If Canelo takes a legit decision, where does Golovkin's legacy stand?

I really dislike the idea that close fights with Jacobs and Alvarez means Golovkin is somehow devalued. Doesn't that rather speak well of those two? We knew going into both those fights that Golovkin operates at at least a certain level. People sh*t on his competition but it was competition that other proven good fighters like Sergio Martinez looked much worse against. We know Golovkin is a really good, really dangerous fighter. Putting him down for close fights with Jacobs and Alvarez is disrespectful to those two. Jacobs proved he is a pretty good fighter himself, and we already knew Alvarez was a very good fighter.

Golovkin would probably do what Kovalev is doing now, which is beat up some contenders and make it clear he's still a really good fighter. Unless he looks close to done against Alvarez, he's still good enough to beat guys like Saunders. He'll still go down as the best middleweight since Hopkins. Losing this fight wouldn't change that. Say what you want about his competition, but for the most part he obliterated the same caliber of fighters that the other top middleweights since B-Hop struggled against.

Prime active Lara was A without a doubt, for Cotto and Trout you can argue btw B+ and A-. If they were B fighters then take Crawford Horn, Idongo, Beltran, Burns, Postol ect... are C at best. Trout a B+ or an A-? How? Because he has 1 win against someone aged 35? Or against a 147 fighter? Or Rigoberto Alvarez who just fought a 2-1 and a 4-0 ? Or maybe it was his amazing MD against Nilson Julio Tapia. Seriously without the Cotto win, Trout would maybe be ranked top 50 JMW.. Barely.

i think witout an elite win, GGG's elitedom is in doubt, or hes a weak elite.

Who A guys did Canelo fight? To be A you need to be in your prime as well. Prime active Lara was A without a doubt, for Cotto and Trout you can argue btw B+ and A-. If they were B fighters then take Crawford Horn, Idongo, Beltran, Burns, Postol ect... are C at best.

it means GGG has a draw and a loss at elite level, thats all. no biggie.

Maybe, but who hold better wins than Nelo in the fight game (except Pacquiao)? Nobody that's right... You can only make a case about Loma. So saying he doesn't have great wins is stupid or nobody does in the fight game. Watch Nelo record/wins, then watch GGG, Crawford, Mickey and Spence records and have a good laugh. They fought B+ guys at beast Who A guys did Canelo fight? To be A you need to be in your prime as well.

I think the GG beast from 3 or 4 years ago would have done great in this stacked division. It's unfortunate for him that 160 became a ghost town during his prime, and is now hot again that he's hitting his late 30's. A lot of people won't like this but I personally view everything he accomplishes now as being particularly impressive because he's battling time as well as a stacked division. I hope he pursues legacy building fights. I think he should move up next (and if he stays at 160 get a guy like Ariza) I think he would do very well at 168 and even 175, because guys out there are style wise more available, heavier and willing to trade. What worries GGG is speed at this point and chasing his opponents, he's getting slower. He seems to kinda overtrain, had long amat+pro careers, and his body looks washed up a bit. So moving up and stopping cutting weight would rejuvenate his body for a couple of years. 160 top dudes Nelo, Jacobs, Charlo, BJS are movers/more or less tricky and way faster, more mobile than all 168, 175 champs. I'm not saying he would lose to them but he might make easier fights moving up, this being more prestigious for his legacy being X divisions champ ect... Only Benavidez would be a bad, competitive fight for triple. I think triple would walk through guys like De Gale, Smith, Ucaz and maybe even Groves. And I would give GGG a solid shot to beat Stevenson and Kova. GGG might struggle more with Charlo than Kova IMO, wich is weird because Kova would kill Charlo. Charlo will move and jab if he fight GGG, Charlo was very defensive versus Trout so I can see him back pedaling versus triple wich would be the good way to fight him, using a long quick jab. Kova would bang with GGG. I think GGG would submit Kova into body punching submission like Ward did. Kova stiff stance would be his downfall. Mental wise, Kova wouldn't like that GGG pressure. Style makes fights and I believe a full fledged 168/175 GGG would be a chasing monster. GGG chin and power are just that good IMO and would even upgrade a bit moving up.

Trout is overrated as fúck. Before the Canelo fight, his top 3 fights were Cotto Rigoberto Alvarez who was coming off a TKO loss to Rubio, fights against literal nobodies, and a gift decision against Ishida. Nilson Julio Tapia - MD. Maybe, but who hold better wins than Nelo in the fight game (except Pacquiao)? Nobody that's right... You can only make a case about Loma. So saying he doesn't have great wins is stupid or nobody does in the fight game. Watch Nelo record/wins, then watch GGG, Crawford, Mickey and Spence records and have a good laugh. They fought B+ guys at beast

A loss here would mean a third fight, and please no, I dont want a third one like this drama anymore. GGG wins, then saunders, then the jacobs-dchencko winner and that could be the rematch all people want

I never bought that the first fight was a robbery. And I never bought that Golovkin has hit at any point a place where losing should be blamed on his age as a sole factor. So if he legitimately loses against Alvarez this time, with a close first and a close one with Jacobs, I wouldn't rate him as one of the great middleweights, let alone p4p fighters. Kostya Tszyu is someone I would rate higher in a p4p sense (far from an insult intended), if he took that L legitimately and rode off into the sunset. And if he loses, and wants a third, I don't see him winning it. I could even see Saunders beating him after that. I think Alvarez has more adjustments to him than Golovkin and I can see it seriously taking the steam out of Golovkin to have a real loss to Alvarez at this point. I also don't think much of Golovkin's "title fights" before becoming the WBA champion without the regular/super nonsense. That's not his fault, all things considered, but in a historical sense, I'm not going to rate it very seriously as part of his title fight credentials.

