We dont know they didnt fight nor they would. I can tell you this though, how many times kovalev has been koed?
That should make you rethink some scenarios
Better question to ask yourself is after boxing Golovkin for 24 rounds, and arguably getting 2 gift decisions, why does Canelo keep saying that Golovkin doesn't pose a challenge for him, while KOing Kovalev in 3 shots.