Risk Taking And Success…

On Saturday 16th September, the fight we had all been waiting for finally arrived. Since last Septembers controversial decision which awarded Canelo Alvarez a draw(a fight I had Golovkin clearly winning) we had all been waiting for this moment. We had already been deprived of the rematch just months earlier after Canelo failed a drugs test, testing positive for the asthmatic drug clenbuterol, which only added further hype for the sequel.

So what does this have to do with risk taking? No it doesn’t mean risk taking illegal substances and you will be rewarded for it…
After the first fight, Canelo was flamed by several corners, most noticeably his opposite corner, Gennady Golovkin and Abel Sanchez, for running throughout the fight. The Mexican style they claimed, was to stand and fight, bring entertainment to the fans but Canelo Alvarez, the Mexican fighter did not fight, he ran the whole night, scared and concerned over Triple G’s knockout power. Abel Sanchez, the trainer for Golovkin claimed it wasn’t the Mexican Canelo Alvarez who fought ‘Mexican Style’, but his own fighter, the man from Kazakhstan Gennady Golovkin.

With this ensued a general tit for tat and name calling with the odd challenge thrown in for good measure. They dared Canelo to stand his ground in the return match. They dared Canelo not to run, to fight like a real Mexican. If he did, the end result would be a knockout victory for Golovkin….

Canelo, who had been ostracised for failing the drugs test, would have to pull something pretty special out of the hat if he was to win this one. Cheating in boxing will never be taken lightly – perhaps it was by the boards who gave Canelo a pathetic six month ban, signalling that Canelo really was the new golden boy of boxing and that they couldn’t go without the millions Canelo brings in. The fans were less sympathetic with many calling for at least a 2 year ban, some even calling for a life ban. You cheat in another sport, you might run faster or run longer, but if you cheat in boxing you could potentially kill or seriously damage your opponent.

So when Canelo walked to the centre of the ring last Saturday night, the whole of the boxing world had their eyes fixed on his every move. They wanted to see if his old stamina problems would resurface, they wanted to see if he could handle Golovkins power. They wanted to see if he would wilt as the fight wore on…what they saw was Canelo gambling, taking the risks..

Canelo fought toe to toe with the most dangerous puncher in the division and one of the most dangerous punchers in the world. Not only did Canelo handle Golovkins power, he was standing the middle and returning everything Golovkin threw at him with just as much venom. Golovkin was noticeably surprised, still he kept plundering and still Canelo kept coming forward. The hunter had become the hunted as Canelo stalked Golovkin for the duration of the fight.

At the end of 12 rounds, the scorecards were announced and Canelo had won by the slimmest of margins, stealing a majority decision – the risk had paid off, Canelo was now the new middleweight champion of the world.

RISK TAKING FOR SUCCESS

Canelo’s strategy was risky, but he displayed that risk taking for success is an essential part of growing and moving forward with your life. Canelo was the ‘smaller’ man, coming up from the light middleweight division to challenge the champion, Gennady Golovkin. Yet in two fights he drew the once and then answered all questions to claim victory in the rematch.
Just like life, if you want something you’ve never had, you have to be willing to do something you never have. If you keep doing the same things well then you will keep staying in the same place. The greatest champions aren’t always those who sit on their throne once they have become King, they are the Kings who stand up from their thrones and go to conquer other lands – they are the boxers who aren’t content with becoming champion in their weight class, they move up to another weight class and attempt to dominate men bigger than themselves. They are the heavyweights who accept all comers and beat everyone who wants to take what they have, they don’t run from challenges, they don’t hide from fighting, they step up and take the risk of beating the up and coming fighters, the undefeated boxers, the men people say they won’t have a chance against.
If you want something in life, you have to step and go get it. Life doesn’t come to those sitting down, Canelo’s victory showed us the reward is greater than the risk. At 28yrs old he is well and truly in his peak, he has a resume that holds up to the best and from here he can only go on. Just how far will Canelo’s legacy go? Whether that is as an all time great boxer, all time great middleweight or all time great Mexican fighter. Will Canelo become complacent and rest on his laurels, or will he now attempt to conquer the rest of the fighters in the division having now become a two weight world champion…