Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is backing IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) to turn back Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs).
Golovkin faces Canelo, in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View card, on September 16th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Roach has kept his eye on this matchup for a very long time.
Roach worked the corner of Miguel Cotto when he lost a competitive twelve round unanimous decision to Canelo in November 2015.
There was a point in time where Roach felt the contest was a blowout in favor of Golovkin, but his opinion changed after watching Canelo's tactics to secure a brutal knockout of Amir Khan last May.
"You could see that he was getting closer [to Khan]. He threw a few right hands to the body earlier and I think he was doing that to measure him. That was a beautiful move [to set up that right hand]. I think [Canelo is] becoming a better fighter than people think. Him and Triple G is not just a walkover anymore. I think its a good fight," Roach told BoxingScene.com.
"Triple G is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, today I think. It's a very competitive fight at this point. I think its a good fight. I don't think its a blowout. I think its an interesting good fight."
After Golovkin has his troubles against Daniel Jacobs in March, in a fight that saw Golovkin go the twelve round distance for the first time - Roach felt Golovkin "got exposed a bit."
Based on Golovkin's performances against Jacobs and Kell Brook, Roach was on the fence over who would win in September - stating that it's a "much closer fight now."
But he was recently pressed for his opinion on the most likely outcome - and he came down on Golovkin's side.
“GGG will knock Canelo out,” Roach told The Inquirer.