Sep. 15 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on HBO pay per view in one of the biggest fights of the year.
There has been a lot of back-and-forth banter between the two camps over the past few months. Golovkin and his trainer Abel Sanchez have had plenty of words for Canelo following his failed drug test back in February ahead of their scheduled rematch that was set for May, as the Mexican superstar tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Clenbuterol. Alvarez was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, saw the May rematch cancelled, and Golovkin instead went on to defeat Vanes Martirosyan instead, in Southern California.
The rematch is on and it’s one of the biggest fights of the year.
“Canelo, he is not a champion,” Golovkin stated while speaking to the media. “He is a liar who has no respect for the sport of boxing or its fans. I want to stay world champion and bring all my belts home. I am ready to star in another Big Drama Show. I do not think about Canelo in training. I am not worried about him. I only worry about doing my job in training camp and doing my job in the ring against Canelo on September 15.”
Golovkin may have appeared disturbed on the surface regarding Alvarez’s failed tests, yet he took it a step further by looking at those around him as well.
“Was I upset that Canelo failed two drug tests? Yes.” said Golovkin, who holds the WBA and WBC middleweight titles. “But I was more upset at Canelo’s team. The excuses they gave, their attitude, and Canelo’s reaction, it showed that they have no respect for the sport or the fans. They showed their real faces. They are fakes. I do not feel anger toward him because the rematch was canceled the first time.”
Golovkin clarified his thoughts.
“But I did lose all respect for him,” said Golovkin. “Canelo is not the biggest name in boxing, just the biggest scandal. I feel very comfortable. It has been a great training camp. Abel has had me working on new things which I find very exciting. The cancelation of the rematch in May was a good life experience but it was not a good experience for boxing. I believe new judges and a new referee could be better for boxing and the fans.”
More of Golovkin below. Sep. 15 can’t come soon enough.
Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com