Canelo needs a statement win after Golovkin draw controversy, says Paulie Malignaggi

Canelo Alvarez has a lot to prove in his highly-anticipated rematch with Gennady Golovkin, according to Paulie Malignaggi.

In a meeting that was years in the making, the duo finally met in their middleweight title clash back in September 2017 as they served up a boxing classic that went the distance.

However, the judges controversially scored the fight as a split-decision draw with the result drawing criticism from the boxing world as many felt Golovkin had done enough to come away with the win.

After months of negotiations that followed, the rematch is now set for 5 May with both fighters promising a knockout this time around.

Malignaggi believes Canelo needs to make a statement in the sequel as he felt "GGG" had convincingly won their first meeting.

"I felt Golovkin won. I felt Golovkin won the fight pretty convincingly," Malignaggi told BoxingScene.com. "Having said that, it was a good fight, it generated a lot of opinions on it, it generated a lot of hype, so sure, you have to do it again based on the result.

"Golovkin is at an age where every six months he's getting a little older, and Canelo is at an age where every six months he might be getting a little better. It will be interesting to see. They've both shown that they can be dangerous to one another.

"I think Golovkin showed more consistency in that fight and he should go in as the favorite in this fight. If Canelo can get a statement win, you have to give him credit for that. I think right now Canelo has a lot to prove, because Golovkin won that fight and it was taken from him."

Many coaches and fighters have given their opinions on how the rematch will go now that the pair know what it's like to go 12 rounds with each other. However, Malignaggi remained on the fence when asked for his prediction.

"Anything is possible," Malignaggi said. "Both guys are big punchers and both are highly skilled, so anything is possible."