Three fights lead up to the fight of the year matchup between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Starting at 8 p.m. ET, the main pay-per-view card will contain matches between Ryan Martins and Francisco Rojo (lightweight), Diego De La Hoya and Randy Caballero (super bantamweight), and Joseph Diaz and Rafael Rivera (featherweight) leading up to the headliner.
Canelo has better pro experience with more fights and against better opponents (Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, Shane Mosley, etc.), while Golovkin has the power and footwork advantage, although the middleweight did not look at his best in his previous match against Daniel Jacobs.
Canelo likes to counter punch and play opossum on the ropes, opposed to GGG who likes to walk his man down and bang out on the ropes. This is why the fight is so interesting, it will come down to who lands more powerful punches against the other on the ropes.
Canelo will probably re-hydrate to the high 170s or even low 180s in order to deal with Golovkin’s power. Canelo could be weighted drained like he was in his fight with Mayweather as I’ve seen he bulked up a lot.
Can Canelo take GGG’s power while shooting his uppercuts and hooks to the body on the ropes? GGG will most likely come out swinging because Canelo fights at a very slow pace. In the center of the ring the fight favors Canelo who has faster hands, better reflexes, and creative combinations.
Bottom line: Pick em fight, result will depend on how Canelo can take GGG’s power, and who fades in the late rounds.
Jefferson Akers prediction: Canelo Round 8 TKO victory, from a left hook to the body.