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We take a look at the ups and downs of the trilogy between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.
Let’s take a critical look at the past week in boxing, which featured the final chapter in the rivalry between [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag] at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Rounds 25 through 36 of Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin looked nothing like one through 24.
Rounds 25 through 36 looked nothing like one to 24.
[autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag], who received all his could handle in two previous fights with [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag], made Triple-G look all of his 40 years for most of the fight en route to winning a unanimous decision at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The bizarre scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113, which didn’t reflect what happened in the ring. Boxing Junkie scored it 119-111 for Alvarez, 11 rounds to one.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) was a significant underdog for a reason, and not just because he’s eight years older than his prime rival. The Kazakhstani fighter also moved up from 160 pounds to 168 to face a pound-for-pound great.
Thus, the result was predictable.
Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) was in complete control for the first two thirds of the fight, as he pushed the action and threw power shots to the head and body with bad intentions.
Golovkin did almost nothing in response, throwing only jabs here and there and an occasional power shot. He was more concerned with surviving that winning those rounds, which made for a uncompetitive fight through eight rounds.
Then, in Round 9, Golovkin came to life to some degree. He began to plant his feet and actually fight back until the bell, more or less matching Alvarez punch for punch down the stretch.
Alas, it wasn’t enough for Golovkin, who lost eight rounds on one card and seven on the other two in what might be his last super fight.
Alvarez is now 2-0-1 against Triple-G, after a disputed draw in 2017 and a majority decision victory the following year. He had called his rivalry with Golovkin “finished business” after the second fight.
Now their series actually appears to be over, which gives Alvarez an opportunity move on to opponents closer to his age.
He confirmed after the fight that No. 1 on his list is Dmitry Bivol, who stunned Alvarez and the boxing world by outpointing him in May. It was his first setback since 2013, when he lost to Floyd Mayweather.
The loss to Bivol knocked the Mexican star off the top of most pound-for-pound lists. He wants revenge.
And now that Triple-G is finally behind him, he can pursue the rematch with his conqueror.
Like boxing? Be sure to visit Boxing Junkie for all your coverage of the sweet science and follow @BoxingJunkie2 on Twitter.
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Check out these photos highlighting the trilogy fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos highlighting the trilogy fight between [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag] at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alvarez won by unanimous decision. (Photos by Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports)
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin trilogy bout took place Saturday in Las Vegas – and the combat sports had much to say.
While the combat sports community was focused on UFC Fight Night 210 among other martial arts events, the weekend belonged largely to the highly anticipated trilogy match between [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and “GGG” [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag], which took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Alvarez defeated Golovkin via unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) after 12 rounds of boxing – and you can check out the card’s full results here via Boxing Junkie.
Of course, as is the case with every major fight in history, the combat sports community had a lot to say about it. Scroll below to see the reactions to the highly-anticipated third meeting between two of the greatest boxers of this generation.
Follow along with Boxing Junkie for round-by-round coverage of the trilogy between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag] will meet for a third time on pay-per-view Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and you can follow along with Boxing Junkie for round-by-round coverage live results here.
Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) will be defending his undisputed super middleweight championship against Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs), with whom he is 1-0-1 in two previous fights.
The card begins at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). The main event will take place later in the show.
A victory wouldn’t have much of an impact on Canelo’s legacy – but a loss could damage it significantly.
[autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] is in a no-win situation if you put a guaranteed windfall aside.
If the Mexican star defeats Gennadiy Golovkin in their third fight Saturday, critics will say he took down a 40-year-old who is past his prime and moving up in weight for the fight. If he loses, it will come against that old man and be his second consecutive setback after a one-sided loss to Dmitry Bivol in May.
In other words, a victory wouldn’t have much of an impact on Alvarez’s legacy given Golovkin’s current limitations; a loss could damage it significantly.
What’s the upside for Alvarez?
Of course, he probably doesn’t have much to worry about. He’s a significant favorite to win the third fight against his rival – about 4½-1 – after a controversial draw in 2017and a majority decision victory the following year.
If he has his hand raised on Saturday, he will have bounced back from the loss to Bivol and can finally put his bumpy history with Golovkin behind him. He could then focus on starting new rivalries, which is what he’d like.
However, potential disaster lurks ominously around the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas, the site of T-Mobile Arena.
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Golovkin isn’t what he used to be but he can’t be written off entirely, as some seem to be doing. He has only lost once in his 16-year professional career, after all. And he remains an elite fighter if you put stock in his middleweight titles and four victories following the second fight with Alvarez.
If Triple-G can pull off the upset, he would leave the 32-year-old Alvarez in a horrible – and unfamiliar – position.
