The big question: Who, if anyone, can beat Gennady "GGG" Golovkin?
After the shellacking of fellow knockout artist David Lemieux, Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin just cemented his reputation as an unbeatable fighter.
Is he really unbeatable? Will he end up retiring at 49-0 like Floyd Mayweather, Jr.?
No less than champion Bernard Hopkins named two boxers who could beat GGG. One of them is Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, as he stated to Box Nation.
"[Canelo's] style is totally different from Lemieux," Hopkins said after witnessing the GGG-Lemieux fight. "His punches are crisper and sharper. He's been at the big stage with Floyd Mayweather and I think he learned greatly from that. I think that he'll see this fight and understand that he has to have discipline through a whole 12 rounds of fighting."
Hopkins shied away from an outright prediction: "I see him being a better boxer who can take Triple G into deep waters and frustrate him."
Perhaps GGG's camp knows this, and it could be the reason why Golovkin is willing to take on Mayweather in a 154lb catch weight but refuses to do the same with Canelo, as he reiterated to ESPN Deportes(h/t Boxing News 24).
"There is no chance that I will go to 155-pounds for a 'Canelo' fight. The division limit is 160 pounds, this is my weight class," Golovkin said. "I am a fighter; I am here not for business. I fight at middleweight or super middleweight. So, no chance I go to 156 or 158, that's just business. I think I would go to 154 just for a fight with Floyd Mayweather. He is number one in the world."
The other boxer that Hopkins mentioned was Andre Ward who will also be in the Cotto-Canelo undercard. "He's not a big, tall guy, but Andre has enough power to make you respect him. Andre is an all-round fighter with an Olympic pedigree."
There's no turning back for GGG, as this is the caliber of boxers that he must now face. Aside from Hopkins suggestions, another name is proposed is Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Boxing News 24 explained:
"Arguably, pound for pound Chavez Jr. has the best chin in boxing, and though he is very hittable and yields ring generalship to elite or very skilled fighters, his durability and size, as well as his punching power would give him a chance against Golovkin."
Still, the suggested names denote that the fighters can, theoretically, beat GGG given their skills. But for them to actually do it, that is something the boxing world would want to see.