IBF, WBA, IBO, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez promised to deliver an explosive sequel to their epic draw here Tuesday as they faced off ahead of their May 5 rematch.
Hard-hitting Kazakh Golovkin was widely believed to have won last September's first battle against Mexican star Alvarez, when a bizarre judging controversy dominated the aftermath of the bout.
While one judge scored the fight for Golovkin and another had it even, there was widespread astonishment at the card of judge Adalaide Byrd, who marked it 118-110 in favour of Alvarez.
On Tuesday the two fighters came face-to-face before a crowd of fans in downtown Los Angeles -- and both vowed that judges would not be a factor when they climb into the ring again at Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena in what is likely to be one of the fights of the year.
"Everything is ready for an amazing show," Golovkin told reporters, unsurprisingly adamant that he had won the first bout.
"I felt very comfortable. I felt I won. 100 percent," added Golovkin, 37-0 with one draw and 33 knockouts.
Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, meanwhile taunted Alvarez's hit-and-run strategy in the first meeting.
Sanchez even went as far as to state that he called basketball legend Michael Jordan to request a better paid of shoes in order to catch Canelo in the ring - in the event that he starts running. Golovkin is sponsored by the Jordan brand.
"I definitely think he ran a lot more than we thought he was going to," Sanchez said.
"I talked to (Michael) Jordan about it and asked if he could make us some shoes so that we can go a bit faster and are able to catch him.
"I hope for the fans that he puts on the fight that he said he was going to do the first time."
2023-10-20 13:22:45
