Canelo vs. GGG 3: Undisputed Trilogy To Settle Rivalry

One of boxing’s great rivalries will be settled in Las Vegas, as Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin collide in their long-awaited trilogy fight. 

Canelo moves back down to super-middleweight to defend his undisputed titles, while ‘GGG’ jumps up divisions for the first time in his long-standing career. 

When the opening bell sounds this weekend, it will have been exactly five years since the pair’s controversial first fight, which ended in a majority draw, and four years on from Canelo’s rematch victory.

The bad blood has been showcased in the lead-up to this anticipated third clash, with both fighters aiming to secure a high-profile victory to put an end to the rivalry. 

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of one of the biggest fight nights of the year so far in Las Vegas. 

Canelo vs. GGG 3 Fight Details

Fight: Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin  

Titles: WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF & The Ring Super-Middleweight titles   

Date: Saturday, September 17th   

Main Event Time: Approx. 4AM BST

Live On: DAZN PPV

Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, USA 

Canelo vs. GGG 3 Fight Preview

For the first time since 2014, Canelo is entering a fight on the back of a defeat. The Mexican star jumped back up to light-heavyweight in May to contest Dmitry Bivol but fell short over 12 rounds. 

Bivol retained his WBA title with a unanimous decision victory in Las Vegas, ending Canelo’s run of eight consecutive victories with a career-best performance. 

It looked as if Canelo would go straight in for the rematch but a trilogy against Golovkin has come to fruition instead, remaining at super-middleweight for now, where he holds distinction of undisputed champion. 

While the Mexican has been involved in nine ring outings since the pair’s last meeting, GGG has only fought four times in those four years. At 40 years old, Golovkin will enter the ring chasing a defining career success, following a run of four straight wins. 

The current unified middleweight world champion has stopped Steve Rolls, Kamil Szeremeta and, most-recently, Ryota Murata on that winning streak, as well as battling to a decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko. 

Much has been made of Golovkin’s age and inactivity going into this trilogy fight, but the key factor could be the change in weight. Having campaigned at 160 pounds for his whole career to date, he now steps up to 168 pounds for the first time. 

Without the need to cut as much weight at his age and focusing on carrying his power up those extra few pounds, GGG will be hoping this helps lead him towards one final great performance to get one over his long-standing rival.

Time To Settle The Rivalry

Canelo has been able to stop Sergey Kovalev, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant in recent years and has admitted he’s targeting a definitive late knockout over Golovkin too. 

But GGG, regardless of his age, has one of the most durable chins in boxing history, proven in both encounters with Canelo.

There have been signs that body shots could hurt the Kazakh though. With Canelo also possessing one of the top body attacks in the sport today, this will likely be part of the Mexican and his coach Eddy Reynoso’s gameplan.

While both men have already assured their legacies as two of boxing’s great champions of their era, there is a lot on the line going into a third showdown. 

Golovkin is seeking a sense of justice he craves from the controversial scoring of the first fight draw and wants redemption from the subsequent rematch loss. 

Canelo knows a second successive career loss this weekend would damage his overall standing in the sport, particularly to a 40-year-old rival, as he works towards a Bivol rematch and other prosperous super-middleweight match-ups.  

The stakes are high as Canelo and Golovkin arrive in Las Vegas for a battle to finally put an end to their rivalry. 

Header image: Matchroom Boxing