Ahead of their rematch this September, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and lineal middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez engaged in a video conference via where the two fighters’ respective camps exchanged a number of jibes.
Relations between the two fighters – typically unassuming characters who eschew the trash-talking nature of many of their counterparts – have become decidedly more acrimonious over the past couple of months, following the controversial outcome of their first fight, and the events that have happened since.
Although it was officially deemed a split draw by the three judges, the general consensus is that Golovkin won convincingly with his workrate and pressure. Many fans were left disappointed as a result, and to add insult to injury, Canelo tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol, resulting in a postponement of their rematch, something which was originally scheduled for May 5th of this year.
Golovkin instead fought Vanes Martirosyan, obliterating him inside two rounds, and was subsequently stripped of his IBF championship for not arranging to fight undefeated number one contender Sergey Derevyanchenko – something which no doubt has exacerbated the ill-will between the two fighters.
“Respect is respect. We have a different mentality. We have a different understanding of what respect is,” Golovkin said.
“The fact is that they screwed up. It was not my decision to disqualify him. I think it was a team failure, but it doesn’t matter right now. What’s important is that we’re going to have a fight.”
“Canelo’s team, by doing what they did, lost some respect from their fans.”
Canelo, who attributed the positive test results to consuming contaminated beef, nevertheless served a backdated ban, allowing him to fight Golovkin on the Mexican Independence Day weekend in September.
“We all talked about the reason for the cancellation. The main thing is the fight is here. I did it for the fans. This is the fight they wanted to see. Come September 15, I can guarantee it will be a much better fight than what it would have been in May.”
The more heated exchanges took place between the two fighters’ respective trainers in Chepo and Eddy Reynoso and Golovkin’s Spanish-speaking trainer Abel Sanchez.
“If Canelo thinks he can knock Golovkin out, then I think we’ll see a classic fight,” Sanchez opined.
“I think Abel Sanchez likes to talk. He talks too much,” Chepo Reynoso responded. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be Canelo and Golovkin fighting with their fists, not with their mouths. Sanchez likes to be the star, when it’s not him. This is about the fighters, and and what we need to do as trainers, is to do our job quietly, because it’s not about us. Abel, learn to be quiet, please.”
Article by: Navi Singh
You can follow Navi on Twitter at: @hombre__obscuro