GGG & Canelo Display Their Wares
By William Trillo & Albert Castillo
Photos By Marlene Marquez
With their much ballyhooed rematch less than one month away Middleweight Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez put some 4,000 rabid fans in the seats at The Banc of California Stadium as the two gave us a sneak preview of the coming attraction in Las Vegas on September 15th.
Just looking at the reaction of the fans at the event it’s pretty clear that anticipation is high to see these two settle the score from the draw that left everyone wanting more after their first battle in Las Vegas last year.
When Golovkin was asked about all the talk about Canelo saying he is going to knock him out GGG said, “Everybody wants the knockout! People from his side want him to knock me out. People from my side want me to knock him out. This is boxing! This is sport!”
Not surprisingly, the majority of the house was filled with Mexican fans. What may have surprised people though is the fact that it seemed most of those fans were supporting Golovkin as opposed to their countryman Canelo. “Of course a big thank you to all my Mexican fans to support me on this big day for Mexican people,” said GGG. “I am going to give them a big gift on this day. My talk is the truth, I bring a true style. I do not have problems. This guy Canelo, he has problems because he put himself in a terrible situation. People who know the truth support me, people who like fake guys support him…that’s it! Remember this…I am still the Champion, I have all my belts!”
As noted, Canelo made no bones about it, he plans on taking care of business in a big way come fight night. “Three weeks to go and I am ready! I feel very good and am working very hard, I am close to weight and will make it,” stated Canelo. “I feel I can knock out Golovkin and I am ready to do it. I am going to take advantage of the mistakes he makes and I will knock him out.”
During the interim I was able to talk with GGG’s long time promoter Tom Loeffler about this fight. I mentioned to Loeffler this fight promotion had a completely different feel than their first fight. Loeffler agreed saying,“The feel of the build up to this one is much angrier than the first fight between these two. You’re right! GGG thought he won the first fight. But he didn’t get the decision, he got a draw. But, he is still the champion and he is going for a record number of title defenses. But with all the controversies, the suspension…I think it’s really motivated Gennady to be even more aggressive the second time around. Canelo is predicting a knockout now. Apparently he didn’t like some of the things that GGG said about his suspension and the drug tests. The first fight was a great fight and I think you will see both guys be much more aggressive in the second fight because of all this. I have never seen this rage. GGG is always 100% focused and always trains hard, the hardest training athlete that I have seen, but I see a little extra spark in his eyes. A little extra spark and motivation that he really wants to go in and hurt Canelo in this fight and not leave it into the judge’s hands.”
During the runway interviews I was able to catch this sound bite from Oscar De La Hoya who has more than a vested interest in Canelo. “Canelo is training angry which I love,” said De La Hoya, “He is sparring more rounds, and he is hitting the bag harder than ever before. He knows how to keep his composure but he knows he has to attack! He wants to knock out GGG. To me, that’s music to my ears. Golovkin and his people have been talking so much crap that Canelo may not come out swinging for the fences but he will be more aggressive. He will push back Golovkin, and I know for a fact Golovkin cannot fight going backwards. I just want Canelo to knock him out…that’s it!”
It should be duly noted that Golovkin took the majority of the cheers from the boxing fans in attendance while his nemesis Canelo collected an overwhelming amount of jeers.
It was also pretty clear Canelo was a lot trimmer than he was during the open work out for fight # 1 last year. It is also worthy to note that last year Alvarez could not wait to take his shirt off to show off his chiseled physique but this year he chose to keep the shirt on while working out. You can do with that information as you will.
The anticipation is officially building for this one. Both men look focused and in top shape. With just three weeks to go it’s time to hunker down and get in some final fine tuning for the biggest fight of their respective careers.
Canelo vs. GGG 2 is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions. Munguia vs. Cook is a 12-round battle for the WBO Junior Middleweight World Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. Lemieux vs. O’Sullivan is a 12-round middleweight clash presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Eye of The Tiger Management in association with Murphy’s Boxing. Gonzalez vs. Fuentes is a 10-round super flyweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,” O’Reilly Auto Parts, Fred Loya Insurance, Interjet, Venom, and Fathom Events. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
“24/7 Canelo/GGG 2” premieres Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 11:30 pm (ET/PT) on HBO. Canelo’s fifth “24/7” appearance and Golovkin’s third, “24/7 CANELO/GGG 2” is the latest installment of the acclaimed franchise that began in 2007.
Limited tickets for Canelo vs. GGG 2 are still available, and are priced at
$5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700, and $500 not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of eight (8) per person at the $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700 and $500 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets are also available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com ;or www.axs.com.
Tickets are on sale for the closed circuit telecast of Canelo vs. GGG 2 at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Luxor are priced at $100, not including applicable fees. Seating is general admission at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage while Luxor will have assigned seats. Tickets may be purchased at any MGM Resorts International Box Office, by phone with a major credit card at (800) 745-3000 or online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/canelovsggg2.
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