Saul Canelo Alvarez has four children, all by different women, including his new wife Fernanda, a ranch the size of an English county, a fleet of the world’s most expensive cars, mansions in Mexico and the US, thriving businesses, a superyacht and, to paraphrase the old song, a diamond watch the size of the Ritz.
Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin has a son and a daughter by his wife and only loves Alina, a house in California to which he moved from his native Kazakhstan via Germany and refuses to be distracted by the high life or attracted to commercial ventures until he finishes knocking people out for a living.
Canelo counts world leaders and Hollywood celebrities among his golf partners and rides thoroughbred horses on his stable. Triple G is excited about playing games with his young son after picking him up from school.
Canelo Alvarez (left) and Gennady Golovkin (right) have a mutual desire to end the third and final fight in the most brutal way possible
Alvarez (left) and Gennady Golovkin (right) face each other for the third time this weekend
The two men who made their grand public arrival in this sparkling mirage of a Nevada desert town at the start of the big fight week couldn’t be more different.
The only place they are likely to meet is in the boxing ring. They will do that for the third time on Saturday evening in the T-Mobile Arena here.
One thing they have in common is a festering dislike for each other, fueling a mutual desire to resolve their feud as brutally as possible.
“What do I want from this fight,” Alvarez says rhetorically. “My goal is the knockout. If not, punish him through all 12 rounds. For me this is both personal and professional.’
And Golovkin? He says: ‘This time the perfect ending would be to see the referee wave his arms over him and then raise my hand. My intention is to bring back clean boxing.”
The long-term rivals have fought twice before, ending a draw and winning a decision from Canelo
To that subtle reference to Canelo’s failed drug test that delayed their second fight, Mexico’s red-haired national idol responded: “Golovkin talks to the media differently than face to face. He is not the man he appears to be. I can’t help but hear what he’s saying in public, but I’m not listening attentively. He’s just making excuses to lose to me, which he knows he did.’
Golovkin isn’t the only one who believes he was robbed by the judges who scored their first fight draw and the second a win for Alvarez.
Canelo comes to this decider of only the second loss of his packed 61-fighting career, one inflicted just four months ago by Russian Dmitry Bivol, but which he believes he can avenge in due course. Triple G says, “When he’s defeated, he loses touch with reality.”
Because they are required to go face-to-face for promotional photos – or in their case nose to nose – they do find reasons to agree on one thing.
Alvarez says, “While I expect to win, I know this will be a tough fight against a great boxer.” Golovkin says: ‘I am calm, relaxed and my nervous system tells me that everything will be fine if I have made the necessary adjustments to win without a doubt. Even though I am aware that he is a great fighter who will make it a very difficult night.”
Canelo and Golovkin shared a controversial draw during their first meeting in 2017
It was Canelo who emerged victorious in their rematch the following year by majority decision
Alvarez confirms that he has rarely been “so intensely focused” before a fight, adding: “That’s why I trained like hell.” As he entered the lobby of the MGM Grand, a large crowd of Mexicans roared along with a mariachi band as large screens lit up with vivid films of his efforts in the camp.
But as he sat in court with a small group of reporters, he radiated good health and self-confidence, saying: ‘This is going to be a very exciting fight. I like boxing and I like this emotion. I can not wait.’
This sounded like the original Canelo, the boy born to fight. The same goes for Triple G, who says, “When I’m fighting, I always bring the Big Drama Show to town. I love it.’
In that they are related. Even though Golovkin is eight years older, forty years, than he who now reigns as the undisputed world super-middleweight champion, reminding him, “Our rivalry goes back years.”
Yet Triple G still has the baby face and slender body of the young Kazakh whose power punches caught our eye when he mowed down Matthew Macklin nearly a decade ago to retain the world middleweight title he’d held for seven years.
Their rivalry goes back years, but it looks like it’s settled on Saturday night in Las Vegas
Ask him about the secret of his seemingly eternal youth and he smiles as he says, “My wife and my genes. And of course my healthy lifestyle. I never take substances into my body that could have a harmful effect on me. Not even medication if I can help it.
“My concentration on boxing and my family still allows me to get out of bed at 5am and go for a run. Without that dedication we wouldn’t be here today.’
We are truly grateful for that dedication, who just want to sit and watch them go at it again.
Alvarez v Golokin for the undisputed World Super Middleweight Championship will be broadcast live on DAZN pay-per-view late Saturday night.