Canelo Alvarez's trilogy clash with Gennady Golovkin has officially been confirmed to take place later this year.
The Mexican star signed a two fight deal with Matchroom Boxing this year but lost his title challenge against Dmitry Bivol, potentially jeopardising a trilogy battle. Alvarez was keen to renew his rivalry with the Kazakh star but was first offered the chance of seeking revenge against the Russian.
However Alvarez will now face his bitter rival for a third time later this year with the event confirmed for September 17. A venue has yet to be announced but the huge showdown will likely take place in Las Vegas.
The former pound-for-pound king will return to 168lbs after his venture at 175lbs where he will put his undisputed titles on the line in a maiden defence. Promoter Eddie Hearn was delighted to get the fight confirmed and believes there will be fireworks from the first bell.
“The Canelo vs. GGG trilogy is the biggest fight in boxing and I am delighted to get this made for September 17,” Hearn said. “These are two men that bitterly dislike each other and want to end this incredible series with a blistering KO.
“I truly believe this will be the most thrilling fight between these two great champions and it will be fireworks from the first bell to the last man standing.”
Who do you think wins the trilogy? Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin? Let us know in the comments section below
The pair have shared a bitter rivalry ever since their first meeting controversially ended in a split decision draw in 2017. Golovkin was extremely agitated with the decision having put on a scintillating display in the fight.
Golovkin renewed his rivalry with Alvarez in 2018 with the Kazakh this time falling to a majority decision defeat despite also questioning the judges scorecards' after the final bell. Now the 40-year-old will be given a chance to settle the scores later this year.
Alvarez has been annoyed by some of the words of his opponent and believes their rivalry is personal. "With this deal, they wanted a fight with Golovkin.," Alvarez said. "So I said, ‘Why not? Everyone wants (me to) fight Golovkin, right? Maybe a little late, maybe not, but everybody wants the fight. Yeah, it’s personal. He talks a lot of s***. He says a lot of things. We’ll see."
Golovkin recently defeated Ryota Murata at middleweight but will now step up in weight to challenge for all the marbles. He is less concerned with the personal tag on their rivalry and branded his rival "indecent".
“I’ll be honest with you. If he believes it was something I said and that it was personal, where has he been all these years? Three or four years already," Golovkin told Ariel Helwani. "If it’s personal, what has he been waiting for? Secondly, I have not said anything bad, whatever has been said was tied to those scandals, and he was the cause of those scandals."
