The Mexican and Kazakh get into the ring together for the third time in the year's fight. We review some of the most epic trilogies.
Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin will resolve their differences in the early hours of Saturday to Sunday (DAZN, evening from 02:00) in a fight that will close a trilogy that, in the end, will have been epic.
The open debate after the first two fights between the two middleweight dominators in the past decade is probably coming to an end, and it does so after the occasional controversial chapter.
In the first confrontation between the Mexican and the Kazakh, which ended in a tie, there was equality in one of the cards and a vast disparity between the one that gave 'Triple G' victory and the one that was favorable to Canelo (118-110 ). The second duel between the two stars came after Alvarez tested positive for clenbuterol, and again the contest was close.
Regardless of which way the balance tipped, their confrontations were of a very high level.
Canelo became more robust, and his career took off to the point of getting the best television contract that any athlete has ever obtained. To broaden his legacy, the one from Guadalajara tried to become undisputed in the super middleweight, titles that will now be at stake and give enormous value to this rematch.
But, throughout history, other trilogies have marked the history of boxing, and we highlight a few.
The first fight between Ali and Frazier and the first time that 'The Greatest' was knocked down / Photo: imago sportfotodienst
Ali and Frazier will forever be two inseparable names in boxing history.
The blame for this great rivalry, which went beyond sports, was 'The Greatest, who humiliated 'Smokin' publicly and generated a hatred that made the Philadelphia boxer almost indestructible in those three fights.
Frazier had lent Ali money and interceded on his behalf with Nixon to get his license back after he refused to enlist in the Army to go to Vietnam. Upon his return, the so-called 'Combat of the Century' took place between the stripped champion and a Frazier who held the title then.
'The greatest lost the match, and he undefeated. In the second contest, Ali returned the unanimous decision.
The third was the Thrilla in Manila.
Two Mexican boxers shook up boxing uniquely at the beginning of the 21st century.
Marco Antonio Barrera, the 'Baby-faced Assassin' and Erik 'El Terrible' Morales, two warriors, became true rivals.
They and their entourage ended up as enemies due to repeated disqualifications. During their fights, the defenses were partly pushed aside in search of pure attacking spectacle. Morales' opening win, by split decision, made Barrera refuse to accept defeat.
'Baby-Faced Assassin' took revenge two years later after a weigh-in gave away an extra 'combat.' In his last duel, Barrera arrived shortly after being knocked out by Pacquiao, but the contest was perhaps the closest of the three (majority decision for Barrera). Nowadays, they even get along.
Again pride, blood, and sweat are on the ring. Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti offered a trilogy of successive fights, although without titles at stake.
The first bout was deemed the fight of the year by The Ring, and Ward earned a majority decision victory thanks to a ninth-round knockdown of Gatti. The immediate rematch was also in 2002. On that occasion, 'Thunder' dropped 'Irish' in the third and won the fight unanimously.
The same result was to draw the curtain between these two icons and again fight of the year -2003- for The Ring, although this time Gatti survived a count stopped by the bell that marked the end of the sixth round.
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