Gennady Golovkin knows value in beating Canelo Alvarez

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is coming off his toughest fight, a narrow victory over Daniel Jacobs in March at Madison Square Garden. It strengthened Golovkin’s legacy some, but not as much as it could have because Jacobs’ name doesn’t carry worldwide weight.

Universally, Canelo Alvarez’s carries a whole lot, so that’s why Golovkin and his team are looking at Saturday’s highly anticipated defense against Alvarez as a potential career-defining moment.

The two will square off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view).

“I think that Canelo fighting Mayweather a couple years ago, whenever that was, I think stamps him as a bona fide elite fighter, let me just say,” said Golovkin’s trainer, West Covina native Abel Sanchez, in reference to Alvarez’s loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013. “If Golovkin — or when Golovkin — does to him on the 16th what I think he’s going to do to him, it will stamp Golovkin as a superstar because I think he’s going to dominate him and do what Floyd couldn’t do.

“The 16th is a pivotal period, a pivotal day, in Gennady’s career.”

Golovkin is eager to, as the saying goes, get it on because he realizes the significance of this bout. A victory would indeed be considered his biggest.

“Seriously, right now, I want to start and I want to win this fight because maybe for me this win will be like a history fight, like (Sugar Ray) Leonard vs. (Marvin) Hagler,” the Kazakhstan native said.

His opponent makes that possible.

“And Canelo, he’s a very special guy,” Golovkin said. “Right now, for us it’s huge. Especially for me, it’s huge.”

Tom Loeffler, who promotes Golovkin under the K2 Promotions banner, has had a heck of a time getting other elite fighters into the ring with the heavy-handed Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs). He, too, believes this is the type of fight that can help cement Golovkin’s place in prize-fighting.

“Canelo is a proven pay-per-view star,” Loeffler said. “The event is sold out in Vegas. Gennady brings his fan base. This just brings - you know, the sum of both fighters is much bigger than themselves individually, both from an international level and just a competition level.

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“And I think a win Sept. 16 definitely puts that stamp on Gennady’s career. Look, if he beats Daniel Jacobs in March and beats Canelo Alvarez in September, I don’t know too many fighters that have a better year than that.”

It won’t be easy to accomplish because Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) has had a fine career in his own right. Upon his arrival Tuesday to Las Vegas, he spoke in highly confident tones.

“I prepared myself for the knockout,” Alvarez said. “Look, anything can happen in this fight. But that’s what I’ve prepared for - to knock him out.”

Joseph Diaz Jr. in the spotlight

Since Golovkin-Alvarez figures to do well on pay-per-view, fighting on the televised undercard can be terrific exposure for a boxer hoping to make a name for himself. Joseph Diaz Jr. of South El Monte knows it, too.

“When I first got the call, my manager called me and told me that I would be fighting in the co-main event on the Canelo-Golovkin card,” said Diaz, a 2012 U.S. Olympian. “I just looked up to God and praised him. And I thought, ‘This is my time. This is my coming-out party. This is my time to showcase.’”

Diaz, ranked as high as No. 1 by one governing body and No. 2 by another, will take on Rafael Rivera of Tijuana. Diaz was supposed to fight Jorge Lara of Mexico, but Lara pulled out Tuesday for unspecified reasons.

Diaz, 24, is 24-0 with 13 knockouts. Rivera, 23, is 25-0-2 with 16 knockouts.

This and that

• Also on the card, Mexicali’s Diego De La Hoya (19-0, 9 KOs) — a cousin of Oscar De La Hoya — will take on former bantamweight champion Randy Caballero (24-0, 14 KOs) of Indio in the super bantamweight division.

• The undercard also includes Marlen Esparza (2-0) — a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Houston — going against Aracely Palacios (8-7, 1 KO) of Mexico in the flyweight division.