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If there’s an undisputed gentleman in the sport of boxing, unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin can certainly add that title to his growing collection of accolades. 

Ever since he made his American television debut in 2012, Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) has made respect for his opponents as important a part of his arsenal as his stinging jab and crushing overhand right. Feelings of anger or hate for opponents have largely been a foreign concept.

“It’s because this is life,” Glolovkin said, during Tuesday’s media conference call. “Boxing is boxing. Regular life is regular life. I know my job. This is my job and that’s it.”

Golovkin, the author of 17 consecutive title defenses and 23 straight knockouts, will face perhaps his most dangerous opponent to date when he returns to meet secondary titlist Danny Jacobs in an HBO PPV main event at New York’s Madison Square Garden. 

Not surprising, however, is the closer we get to the March 18 bout, the more Canelo Alvarez’s name keeps popping up each time Golovkin is interviewed, thanks to Alvarez saying one thing about his intentions to fight GGG only to do another. 

Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) welcomed Golovkin into the ring following his knockout of Amir Khan last May. Uttering the now infamous line of, “We don’t f—- around,” in regards to his Mexican heritage. Alvarez said he doesn’t fear Glolovkin and would be willing to fight him at 160 pounds. 

In the following weeks, of course, Alvarez forfeited the WBC middleweight title he won from Miguel Cotto in order to avoid facing Golovkin, his mandatory opponent. GGG was awarded the title and Alvarez pushed off any plans for a superfight until late 2017. Last September, he claimed a junior middleweight title by knocking out Liam Smith, claiming he was still too small to face a full-fledged middleweight like Golovkin. 

But if you listen closely to Glolovkin’s recent interviews, it’s clear that “Gentleman GGG” is beginning to lose his patience each time Alvarez’s name is broached. Especially after Alvarez switched gears and announced a May 6 return against former middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at a catchweight of 164 pounds. 

While Golovkin reiterated Tuesday that his focus is completely on Jacobs, his level of annoyance regarding Alvarez was hard to miss. The reason for this recent saucy turn?

“I don’t know, I told my promoter Tom Loeffler and he spoke with Golden Boy [about an Alvarez fight] and [their response was] one year later, one year. It’s too much talk, too much trash talk,” Golovkin said. “Right now my focus is on Daniel Jacobs because it’s a real, huge fight. Am I ready to fight [Alvarez]? Of course I’m ready to. But I’ll talk to you later.”

Last week, Golovkin made the rounds during a number of media appearances to promote the Jacobs fight and was much more direct when asked on ESPN’s “First Take” why both Alvarez and retired pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather are reluctant to fight him.

“You know, there’s a big difference between Floyd and Canelo,” Golovkin said. “Floyd is Floyd, he’s the best pound-for-pound. Canelo, he has done nothing.” 

Asked to clarify whether he was indeed taking a shot at Alvarez’s credentials and the sincerity of his words, GGG doubled down. 

“Yes, of course, because I talked with him last year. I want this fight, I need this fight,”  Golovkin said. “It’s too much. I’m tired for this talking too much. [It’s we will fight] last year and then two years. 

“I [don’t] respect [Alvarez] because he’s like selfish.” 

During an appearance later in the day on ESPN Deportes, Golovkin was asked to handicap the Alvarez-Chavez fight. 

“I know both [and] both are great,” he said. “I respect Chavez Jr. more because Canelo, he showed me his face last year. Too much talking. He gave me the WBC belt. Chavez Jr., he never did anything like that. If I want belt, please fight. Canelo gave me my belt.” 

If the words of Alvarez and promoter Oscar De La Hoya are true, Golovkin-Alvarez would take place in September, instantly becoming the marquee boxing event of 2017 and the sport’s best chance to crossover into the mainstream. Both Golovkin and Alvarez will need to be victorious first, of course, along with Alvarez proving his actions are on par with his words. 

In the meantime, adding a bit more sauce to his commentary when speaking about opponents can only help Golovkin, who remains arguably boxing’s most avoided fighter. It has been a longtime coming for the wide-eyed smiling GGG to bring a bit of the intensity he routinely shows inside the ring to his negotiating and marketing principles outside of it.