Geale gives the edge to Golovkin to beat Canelo

He knows a thing or two about boxing and how it feels to be hit by Gennady Golovkin. Former world middleweight champion Daniel Geale is picking the Kazakh to extend his unbeaten record to 38 when he faces Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the sport’s most anticipated showdown of the year – more like the last decade.

Geale suffered a third-round TKO at the hands of Golovkin at Madison Square Garden in 2014. The Australian came to fight and landed some flush shots on ‘GGG,’ but ultimately was dismantled with bazooka right hands.

The bout was a clear exemplification of what can happen to a fighter who comes into the ring with a lot of confidence and tries to get in close quarters with Golovkin, but Geale says it’s not just the power that presents a formidable challenge.

“The big thing I see is Golovkin is probably overlooked for his defense. He is defensively very good,” Geale told Omnisport. “He does know where is at in the boxing all the time. It does appear to me though that he lets himself get hit. I don’t know why. He does take a couple, but against a guy like Canelo, he doesn’t want to be doing that.”

Alvarez and Golovkin participated in open workouts last week at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles to kick off the promotion and Canelo, 27, of Mexico, appeared confident that he would be victorious.

“It’s the most important [fight]; the most dangerous of my career at this moment, and I’ve taken the challenge,” Canelo said. “I have intelligence, and you have to be precise of when to land your punches, so they are the same power wise like his [Golovkin’s] or stronger.”

Geale went on to say that Canelo will put his confidence on display early in the fight, but that could end up benefitting Golovkin.

“If Canelo gets caught with some big shots early, the fight changes,” he added. “But if Canelo is a little more skillful defensively – he learned a bit from his fight with Mayweather [in 2013] because he was very aggressive and missed a lot – and make it harder for Golovkin. That makes it a lot better for him.”

“You have to go for it. You don’t want to just sit there being too defensive. If you’re waiting, you’ll get knocked out.”

It’s going to take an all-around skilled fighter to beat Golovkin and Canelo, if he uses every tool in his arsenal and utilizes it, could give the Kazakh his first loss. However, the championship rounds will be very crucial. Will Canelo be able to maintain a consistent work rate or will Golovkin wear him down in the late rounds to snag the victory

So many variables with just over a week until fight night. The fans are ready, and this is the bout the sport has been craving.