Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez scored the signature win of his career in Saturday night’s long-awaited rematch with Gennady Golovkin, capturing the WBC and WBA middleweight titles by a majority decision in a classic encounter that all but guarantees a third installment.
Two of the most accomplished fighters of their generation treated a sellout crowd of 21,965 at the T-Mobile Arena to a contest of extreme physical and psychological intensity that managed even to surpass their first meeting last year, which ended in a controversial split draw. Ringside judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld scored it 115-113 to Álvarez, while Glenn Feldman had it 114-114. (The Guardian had it 116-112 to Golovkin.)
“I showed my victory with facts,” Álvarez said afterward through an interpreter. “He was the one who was backing up. I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight. It was a clear victory.”
Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham)
Here’s the official scorecard for #CaneloGGG2. pic.twitter.com/02ahDHPtSr
The razor-thin decision marked Golovkin’s first defeat in 40 professional fights and ended his tenure as the sport’s longest reigning active champion. Afterward the 36-year-old walked solemnly to the dressing room without remaining in the ring for the customary in-ring interview.
Their first fight had seen Golovkin spend the night diligently cutting off the ring while Álvarez fought off the ropes. But from Saturday night’s opening bell the action took on a radically different geometry, playing out almost exclusively in the center of the ring with neither fighter’s back touching the ropes until the middle rounds. Golovkin didn’t wait long to establish the jab as his weapon of choice, doubling and tripling it up early while restraining from heavy combinations that have been his calling card.
A highly tactical opening, with neither man backing down and little to separate them, began to heat up in the second and third as the fighters began to trade harder shots and test each other’s chins. Golovkin continued to score at will with the jab, but Álvarez’s varied attack appeared to move the Kazakh backward and keep him off balance while the Mexican’s educated combination punching laid bare the difference in hand speed.
Álvarez’s dedicated body work, which came to yield dividends in the later rounds, was effective in stemming Golovkin’s offensive, yet the longtime middleweight champion absorbed his opponent’s best shots with little apparent effect. Both men were countering exceptionally well: this was expert-level stuff from two top operators.
A thudding uppercut by Golovkin rocked Álvarez early in the fourth, prompting a roar from the crowd. He followed it with three straight jabs, then made him pay with a compact left followed by a right square in the stomach. Yet right when it seemed he was taking over, Golovkin’s work rate began to slow and Álvarez was right there for it.
By the sixth and seventh Canelo was controlling the pace and geography even if Golovkin’s jab continues to score, finding ways inside with hooks to the body and combinations upstairs. They traded hellfire in the next round, showing incredible punch resistance. But it was Golovkin who betrayed signs of fatigue near the end of the frame, breathing with his mouth open and stepping away from the exchanges with atypical frequency. Álvarez moving backwards lands a left hook flush on Golovkin’s jaw, followed by three more shots. When the bell rang at the end of the eighth, Canelo appeared in command.
A cut opened above Álvarez’s eye and he appeared to tire early in the ninth, but Golovkin fought through his fatigue. Back and forth it went into the 10th, when Golovkin moves Canelo backward with a four-punch combination then briefly stunned his opponent with a right hand. Golovkin was landing the cleaner punches and by the 11th was on the clear attack, but Álvarez held his ground and never backed down.
Both men entered the final round with the belief the outcome was in doubt – indeed, Canelo led by a slight 105-104 margin on all three cards – but it was Golovkin who showed the stronger finishing kick, striking with a left hook and an uppercut to open the frame and pouring on the punishment as the crowd is chanting “Tri-ple G! Tri-ple G!” When the bell sounded the fighters embraced, then returned to their corners to await the official scores.
“I’m not going to say who won tonight, because the victory belongs to Canelo according to the judges,” Golovkin said after receiving eight stitches for a 5cm cut along his right eye. “I thought it was a very good fight for the fans, and very exciting. I thought I fought better than he did.”
When asked if he would consider a third fight, Golovkin was to the point.
“Under the right conditions, yes,” he said.
This is a developing story. More to follow.