Gennady Golovkin believes Canelo Alvarez’s loss to Dmitry Bivol will have brought out a new attitude in the Mexican ahead of their long-awaited trilogy bout.
‘GGG’ is looking to avenge the one name that has eluded him during his 44-fight professional career, as well as taking the undisputed super middleweight crown in the process.
However, the Kazakh veteran knows that the Canelo he meets in the ring on September 17 will be a vastly different fighter to the one he met back in 2017 and 2018. The 32-year-old is looking to get back to winning ways after suffering his first defeat since being outpointed by Floyd Mayweather nine years ago.
Canelo looked to define his legacy moving to light heavyweight in order to become a belt holder at 175lbs for the second time, however Bivol outclassed the four-weight world champion, ultimately being the bigger stronger man.
During an interview with the LA times, Golovkin told them:
“I’m sure he’s going to take it more seriously than when he faced Bivol. Against Bivol he was not taking it very seriously.
“To be honest, I wasn’t paying much attention, I wasn’t listening. With his attitude he proved to be like someone of a lower level. He probably showed his true face. I was disappointed as he hasn’t grown as a professional athlete.”
The calls for a trilogy fight between Golovkin and Canelo have come after some controversial decisions in the first two bouts between the pair.
Their first was judged a draw with many believing Golovkin to be the victor. The second was won by Canelo and, although much closer, still has many debating on their verdict on the final result.
Nevertheless, the now 40-year-old Golovkin looks ahead in excitement for the pair’s third meeting.
“A trilogy is something big, historical, these days it is very difficult to see a rematch between fighters because it is simply not interesting.”
“When you have this trilogy, it means that people demand it, that you are at the level of legendary boxers, and you are part of history. You feel proud, happy. It means a lot.”
It won’t be just Canelo who will have a new look about them since their last bout however, with Golovkin acquiring the help of Jonathon Banks since his split with Abel Sanchez in 2019. Yet Banks enters with a wealth of experience, having worked with the likes of Wladimir Klitschko.
“It is impossible to compare Abel Sanchez with Jonathon Banks. They both have different approaches to the training process, and I can say that I am very happy with Jonathon Banks. I am happy with this opportunity to work with him.”