Roberto Duran: Golovkin is Not The Same as Before – He Should Retire

Roberto Durán’s career spanned 31 years as a professional in 119 fights in eight different weight divisions. He fought into his 50s, retiring in 2001 with a record of 103 wins (70 KOs) and 16 losses.

The four-division champion and Hall of Fame fighter is boxing royalty, and he was one of the many stars who sat ringside to watch the trilogy between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin for the undisputed super middleweight title.

Alvarez was dominant in a unanimous decision win, easily managing his arch-rival for most of the first seven rounds.

Triple G made the fight close towards the end, but it was too late for the 40-year-old, who went 0-2-1 against Alvarez.

Alvarez outscored Golovkin 130 to 120. The outing included an 85 to 46 advantage in power punches, according to CompuBox. Golovkin had a 74-45 lead on his jab.

When Duran was asked to assess Golovkin’s performance, the 71-year-old legend’s review was not very positive.

“I thought Canelo was going to apply more pressure to knock him out,” Duran told Fight Hub TV. “[Golovkin] didn’t apply much pressure. Retire now. She lost against Canelo. Golovin is not the same as before. I saw it loose. I saw it washed. His mind didn’t help him. He didn’t think well. In boxing, you have to think a lot.”

Golovkin certainly didn’t seem like the middleweight monster of old. He was fighting for the first time at 168 pounds in his 16-year career.

Immediately after the fight, Golovkin alluded that he still has some fight left.

Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) still holds the WBA, IBF and IBO titles at 160 pounds.

Also, it is no longer tied to DAZN, which increases the chance of landing another big opponent and a payday on any given network.

Golovkin likely won’t fight until he’s in his fifties like Duran, but it seems the boxing public hasn’t seen him last in the ring.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and television reporter. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, by email at manouk[dot]collect[at]gmail.com or at www.ManoukAkopyan.com.