It was a tale of two fights as Alvarez used movement and footwork to trouble a slow to start Golovkin who worked almost exclusively from his jab for the first three rounds. Though it looked as Canelo was backing Golovkin up and fighting well off the ropes, things changed drastically after the midway point when Golovkin began to land with more frequency and intensity and Alvarez began to rapidly tire. As the fight moved into the championship rounds, Canelo forced himself at the urge of trainer Eddie Reynoso to win the last three rounds, which was fought at a blistering pace up until the final seconds.
The fight was presumably up in the air when it was going to the judges, and initial concerns of judge Adalaide Byrd getting the assignment were confirmed. Byrd turned in a typically horrendous 118-110 card for Alvarez confirming her continued incompetence, a card that was thankfully overridden by 115-113 for Golovkin and a 114-114 draw . The Boxing Tribune scored the fight 115-114 for Alvarez in a fight that had no clear winner, thus leaving unfinished business between the elite Middleweights.
By all accounts, there doesn’t look like there will be anything to suggest a rematch will bode well for Alvarez. Though he willed himself to close the fight and avoid calamity (though Byrd had him a winner well in advance), the punching power he showed at Junior Middleweight hasn’t carried up in weight and the added size only fatigued and hampered his movement late in the fight. A second fight may be disastrous for Canelo, and in turn Golden Boy Promotions who rely so heavily on him, therefore an immediate rematch may come just as difficult as making the initial bout.
All in all, this bout elevated both men and will go down as one of the featured highlights in a resurgent year for the sport. The tale of Alvarez/Golovkin has yet to conclude, and here’s to hoping we won’t have to wait too long to get there.
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