Putting this rivalry to rest, Canelo Alvarez got a dominant win over Gennady Golovkin to prove who the better man is, though it didn’t come in the fashion of a knockout Alvarez was predicting going into the fight.
The scores from the judges concluded at 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112 all in unanimous decision for Canelo to retain his undisputed super middleweight title. Oddly enough they had the scores pretty close, though not as close as the previous two bouts, it was still interesting it was scored that closely since in most cards Canelo won arguably 85 per cent of the fight.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KO) looked every bit of his age in this one, looking slow compared to the 32-year-old Mexican superstar.
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In the early rounds, Canelo made Golovkin look almost like a robot in there. Looking punch shy and not finding any rhythm, most likely trying to preserve the gas tank for the later rounds.
Going into the 9th round, Golovkin did come alive as he mustered up his best rounds but it wasn’t enough to compare to the prime attacks of his career, add into the fact Canelo was being efficient with his punching output but failed to truly steamroll GGG, as he looked gassed out late in the fight, making fans wonder if Canelo is approaching his physical twilight or if he decides to just cruise to the decision.
This wasn’t the barn burner the previous two fights were, lacking the suspense and the demand the other two fights had. It didn’t have the same aura we saw in 2017 and 2018.
The two superstars however did embrace in the post-fight interviews, showing each other nothing but respect and class.
“Thank you, my friend. Thank you. We gave the fans three good fights and thank you for everything, He’s a really good fighter. He’s strong. He’s a great fighter, and that’s why we’re here. I’m going to keep going forward to keep my legacy growing strong. He’s tough, he’s a tough fighter.” – Canelo said to Golovkin
Canelo did add that he also needed surgery on his hand and wanted to take time off, most likely looking at his usual fight date of Cinco de mayo weekend.
When Golovkin was asked about his thoughts on the fight and Canelo’s performance the Kazakhstan star replied:
“This is a high-level, this is the best fight in boxing. Everybody knows Canelo. It’s high-level, high performance, Very good quality. This fight was more tactical, like chess. Today, Canelo was better.”
GGG did also add that he was returning to middleweight as he has two titles to defend and also alluding that he still has plans to unify the division.
Now that both men have agreed that the “beef” is over and have acknowledged what each other has meant to the career of the other, Canelo has only one target in mind, a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
“Everybody knows I want Bivol, But I need rest. I need to give my body a rest. I need to get strength back in my hand and body and come back stronger than ever. It’s very important for my legacy and for my pride, for my country and family, and I will beat him.” – Canelo said in regards to Bivol
Bivol is set to face undefeated Mexican powerhouse Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on November 5th, in Abu Dhabi for the WBA light heavyweight title.
