Canelo v Golovkin: Why you can’t miss boxing’s next super fight

Last month's heavyweight super fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko inspired a whole new crowd of sport fans to pay attention to boxing.

Many of these casual onlookers will now just be Anthony Joshua fans, solely tuning in to watch his fights. But, if you were enthralled by Joshua-Klitschko and now want to see more of the best fighting the best in this sport, then Canelo v Golovkin - for the middleweight title on September 16th - is the fight for you.

Currently, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is the biggest star in boxing. The Mexican middleweight had his first professional fight at the ridiculously young age of 15 and has since risen through the ranks to become a two-weight world champion with a record of 51 wins, one draw (very early in his career) and one loss (to the imperious Floyd Mayweather). He has 34 wins by knockout, but has never even been knocked down.

Canelo has been flipping between weight divisions and often fighting at confusing catchweights recently, so he currently doesn't hold any middleweight title belts. However he became the lineal middleweight champion (the man who beat the man) following his victory over Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto in 2015 and, as the star of the show, his name will come first on all the posters.

This brings us on to the man who is unusually being billed as the 'challenger' in this fight. Kazakhstan's 35-year-old Gennady Golovkin has an unbeaten record of 37-0 with 33 knockouts and currently holds three of the four middleweight title belts. Like Canelo, Golovkin has never been knocked down. However, as Canelo is the bigger name and pay-per-view attraction, as well as being the lineal champion, triple-G has to settle for second billing in this match-up.

Golovkin is one of the most exciting fighters in the world to watch. Prior to his last fight, where he went the distance Daniel Jacobs, GGG held a streak of 23 consecutive knockouts. The incredibly aggressive power-punching Kazakh has the ability to turn his opponents’ lights out as if it was as simple as flicking a switch. He describes his manner of fighting as “Mexican style”. Something his Mexican rival Canelo, an exceedingly entertaining fighter in his own right, will dispute in September.

Boxing fans are renowned for arguing with each other – constantly - and they can’t agree who’s going to win this fight or how it’s going to be won, but one thing every single boxing fan in the world is saying right now is that Canelo-Golovkin is going to be an immensely entertaining fight.

The combination of an elite skill level and two exceptionally entertaining fighting styles has made this bout the most anticipated in all of boxing. The huge prizes on the line in terms of fame, fortune and legacy only add to the spectacle.

Canelo has his claim to the middleweight throne as lineal champion, but Golovkin has the unified WBA, WBC and IBF belts. This fight will tell us, once and for all, who the middleweight champion of the world really is. I for one can’t wait.