The heat between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford has been picking up, but it likely won’t come close to the Mexican’s greatest boxing feud.
Dana White will promote Alvarez vs. Crawford this Saturday, as the pound-for-pound great puts his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against the consensus best from two divisions below.
The UFC CEO had to step in during a press conference for the super fight earlier this year after brawl between Alvarez and Crawford almost broke out on stage.
The first and only boxer in history to become undisputed super middleweight king is no stranger to animosity and bitter rivalries. In fact, Alvarez was one half of arguably the sport’s most controversial feud, which began almost a decade ago.
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Gennady Golovkin was awarded the WBC middleweight title after Canelo Alvarez vacated
Alvarez defeated Miguel Cotto via unanimous decision in late 2015, meaning he entered 2016 fresh off collecting the The Ring and vacant WBC middleweight titles. He successfully defended both in May of that year by brutally knocking out Amir Khan.
Immediately after, Alvarez called out Gennady Golovkin, inviting the legendary Kazakhstani into the ring to promote a future fight. ‘GGG’ was the mandatory challenger but the WBC’s deadline of May 22 to come to an agreement — just 16 days after Alvarez’s win over Khan — proved to be a hindrance.
To bypass that, Alvarez simply vacated his WBC middleweight title.
“After much consideration, today I instructed my team at Golden Boy Promotions to continue negotiating a fight with Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin and to finalise a deal as quickly as possible,” Alvarez said in a statement.
“I also informed the WBC that I will vacate its title.
“For the entirety of my career, I have taken the fights that no one wanted, because I fear no man. Never has that been more true than today.
“I will fight ‘GGG,’ and I will beat ‘GGG’, but I will not be forced into the ring by artificial deadlines.
“I am hopeful that by putting aside this ticking clock, the two teams can now negotiate this fight, and ‘GGG’ and I can get in the ring as soon as possible and give the fans the fight they want to see.”
As a result, the governing body awarded the title to Golovkin, meaning the belt had quickly changed hands without a punch even being thrown.
Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin fought 16 months later to kick off a heated trilogy
Things ultimately did not come together quickly after Alvarez vacated the WBC belt. Instead, negotiations and a thumb injury to the Mexican meant 16 months passed by before the pair shared the ring for the first time.
They couldn’t be split in their September 2017 fight for the unified WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, IBO, Ring magazine, and lineal middleweight championship, which was billed as ‘Supremacy’. Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a draw, which was controversial given that the Kazakhstani had outlanded his Mexican foe in 10 of the 12 rounds.
That set the stage for a rematch, which was briefly delayed when Alvarez failed a drugs test and was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. After the debated result of the first fight and that drug infraction, tensions rose and the rematch eventually went down in September 2018.
Alvarez got the nod by way of majority decision in another close fight that split opinion. A trilogy was always likely, and that took place four years later for the undisputed super middleweight championship.
By that time, the rivalry had long been heated and controversial, and Alvarez insisted things with ‘GGG’ were “personal” during a pre-fight press conference.
It was the Mexican who got the last laugh, closing out the trilogy with a unanimous decision victory. The second loss to Alvarez sent Golovkin into retirement.