Gennady Golovkin Retirement Talk: Buy or Sell

Golovkin retirement talk could be a trap for Canelo.

Gennady Golovkin hinted this week at possibly retiring following the conclusion of his September 16th title fight against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

Golovkin, who defends his WBC, IBF, and WBA World middleweight titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in boxing’s most significant fight since Mayweather vs. Pacquiao in May 2015, picked a strange time to talk about retirement.

Following a hard-fought victory over former middleweight world champion Daniel Jacobs in March, the Kazakh said it was his “dream to unify the belts in my country.”

However, when asked this week how long he will continue to fight, Golovkin said via ESPN “I don’t know. Maybe after this fight, I’m finished, maybe not. I feel very good.”

Why the sudden change of tune?

Golovkin (37-0, 33 KO’s) is 35 years of age and could be closer to retirement than some may think,

But this seems like more of a psychological ploy given he has talked about unifying the middleweight division for years or is it? Fighters that look unbeatable are generally a result of matchmaking, which includes knockout artists like Golovkin. However, he looked beatable against Jacobs, a young, tough, peaking fighter, who boxed beautifully behind his jab and superior bodywork throughout the night.

Although Golovkin dropped Jacobs in the fourth round, he was far from the indestructible machine we were accustomed to seeing.

Most ringside analysts would say the fight was up for grabs in the final round. However, it appeared Jacobs thought the fight was in the bag and opted to take a conservative approach, which turned out to be a saving grace for Golovkin. Perhaps Golovkin has had a recent change of heart and is finally coming to his senses about it, but it seems unlikely leading up to the biggest fight of his 11-year professional career. With Canelo hinting at a more aggressive approach come September 16th, he could very well kick it up a notch with his opponent’s recent comments, but it comes with a caveat.

Golovkin has fought his entire career at 160 pounds, and although one can make the argument he has slipped in recent fights, he still has explosive power and could be laying down a trap for Canelo. Although the 26-year-old did move up to 164 for his last fight, it was against a carcass once known as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

If both men trade, the man who is likely to eat the canvas first, is Canelo.