Canelo Alvarez Claims Trilogy Win Over Gennady Golovkin!
Boxing superstar and undisputed super middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KO’s) had the world on his shoulders heading into his trilogy fight with IBF and WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KO’s). This was due to Alvarez coming off his first loss in nine years, thanks to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
To rebound from that unsightly loss, the redhead challenged his longtime rival. At the same time however, this duel was very likely the last major hurrah for GGG. In fact, once a monster within the middleweight division, Golovkin has done remarkably little since his second fight with Canelo. It’s the belief of most that he was merely playing it safe until he got another crack at the Mexican redhead.
Now that it’s here, at the age of 40, this was a match that Golovkin could not afford to lose. Therefore, with Alvarez’s top dog position in the sport on the line, and this potentially being GGG’s last battle in the sun, neither could afford to lose. These stakes are what injected all kinds of motivation and tension into the battle.
NOT MUCH TO SEE HERE
The trilogy opened in rather subdued fashion. Each fighter began cautiously enough behind their jabs. Yet Canelo’s misses were far more glaring as he was frequently attempting ill-placed leaping hooks. GGG was more successful being economical with his jabs and straight rights. In the second round however, the redhead began landing those menacing left hooks. As a result, the middleweight champion’s right eye began reddening and swelling. Canelo’s dominance increased in the third.
Little would change over the course of the next few rounds. About the halfway point in the match, GGG began having more offensive success. He had his hands finally fully unthawed and he attacked with more purpose. Nevertheless, Golovkin was never able to really take true command of the duel. Unfortunately for the fans at home, and in attendance, the match never supplied all that much thrill or overt excitement.
THE FINAL VERDICT
As a result the two fought a steady, but overall uneventful twelve rounds. When the cards were read, Canelo was ruled the winner by way of unanimous decision with the tallies of 116-112 and 115-113 (twice). During his post-fight interview, Canelo finally gave his bitter rival his credit as a superior fighter and stated he was honored to share the ring with him. The redhead also revealed that this left hand was injured and would require surgery.
When asked about who he wanted to target for his next match, Canelo was very insistent that he needed rest before he put any real thought into his next obstacle. Also, when asked, GGG was adamant that he was still a champion at 160 and had every intention of returning soon. It will be interesting to see what the next move for both fighters turns out to be.
By: Bakari Simpson
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