One writer likens a Golovkin vs Canelo comparison to the fictional ‘Rocky’ series. Bare with him, there’s method to his madness.
Forget the past. The recent past, that is.
Forget the hype, the gimmicks, the circus, and the promoters. Forget the let down of a long, overpriced fight between two safely guarded prima donnas.
If the one they call “Money” has picked your pocket for the last time, you’re in good company. Wishing for a “fight” instead of an “event” has become commonplace in the boxing world.
Far safer to dust off the Rocky box set.
Watching an underdog overcome the impossible is something we all relate to. After all, life for most of us is a prize fight.
Accomplishments, failures, trials and tribulations. Hard times is what defines us, and propels us to succeed. Tough beginnings and uphill battles hardens a man.
If the real-life drama of the fight game has not lived up to the on-screen drama we’ve come to expect from Stallone,I ask you (at the risk of sounding like an apologetic ex-lover) to give it one more chance.
I swear, this time will be different.
On September 16th a Mexican superstar with the moniker “Canelo” (Cinnamon) will collide with a juggernaut from the former Soviet Union (Kazakhstan) who goes simply by “Triple G”.
These two men embody everything we love about Rocky Balboa.
Both improbable underdogs. Men made of iron. Fighters that were created under the harshest of circumstances.
Like two metals being forged together, this fight will require immeasurable heat. Purity will be tested. Both combatants will simultaneously reach the pinnacle of their respective careers.
Canelo will be carrying the weight of all that is Mexico.
A country that has produced a litany of fighters that define fortitude. This young superstar’s name will one-day sound like Liston, Duran, or Tyson to your children’s ears.
A fighter that has dispatched his last several opponents with beautiful brutality.
Golovkin, the son of a Russian coal miner born in the former Soviet Union. As a young boy, led by his older brothers, he was paraded through the streets of Kazakhstan and directed to fight grown men.
His knockout percentage is the highest in the history of the middle weight division.
Ruthlessly discarding any opponent whose number had been called. One vicious knockout after the other. An assembly line of bodies – all great fighters that simply never stood a chance.
Until now.
On Saturday September 16th the steely-eyed Mexican will attempt to crack the granite-chin of the undefeated Triple G.
Great drama will be seeing who has the will to get up, and push through adversity. Once more we will be invited to watch history.
This time, the fight will surpass the hype.
