By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Gennady Golovkin spoke this week about how he and Canelo Alvarez will spend some time feeling each other out before their fight becomes the unforgettable battle virtually everyone expects.
Oscar De La Hoya doesn’t think it’ll take even that long. The retired six-division champion predicted during Thursday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take” that Alvarez, the Mexican icon his company promotes, and Golovkin will start trading punishing punches as soon as their scheduled 12-round middleweight title bout begins Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
De La Hoya appeared live on the show, which features HBO analyst Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith, right outside MGM Grand on Thursday morning.
“I can see this fight,” De La Hoya said, “I mean right from the first bell, forget about the warmup rounds, one through three, I think it’s gonna be just bombs away right from the start. I think once they get a taste of what they’re in against, I think it’s gonna be bombs away right from the start.”
De La Hoya also reiterated that he thinks Alvarez-Golovkin will resemble a longer version of the legendary three-round brawl between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. Hagler, who was known for his granite chin, withstood some damaging punches from the hard-hitting Hearns early in their middleweight title fight in April 1985 to win by third-round technical knockout at Caesars Palace.
“This fight right here with Canelo and Triple-G takes me back to ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns,” De La Hoya said. “Three rounds of hell. I really think that Saturday night we are going to see nine or 10 rounds of hell. It’s gonna be a war.”
Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) and Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) have displayed iron chins during their careers, but Alvarez will encounter one of boxing’s biggest punchers in the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC 160-pound champion. Golovkin will be faced with a dangerous counter-puncher who will look to attack his body and unload left hooks to his head.
“They’re gonna literally stand toe-to-toe, next to each other, and just whale away,” De La Hoya said.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.