The fight out there that the world is waiting to see is undoubtedly Gennady Golovkin versus Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. There has been a lot of talk and a lot of posturing but, for the time being at least, this match-up has been parked in the waiting room until next autumn, we are told.
It will be a mega-money pay-per-view bonanza if it comes off, but over the next two weekends a couple of British boys will be aiming to prod a big spoke in the works.
First up, this Saturday, Kell Brook will be dipping his toe into deep waters at the 02 Arena when he jumps up two weight divisions to try his luck against Golovkin, holder of three of the four recognised world championship belts.
As I have said before, I take my hat off to Kell for stepping up the to the plate and being prepared to test himself against a fighter I believe has got a bit of everything—perhaps the closest to the complete package around today.
I really do wish him well and hope he gets his rewards because he is doing what good fighters do and backing himself when the odds are so clearly stacked against him.
I know there has been a lot of talk about the weight and the fact that Kell is a big welterweight who struggles to boil down to 147lbs, but the fact is he has never operated at middleweight and is coming up against an absolute natural at 160lbs with bludgeoning force in his fists.
Golovkin is not only a formidable puncher, in my view he is a formidable boxer as well. In his last fight that punters felt he may have been challenged in against David Lemieux, who is a renowned puncher, Golovkin took no chances and executed a masterclass.
The Kazakh stuck him on the end of a fearsome jab that the Canadian had no answer to. I believe Golovkin is at his best when he exhibits his supreme boxing skills whereas, on previous occasions, he has opted to draw his opponents into a tear-up and taken a few unnecessary shots on the chops.
It will be fascinating to see he approach to this one, whether he believes Brook carries the power to trouble him.
Kell is a good fighter and he can bang, no doubt about that, and he carries considerable confidence. On these occasions, however, when you are sizing up a big fight you always tend to go back to the old adage of a good biggun beats a good littleun.
I just think this fella is at the top of his game. He is fearless, he has no problem in coming here to fight and doesn’t seem to mind where he goes.
Upsets do happen in boxing but, this time, I just can’t see it.
Next weekend, Liam Smith will be doing his bit to disrupt the best laid plans when he attempts to inflict a second defeat in 50 fights on Canelo—the other successful opponent being Floyd Mayweather Jnr back in 2013.
This is going to be some spectacle at the home of the Dallas Cowboys and Liam is so up for the job in hand. Even though he is the champion, he is considered the underdog, but I fancy him to put a big spanner in the works of Golovkin-Canelo.
The grand plan is for Canelo to take a title at 155lbs, before easing himself in at 160 with perhaps a shot at Billy Joe Saunders’ WBO belt, then have a crack at Golovkin.
Brook and Beefy have other ideas and I truly hope two British boxers can screw up the biggest fight out there!
Golovkin and Canelo are rightly rated near the top of the pound-for-pound pecking order, but the man headlining on BoxNation this weekend can lay claim to be greatest of them all.
Roman Gonzalez, 29, is bidding to become a four-weight world champion when he takes on the WBC super flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras at the Forum in LA.
Chocolatito, as he is now universally known, holds a record of 45-0, with 38 of those wins coming via KO. He is something really special, someone who, because of his weight class, goes under the radar a little bit, but the fact of the matter is he is the real deal.
Will Cuadras be able to withstand the whirlwind that is Gonzelez and give him a run for his money? He is a world champion and all you can do is fight the best around. To all intents and purposes, he is the best about for him to fight, so we will see.
I personally don’t think there is anyone currently around to beat him because he is absolutely outstanding but, in this game, you never know.
Buy your BoxNation sub now for just £12/€15* a month with no fixed contract. The unmissable fights coming up on BoxNation include:
Tyson Fury v Wladimir Klitschko
Roman Gonzalez v Carlos Cuadras
Canelo Alvarez v Liam Smith
Marco Huck v Ovill McKenzie
Liam Walsh v Andrey Klimov
Liam Williams v Ahmet Patterson
Chris Eubank Jnr v Tommy Langford
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