Gennady Golovkin and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez meet in a hotly-anticipated middleweight rematch on Saturday and we have tips and everything you need to know.
The pair fought out a thriller in September last year but it ended in a highly controversial draw when the judges scored it 118-110 for Alvarez, 115-113 for Golovkin and 114-114, with the first scorecard of Adelaide Byrd swiftly sparking outrage the world over.
Nevertheless the result - met with boos and disbelief - meant 35-year-old Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) still retained his WBA, WBC and IBF belts and remained unbeaten in 38 fights - although he was later stripped of the latter earlier this year for for failing to agree to face a mandatory challenger.
Since then GGG returned to the ring in May to knockout Vanes Martirosyan in the second round of his 39th bout while this will be the Mexican's (49-1-2, 34 KOs) comeback having spent much of this time serving a doping ban and recovering from injury.
On Saturday, Golovkin's WBA, WBC and IBO belts are on the line as well as the vacant Ring Magazine title, with the Kazakh marginal favourites with the bookies to triumph and prove he's the best middleweight of all time - but don't rule out Alvarez. Or indeed the 20/1 draw!
If GGG does win, he will break the record he shares with the legendaryĀ Bernard Hopkins as he goes for 21 consecutive defences of the middleweight title he's held since 2010.
Canelo v GGG: Fight details
- Date: Saturday September 15
- TV Channel: BT Sport Box Office (Ā£16.95, scroll down for booking details)
- TV Start time: Undercard from 11.30pm, main event approx 4am
- Radio coverage: BBC Radio 5 Live
- Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- Sky Bet odds (scroll down for more): GGG 4/6, Canelo 6/4, Draw 20/1 (Click to bet)
Canelo v GGG: Tale of the tape (after weigh-in)
CAnelo v GGG: Our prediction
Having a bet on the action? Look no further than boxing expert Chris Oliver, whose preview recommends bets at 9/4 and 5/6.
What can we say about their fight records?
The unbeaten Gennady Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) has widely been regarded as the middleweight king for quite some time and if he adds the Ring title to his collection in Las Vegas then the only major belts he won't have are the vacant IBF one he was stripped of and Billy Joe Saunders' WBO strap.
Nobody has held all four major middleweight titles since Bernard Hopkins between 2004 and 2005 so that will be his next target should he win this clash.
If GGG avoids defeat then it'll be 21 consecutive middleweight title defences since 2010 - breaking a record he currently shares with Hopkins.
š Canelo v GGG was a classic
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) September 12, 2018
š Both thought they won
š The world thought GGG won
š² One judge thought Canelo did
š” Fight is drawn
šļø 364 days later, who wins the rematch?!
š³ļø VOTE! #CaneloGGG2 #CaneloGGG
GGG has only been taken the distance five times in his thrilling career, including his previous encounter with Canelo, but one of these came in March 2017 when he claimed a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs at Madison Square Garden, halting a run of 23 successive stoppage wins dating back to 2008.
The 35-year-old's other notable victims include David Lemieux, Martin Murray, Matthew Macklin and, of course, Kell Brook.
Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) held his Ring title since 2015 until he failed a drugs test earlier this year and has also enjoyed a stint as WBC champion while he's previously had two reigns as a super welterweight belt-holder during a career which has seen him defeated just once while his only other draw came way back in 2006.
Only Floyd Mayweather has got the better of the 27-year-old Mexican, who came out the wrong side of a mixed decision verdict at the MGM Grand in 2013, but since then he's beaten the lines of Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosely, Amir Khan (via a brutal knockout!), Liam Smith and, most recently in May, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Canelo v GGG betting odds: Who is the bookies' favourite?
Like the first fight, this is so close to call but Sky Bet rate Gennady Golovkin as the 4/6 favourite for victory while Canelo Alvarez is the marginal outsider at 6/4.
Sky Bet have plenty of markets and RequestABet specials to get involved with (click here for the full list) so here are a quick selection for fans of both rivals to check out...
