How do you think GGG's legacy would be looked at if the judges gave him the decision in the 1st fight? Nothing changes about the fight. Only that the judges give him the decision. What about if the judges gave him both fights? Is GGG looked at as the greatest MW with an undefeated record and 2 wins vs the #1 P4P fighter of his era.
No i don't think he would be looked as the best middleweight ever. I do think he would be ranked in the top 10. IMO he clearly won the first. Second one is hard to score and could go either way. I still don't think he would be ranked as the GOAT. Haglers resume with wins over Hearns, Sibson, Mugabe, etc. would still be better. GGG is a great fighter. He was avoided like plague in his prime. Some commentators like Kellerman really do him a disservice by underrating him because he struggled a bit against some guys past his prime. However, good as GGG was, he is too cautious to be the best ever at 160. In his fights against Canelo , he had a chance to badly hurt Canelo when the latter was against the ropes but he was too cautious to really go for it. Hagler or Monzon wouldn't have been as forgiving. GGG could have even stopped him in the first fight if he took some chances. I think GGG's risk averseness would prevent him from being considered the GOAT even if he beat Canelo (officially)
I agree that Canelo would have to be the favourite at this stage, but what makes you think there would have been a third fight if the judges had scored the first two bouts correctly ?
Canelo is the golden boy. They would have found a way. Plus GGG isn't going to turn down another 10 million dollar paycheck.
canelos teams approach to his career. they knew he still wasnt peaking and would get better. and they knew ggg would only get worse. thats why they are talking about ggg in guadalajara now. they know its a guaranteed spectacular win. and ggg will most likely take the money, which will be around 12 million, cause he aint ever gonna see anything close to that again. in their eyes, and mine as well, canelo went nose to nose with ggg, while still in the development stage. the separation could only go canelos way heading into the future.
IF GGG had been given the two deserved W's, Canelo would have been a bit less golden, and GGG would have commanded decent purses for any fights he might have taken. Not too many fighters who lose to the same fighter twice, get another crack at him.
It's hard to make a case for a guy being "...still in the development stage" at twenty-seven years old with eleven years of pro boxing experience, and more than fifty fights under his belt. And at thirty-five and a half, GGG was nearly a decade past his best.
Odds are that Golovkin will go down as Canelos greatest rivalry. And nobody will forget that the first fight had a large majority of viewers thinking he won.
Yeah this right here. Same excuses for Canelo losing to Floyd. GGG won the first fight, period. You can argue for a draw in the second fight. History will say that GGG was robbed. And that will always be a stain on Canelos record.
its not, if you can see the progression. it doesnt mean he wasnt very good already, but he was still adjusting to the weight and refining his own individual style. he fights differently today, and hes closer to peak. he is a much better general now. perfected technique over time and repetition makes him much faster than he used to be. the only thing i have not noticed an obvious improvement in is his defense. but then he hasnt been put in a position to need it in a very long time. makabu will put him there.
I think the first two were so competitive that there would have been a third, and you would have Canelo fans and Canelo saying they were robbed in the 2nd one.
Every one considers the first fight a Golovkin victory anyways, plus it served as a successful defence of his titles, so I don't think it would be any different. The rematch was more debatable even though I also scored it for Golovkin.
Interesting question. Look at it another way, he beats Canelo who then goes on to beat Fielding, Yildirim, Saunders then everyone discredits the Canelo win to **** on GGG resume. Without the GGG draw and win, no one would be talking about these crazy historical theoretical match ups involving Canelo.
