By Keith Idec
Gennady Golovkin’s age and supposed slippage is one of the primary storylines entering his showdown with Canelo Alvarez next month.
The Kazakh knockout artist turned 35 a few weeks after Daniel Jacobs became the first fighter in Golovkin’s 11-year pro career to take him 12 rounds. Some suspect that the unbeaten middleweight champion’s performance against Jacobs was as much an indication that he’s not the same fighter he was a few years ago as much as it was a testament to Jacobs’ ability to make their fight difficult for Golovkin.
Abel Sanchez wholeheartedly disagrees. Golovkin’s trainer contends Alvarez, who’s eight years younger than Golovkin, has more miles on his proverbial boxing odometer as their September 16 middleweight championship match at T-Mobile Arena approaches.
“Remember, he’s probably been a pro less than Canelo’s been a pro,” Sanchez said during a conference call Wednesday. “And his fights are a heck of a lot shorter than Canelo’s fights. So Canelo’s really the one that’s got the wear and tear on him, not Golovkin. Canelo’s got 49 fights. Golovkin’s got, what, 36, 37, whatever it is that he has? And his fights have been shorter. And he turned pro in 2006. I believe Canelo’s been a pro a little bit longer than he has. So no, we don’t have the long periods of training camps like we used to for the other fighters. That helps and his fights being shorter helps.”
Alvarez has participated in 51 professional fights since he made his pro debut at the unusually young age of 15 in his native Mexico.
The former junior middleweight and middleweight champion made his pro debut six months before Golovkin, a decorated amateur, fought for the first time as a professional in May 2006. Golovkin was 24 when he turned pro.
In his 51 fights, Alvarez has boxed in 353 rounds, more than twice as many as Golovkin has logged in his 37 pro bouts (172 rounds).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.