It's hard not to feel jolts of excitement as the Canelo-Golovkin hype train pulls away from the station and starts to make the rounds. After all, the September 16 middleweight clash IS one of the most anticipated bouts of the post-Mayweather/Pacquiao era and there has been a build-up of over two years en route to making it happen.
But before getting giddy with anticipation, just be prepared for reality: Saul Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin could very well be a frustrating, anticlimactic, and fairly unsatisfying test of your boxing fandom.
None of this will be the fighters' fault, though. Alvarez is an honest, earnest fighter in the ring and Golovkin, by nature, is built not to disappoint. So far, nobody involved in the promotion is doing anything wrong or hinting at anything dubious, either.
But, again, expect frustration.
If everything plays out true to recent form, boxing's own fans and media may be to blame for ruining Canelo-Golovkin and it's hard to think otherwise. After seeing how some of these people have conducted themselves following just about every other big fight in recent memory, it's almost a sure thing that THIS big fight's aftermath will be less than satisfying.
Canelo-Golovkin, as a matter of fact, fits the profile perfectly for this new (and maddening) dynamic in the sport.
Take one fighter who, for whatever reason, has not enamored himself with the media or to many in the "hardcore" baseÂ…then, match him up against a fighter who HAS been fawned over and given preferential treatment by those same people.
Those who feel that their pet fighter can do no wrong will support their guy throughout the fight and its aftermath. Even if their guy loses, they will find a way to snatch victory from a record book defeat. And, in boxing, there's always something to prop up a raging case of denial. Given the fact that two elite-level fighters meeting in the ring almost guarantees a close encounter, this means there will usually be plenty of room for excuses ranging from the borderline logical to raging, tinfoil hat-worthy conspiracy theories.
The nonsense spewing forth from the online Universo Pugilistico takes the focus away from the fight and diminishes the significance of what happened in the ring. In more direct terms, in the mad rush to deny an inconvenient boxing truth, fans and media shit all over the bout's aftermath and, consequently, shit all over both fighters, the event, and the sport as a whole.
In the ensuing stupidity following both Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev fights, warring fan and media factions tangling over the validity of Ward's victories managed to do nothing but diminish the whole two-fight series. Ward had two legacy-defining fights torn to shreds by critics who buried the Oakland native in negativity regarding perceived foul play by judges and officials. And even if the nastiness has no affect on Ward, himself, it DOES affect his marketability and the perceived weight of his legacy as a fighter. In Kovalev's case, two losses on the ledger don't do anywhere near the amount of damage to his career that his raging case of sour grapes does. And every instance of his supporters intentionally raining on Ward's parade to make excuses for the losses makes the Russian look worse and worse.
In the 2015 Mayweather-Pacquiao "superfight," a clear and decisive win for Mayweather lasted about two minutes in the public arena before fanboys and nutjobs flooded the internet with nonsense meant to diminish the result or, even crazier, to try and explain how Pacquiao actually won.
In the particular case of Canelo-Golovkin, it's hard to hold out hope for anything different. Does anyone envision a scenario where Alvarez would get the benefit of the doubt from his critics if he manages to beat "Triple G?" History tells us that the red-headed Mexican battler never gets full credit for any of his high-end opposition and, shockingly, doesn't even get much credit for signing on to a Golovkin match that he was said to be ducking. Meanwhile, Golovkin gets mega-ultra-ultimate-super-duper credit for anything he does that even remotely hints at legitimacy. For whatever reason (and I'll leave my theories for another day and another article), this is just how the Canelo-Golovkin dynamic plays out-and don't hold your breath about this changing one bit for this upcoming fight.
If Golovkin doesn't beat Alvarez, be ready for the Golovkinites to muck up the post-fight atmosphere with crybaby whining, excuses, and crazy conspiracy theories. Just like with Kovalev and Pacquiao supporters mentioned earlier, partisan Golovkin fans and media have told themselves for so long that their guy is superhumanly unbeatable that they will refuse to accept any outcome other than KO/TKO for Triple G. Any other result will be challenged and anything even approximating a solid excuse will be used to kill any sense of resolution from the fight.
Similarly, if Canelo die-hards have even the slightest hint of a reason to clutch at denial, they WILL and a Golovkin victory will get the internet wet blanket treatment.
And if they fight a rematch, expect the same nonsense.
The best one can hope for is a clean, clear knockout for one or the other. But, even if that happens, the narrative from the cynics then turns to a raging case of "See? The other guy was never any good, anyway!"
Welcome to the wonderful world of discourse in the internet age-a time where information is more plentiful than ever, yet ignorance is carried around like a badge of courage.
If anyone ever asks you why boxing can never keep a degree of momentum going , even when the fights the sport needs are getting made, just point to the fans, their media and both groups' compulsive, self-defeating need to cock block.