Canelo Alvarez has proved why he’s one of the best fighters on the planet with a dominant display against challenger and longtime rival Gennadiy Golovkin.
In the trilogy fight, four years in the making it was one-way traffic through the opening eight rounds as Alvarez put the 40-year-old on the back foot.
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The Mexican superstar had fans inside T-Mobile Arena up on their feet in the early going before Golovkin finally came to life in the ninth round.
The challenger started loosening his hands in the final rounds, but it was far too little too late as Alvarez captured the unanimous decision victory.
Alvarez outlanded Golovkin in power punches 85-46 and landed 130-120 total punches in what was a dominant display.
But in typical boxing fashion the judges saw something completely different to what every fan saw with two judges only giving Alvarez the edge by two rounds (116-112, 115-113).
“I will never understand what the judges are watching. The first two fights were close, this one was not … 115-113 is only one round different,” Shawn Porter fumed in commentary.
Fans watching on couldn’t believe the absurd nature of the judges’ scorecards with many having Alvarez winning the fight comprehensively.
Chris Mannix for DAZN had Alvarez as the comfortable winner of the bout and was blown away by the judges scorecards.
“Astonished by those cards. Informal poll of press row had it 10-2, 11-1. Just wild,” he wrote.
ROUND BY ROUND
Round 1: A feeling out process to get the highly anticipated fight underway with both men ducking and weaving without anything major being thrown. Alvarez a tough more active which gives it to him. 10-9 Alvarez
Round 2: Alvarez loosening up a bit more and landing some bigger shots in the second round as Golovkin does his best to duck out of the way. The challenger continues to work behind his jab. 10-18 Alvarez
Round 3: The champ ramped up the aggression in the third as he once again landed the heavier blows. Golovkin’s tentative nature in this bout is digging him into an early hole. 30-27 Alvarez
Round 4: Alvarez’s speed and precision is causing problems for Golovkin as he eats plenty of shots resulting in a mark appearing above his right eye. Alvarez 40-36
Round 5: Golovkin getting abused through the opening five rounds and failing to put any hurt on Alvarez who laneded the most punishing shot of the fight with a big overhand right that rattled the challenger. Alvarez 50-45
Round 6: Much of the same through the sixth round for Alvarez although a bit more activity from Golovkin, still unable to land anything of prominence. Alvarez 60-54.
Round 7: Golovkin showing every bit of his age in this fight as Alvarez proves an impossible opponent to land a punch on as the champ continues his dominantion. Alvarez 70-63.
Round 8: Alvarez just continuing to assert his dominance. Golovkin attempting to push the pace, but he simply cannot land anything punishing on the champ. Alvarez allowing him to get inside but his countering is working. Alvarez 80-72.
Round 9: Golovkin finally let his hands go and came to life in the ninth round as his action brought the Vegas crowd to life. Alvarez wore the blows and responded emphatically with a big right hand. Alvarez 89-82
Round 10: A slower round after the action in the ninth, Alvarez takes it with the only prominent shot of the round a hard left hook to the midsection of Golovkin that hurt the challenger. Alvarez 99-91
Round 11: Golovkin has cut the champ with a little gash above his right eye as the challenger begins to loosen his hands in the late rounds. He’ll need to go large in the final round if he wants his hand raised. Alvarez 108-101
Round 12: Another prominent round from Golovkin, but it was too little too late as Alvarez secures the win on our scorecards after his dominant opening eight rounds. Alvarez 117-111.
Both fighters will walk out to the ring already knowing they will receive an insane payday.
According to boxingscene.com, Alvarez will pocket more than $66 million, while Golovkin will walk away with $30 million
The pay discrepancy is no surprise, but it is just one more source of motivation for Golovkin, who has been on the wrong end of two controversial judges decisions in their previous two fights.
A win for Golovkin will solidify his historic career while Alvarez will look to capture a win and put beyond doubt he belongs among the greatest of all time.
As Golovkin made his way to the ring, a promo video played over head which contained the line “champions don’t cheat”, a blatant shot at Alvarez.
Four years after their rematch, which ended in a controversial majority decision win for the Mexican, the two multi-weight warriors will come to blows again.
In 2017, the pair met in the ring for the first time, and that also controversially ended in a draw, despite many commentators scoring the fight for Golovkin.
The Kazakhstan fighter finally has his chance to avenge those decisions, but he is doing so with the disadvantage of stepping into the ring at the age of 40.
Golovkin surprised the boxing world on Saturday when he weighed in heavier than Alvarez in what will be his first championship-level fight above 160-pounds.
Canelo weighed in at 76kg, with GGG just 200 grams heavier.
Alvarez is coming off a shock defeat at light-heavyweight and has returned to middleweight for Golovkin re-match where he is putting his super-middleweight WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring middleweight titles on the line.
Alvarez has been warned that his legacy is in danger if Gennady Golovkin wins the third fight of their epic trilogy in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Promoter Eddie Hearn reckons Alvarez can’t afford a second defeat on the spin.
The Matchroom promoter said: “If Canelo loses I think he’s in a terrible position coming off back to back defeats. He was pound for pound number one, all of a sudden, you probably put him outside of the top 10 if Golovkin wins.
“It will be such an epic fight and victory that everyone will want to see it again. (Golovkin) has already shared 24 rounds with Canelo. He knows how to fight him. It’s not like he’s got to go in and find out the best way to beat him on the night.”
MAIN CARD RESULTS
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin – undisputed super middleweight titles
Jesse Rodriguez def Israel Gonzalez via UD (118-109. 117-110, 114-113) – WBC super flyweight title
Ali Akhmedov def Gabriel Rosado via UD (100-90 x 3) – IBF North American super middleweight title
Austin Williams def Kieron Conway via UD (96-93, 97-92 x 2) – WBA international middleweight title
— with AFP