Method of Victory
- GGG by KO/TKO - 9/4
- GGG by decision - 2/1
- Canelo by KO/TKO - 6/1
- Canelo by decision - 15/8
Selections of specials
- Canelo to be knocked down two or more times - 3/1
- Canelo to be knocked down and win - 10/1
- GGG to be knocked down and win - 10/1
- Both fighters to be knocked down - 16/1
- Canelo to be knocked down in rounds 1-4 & GGG win in round six - 66/1
- GGG to be knocked down in round 9-10 but win on points - 80/1
Fight to go the distance
- Yes: 1/2
- No: 6/4
Odds correct at 12/09/2018
Canelo v GGG: What have the fighters said?
GGG on the decision of the first fight
"It was terrible. It was terrible for me. It was terrible for the people. Of course it was terrible for the sportā¦for the sport of boxing, because statistics showed I landed more punches. The fans saw I wanted to fight and Canelo did not want to fight. The fans who watched it live saw the judges bringing crazy scorecards.
On the rematch
"I now know that boxing is not just a sport. It is a business.Ā That is one thing I learned from the first fight. So from that I learned how to deal with this rematch.Ā Ā I learned how to deal with Canelo and his promoter.Ā Ā Now we have new judges and a new referee.Ā The world will see a new fight and different sides of that fight.
"I have worked very hard in this training camp, building myself up.Ā It has been very exciting because I have been working on new things with Abel.Ā Every day has been a good day.Ā Ā I am very happy and very strong.Ā This will be the biggest fight for boxing.Ā I cannot wait to give the fans a great fight, an exciting fight, a Mexican Style fight.Ā This is a battle between the two best middleweights.Ā Ā To me, it is a fight about honor.Ā This time I am fighting for a lot more than my world championship belts.
On trying to beat the record of most middleweight defences
"It's very important for me to beat this record. Basically, it's like two types of victory to beat Canelo and to beat the record. For me, it's the most important goal at this point."
Canelo on GGG
"Obviously, heās a very strong fighter. He has a very strong hit in his punches. Thatās his biggest virtue as a fighter, that he has that power, but obviously, Iāve fought other strong fighters as well. And despite him being a 160-pounder with respectable power, itās nothing out of this world.
"I showed him the first fight that I can take his punches, and simply that, heās a respectable puncher with respectable power, but nothing out of this world."
Who is on the undercard and what's the running order?
Jaime Munguia (30-0) defends his WBO super welterweight title against Brandon Cook (20-1) while Irelandās Spike OāSullivan (28-2) could put himself in the middleweight world title picture if he can defeat David Lemieux (39-4).
Fight night running order (Coverage starts on BT Sport Box Office from 11.30pm)
Starting with main event (Subject to change)
- Gennady Golovkin v Saul Alvarez (Approx 4am BST)
IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight titles - Jaime Munguia vĀ Brandon Cook
WBO Super Welterweight Title - David Lemieux vĀ Gary OāSullivan
- Roman Gonzalez v Moises Fuentes (Around 1am)
- Vergil Ortiz Jr vĀ Roberto Ortiz
- Alexis Rocha vĀ Carlos Ortiz Cervantes
- Jaba Khositashvili vĀ Lawrence King
- Brian Ceballo vĀ David Thomas
What channel is GGG v Canelo on, what time is it and how can I watch?
The fight is on BT Sport Box Office and will cost UK viewers Ā£16.95. You can order the fight at the BT Sport Box Office website (www.bt.com/sportboxoffice)Ā if you are a BT Sport or Sky customer.
Alternatively:
- BT Sport subscribers with Sky TV can buy the event by pressing the Box Office button on the Sky remote and selecting the Box Office menu.
- SkyQ customers can buy the event in the Box Office section of the TV Guide via the Home button.
- Buy the fight on channel 494 on the day of the event
- Virgin TV and T6 customers can order it through the On Demand, Live Events section through their remote control.
If you don't want to fork out the money then you can always listen to BBC Radio 5 Live's commentary.
