Surprise: GGG vs. ‘Canelo’ in September!

To the surprise of many, the announcement the world has been waiting for was made immediately following Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) dominant 12-round drumming of Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (50-3-1, 32 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday.

Instead of taking another tune-up, or keep-busy, or a routine fight, Alvarez and unified WBC/WBA/WBO and IBO/Ring Magazine middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will finally collide on Saturday, September 13, on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

The announcement was so exciting and electric that it even overshadowed the recap of Canelo’s brilliant performance against Chavez, who appeared to be drained by the drastic weight-drop to 164 pounds. Nonetheless, Chavez, who walks around at approximately 190 pounds, agreed to meet Canelo at a contracted weight of 164.5 pounds and for every pound either Chavez or Canelo was overweight, a $1 million-dollar penalty would be assessed.

Canelo, fighting at a career-high weight, appeared strong and fierce. Canelo was relentless and boxed extremely well. There were times when Canelo taunted Chavez by dropping back against the ropes allowing Chavez to hit him. Canelo, unfazed by Chavez’ shots, would bounce off the ropes with even harder punches than the bigger Chavez.

“Tonight, I showed I could move, I could box, I showed as a fighter I can do all things,” Canelo said. “I thought I was going to showcase myself as a fighter that could throw punches, but he just wouldn’t do it. I’ve shown I can do lots of things in the ring, anything a fighter brings-I’ve shown I can showcase myself. I wanted to try something new, I never sit down in sparring and I didn’t want to sit here.”

All three judges scored the bout 1120-108 for Canelo in one of the biggest victories of his career. Canelo, whose only loss was a majority decision against Floyd Mayweather in September 2013, has proven to be one of the very best boxers in the world.

Golovkin too has proven to be one of boxing’s very best. Undefeated since turning professional since 2006, Golovkin is the premier middleweight in the world. Since 2010, Golovkin has successfully defended the world middleweight championship on 18 consecutive occasions winning 17 by knockout. In his previous bout in March, Golovkin, for the first time in his career, was taken the 12-round distance by Danny Jacobs.

Golovkin has been knocking everyone out, but in September, Golovkin will realize that Canelo is unlike anyone else he’s ever fought and that Canelo can beat Golovkin at an elite level..

“GGG-you are next, my friend,” Alvarez said. “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.”

Golovkin eagerly awaits Canelo’s challenge. This is it! The boxing world has waited so long for this fight, which promises to be epic.

“I feel very excited; in September, it will be a different style-a big drama show,” said Golovkin. “I’m ready. Tonight, first congrats to Canelo and his team. Right now, I think everyone is excited for September. Canelo looked very good tonight, and 100 percent he is the biggest challenge of my career. Good luck to Canelo in September.”