It definitely won't be a good look.

His legacy probably takes a bit of a hit because This will give ammunition to all his detractors that said he wasn’t sh.it and just fought in a weak era ( which is true ) But unless he goes Apesh.it in the next Couple years and gets Ws facing Canelo, Saunders , Charlo maybe Devrechenko or Murata I don’t think he’ll be considered a ATG MW anyways because right now he ls beaten something like 6 or so Past,Current or Future World Champions most of them being B class champs and his only Fight against a future HOf ( Canelo ) was a draw even though the decision was pure bull****. Right now That ls probably not enough to be on the Rushmore of MWs But he’s 36 so he is fighting on borrowed time. With the exception of Mayweather , B-hop what elite guys were still competing against the very best and winning in the last say 30-40 years HWs not included. He’s probably going to take a loss eventually if he keeps fighting but I’d predict it’ll be Charlo as the one to do it if they ever fight

His legacy takes a hit yeah, I mean, he would end on paper 1-1-1 against elite A opposition wich would make him a simple elite fighter in his own division, not an ATG or P4P top dude by any means, I mean yeah, more a top dude at 160. It's sad because I think he had his physical peak before those fights and GGG is a clearly a physical fighter. I'm tempted to believe GGG would have done even better versus Nelo and DJ 3 years younger, he would have that extra speed/reflexes/anger that he lost to surprise and hurt them, have them more cautious and trapped. But at the end of the day, who really knows? I think the GG beast from 3 or 4 years ago would have done great in this stacked division. It's unfortunate for him that 160 became a ghost town during his prime, and is now hot again that he's hitting his late 30's. A lot of people won't like this but I personally view everything he accomplishes now as being particularly impressive because he's battling time as well as a stacked division. I hope he pursues legacy building fights.

Canelo might actually hold the best trio of wins (and also best record in boxing) with Lara, Trout, Cotto (not counting a bunch of decent wins over guys like Cintron, Smith, Mosley, Kirland, Kahn) Crawford: Gamboa, Postol, Burns Spence: Brook, Peterson, Algieri GGG: Jacobs, Murray, Geale Garcia: Salido, Broner, Lopez Loma: Walters, Russel, Linares (or rigo) HELL, only Loma coming close. You guys need to stop talking sht on fighters. If Nelo beat GGG, his record his head and shoulders above the rest (if it's not already the case). Trout is overrated as fúck. Before the Canelo fight, his top 3 fights were Cotto Rigoberto Alvarez who was coming off a TKO loss to Rubio, fights against literal nobodies, and a gift decision against Ishida. Nilson Julio Tapia - MD.

This isn't a prediction about the fight, I just want to know; where does GG stand if Canelo wins, and what happens with him after? Does he get redemption? Does he retire? What do you think? Personally, I don't think GG's record is strong enough to go through a W without his status taking a big hit. Had he not got screwed in the original fight, it might be different, but perceptions are what they are. I think he could pull off redemption in a 3rd fight though. Or, by beating Charlo and Saunders. His legacy takes a hit yeah, I mean, he would end on paper 1-1-1 against elite A opposition wich would make him a simple elite fighter in his own division, not an ATG or P4P top dude by any means, I mean yeah, more a top dude at 160. It's sad because I think he had his physical peak before those fights and GGG is a clearly a physical fighter. I'm tempted to believe GGG would have done even better versus Nelo and DJ 3 years younger, he would have that extra speed/reflexes/anger that he lost to surprise and hurt them, have them more cautious and trapped. But at the end of the day, who really knows?

Lol even by beating Nelo hes legacy isnt that strong, Nelo is only a cash cow whos great wins are????? Unfortunately for GGG 160 didnt have great fighters, he didnt move up to 168 to chase great matches Canelo might actually hold the best trio of wins (and also best record in boxing) with Lara, Trout, Cotto (not counting a bunch of decent wins over guys like Cintron, Smith, Mosley, Kirland, Kahn) Crawford: Gamboa, Postol, Burns Spence: Brook, Peterson, Algieri GGG: Jacobs, Murray, Geale Garcia: Salido, Broner, Lopez Loma: Walters, Russel, Linares (or rigo) HELL, only Loma coming close. You guys need to stop talking sht on fighters. If Nelo beat GGG, his record his head and shoulders above the rest (if it's not already the case).

An almost 37 year old losing to a prime fighter. Shocking. Never been done before. The greats of the past were all in their prime at 37-40.

its called boxing and that's exactly what canelo did.. Yea, he tried to emulate Mayweather to avoid getting hurt badly. Nothing wrong with that, but Canelo must have felt something he didn't like to change his style all of a sudden for GGG. Never seen him fight with that much caution before, and he'll probably do the same in the rematch to try to avoid getting laid out.

hardcore fans will call it like it is if he gets dominated in the rematch. As soon as he fought legit guys, he became ordinary. jacobs razor thin. canelo draw. hypothetical canelo lost in rematch. but what if he stops canelo in the rematch. Then the narrative will be he was the best middleweight of his era. this fight is literally do or die for Gennady