It’s happening, folks. It’s finally happening.
Canelo v Golovkin. September 16, 2017. Lock it in.
It’s the biggest fight boxing can make right now and the one fight fans have been screaming out for.
I say ‘finally’ like we’ve been waiting for as long as we did for Mayweather-Pacquiao, but really it’s only been a year or two.
The fight was announced in the ring after Canelo put on a dominant beating of bitter Mexican rival Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Las Vegas.
A venue hasn’t been announced yet, but the bout will take place at the middlweight limit of 160-pounds – a weight Canelo has never fought at despite being the former WBC middleweight champ.
Canelo won the middlweight belt with a win over Amir Khan at 155-pounds before vacating the title. The WBC then awarded it to Golovkin who holds three of the four 160-pound titles.
It is understood all those titles will be on the line in September.
Canelo is undefeated since his 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather and has taken the scalps of Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara, Shane Mosley and Khan over the past five years.
Golovkin is coming off a unanimous decision win over Danny Jacobs in March. It was the toughest bout of his undefeated 37-fight career ended a 23-fight run of stoppages for the Kazakh.
“GGG, you are next my friend,” Canelo said as the pair met face-to-face in the ring after the Mexican defeated Chavez Jr.
“The fight is done. I’ve never feared anyone since I was 16 fighting as a professional.
“When I was born, fear was gone. I never got my share of fear.
“I’m very happy, and the rivalry is going to show my skills even more. I’ve had difficult fights, and that will no doubt be a tough fight. But, I always say, Canelo Alvarez is the best because I fight the best.”
The bout continues a bumper 12 months for boxing fans with a series of hugely anticipated fights taking place. Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev fought late last year and will go-round again next month, while Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko put on a heavyweight showdown for the ages last week.
Add an up-coming fight for Terrence Crawford, the continued rise of Vasyl Lomachenko and the fledgling professional careers of Claressa Shields and Katie Taylor, and there’s plenty for fight fans to get excited about.