Only four months ago he was No. 1 on most pound-for-pound lists, No. 2 on Boxing Junkie’s. And he hadn’t experienced defeat since a far superior Floyd Mayweather gave him a thorough boxing lesson in 2013, when Alvarez was a tender 23.
He had seemed to be all but unbeatable after that, reeling off a series of impressive victories over elite opponents to build a Hall of Fame career and climb to the pinnacle of the sport. And he was hot as ever as recently as last year, when he knocked out Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant to become undisputed 168-pound champion.
Then came a dose of reality that demonstrated Alvarez was human after all.
No one was surprised that he made the decision to challenge the talented Bivol, a light heavyweight titleholder. Alvarez had already beaten an elite 175-pounder, Sergey Kovalev. And, obviously, a fighter in his prime who had floated the idea of fighting Oleksandr Usyk had begun to think he was invincible.
Bivol proved otherwise, outboxing Alvarez to win a unanimous decision that was more one-sided than the official scores (115-113 on all three cards) indicated.
To be sure, Alvarez was humbled. And there was fallout. He tumbled down all credible pound-for-pound lists and lost at least a degree of respect from those who had come to revere him as the best of his generation.
So what if he loses again on Saturday?
We might have to look at him differently. This wouldn’t be an older fighter losing fights to all-time greats, like Manny Pacquiao against Juan Manuel Marquez and Mayweather. Alvarez is supposed to be near the peak of his abilities. And he will have lost to a good, but unheralded 175-pounder and his faded rival.
Imagine Alvarez off the pound-for-pound lists entirely. That’s what we could be looking at if Triple-G pulls off a miracle.
Again, that probably won’t happen. Alvarez has every advantage going into the fight, which could result in the beatdown of Golvokin many expect to see.
You never know, though. Crazy things happen in boxing all the time.
Like boxing? Be sure to visit Boxing Junkie for all your coverage of the sweet science and follow @BoxingJunkie2 on Twitter.
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Canelo and GGG came face-to-face one final time ahead of their highly-anticipated trilogy bout.
The highly anticipated trilogy bout between [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and “GGG” [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag] is one day away. Friday, the competitors squared off in Las Vegas. Check out the best photos from the weigh-ins and faceoff below (via AP Images, Getty Images).
Here’s a primer for the third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin, which finally goes down Saturday in Las Vegas.
The third fight between [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gennadiy Golovkin[/autotag] is just days away.
The future Hall of Famers fought to a disputed draw at middleweight in 2017, and Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) won a majority decision at the same weight the following year. They’ll finally meet a third time on pay-per-view this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, this time at super middleweight.
The biggest difference between the first two meetings – aside from the weight – is the perception that the 40-year-old Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) is in decline, which leads many to believe this could be a one-sided fight in Alvarez’s favor.
At the same time, the star power of both men will undoubtedly fill the arena and attract millions of viewers worldwide.
Below are five questions – and answers – going into the trilogy.
Canelo and GGG will complete their memorable fight trilogy in September.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Gennady Golovkin[/autotag] will complete their memorable fight trilogy in September.
Alvarez and Golovkin will resume their rivalry Sept. 17 after a four-year break, promoters Matchroom Boxing announced Tuesday. Alvarez already said he intended to take the fight while speaking at his invitational golf tournament in Naucalpan, Mexico, on Monday.
The fighters met in 2017 and again in 2018 for two highly entertaining middleweight matchups. They fought to a split draw in the first bout, and Alvarez won a narrow majority decision in the second meeting.
The third fight will be a 168-pound super middleweight contest between the 40-year-old Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) and Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs), who will turn 32 this summer. Alvarez is the undisputed world champion at 168 pounds, holding all four major titles.
“I feel very happy and proud to be able to give the best fights, and this fight won’t be an exception,” Alvarez said in a statement.
Alvarez announced earlier this year that he intended to fight Golovkin in the fall after taking on light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in May. That plan was put into question after Bivol upset Alvarez by unanimous decision on May 7.
Bivol hoped to book a rematch with the biggest star in boxing after his breakthrough upset, but Alvarez ultimately decided to proceed with the most lucrative potential bout and the resumption of a remarkable rivalry.
The location for the third fight wasn’t announced, but its scheduling on Mexican Independence Day weekend makes it likely to be held in Las Vegas. The fighters’ first two meetings were on the same holiday weekend at T-Mobile Arena on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, and both were sellouts.
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The third bout is likely the richest fight currently possible in boxing, given both fighters’ large fan bases and the entertaining nature of their rivalry to date. Golovkin and his fans believe the former middleweight kingpin won both of the first two fights, while Alvarez is in need of redemption after his shocking loss to Bivol.
In the fighters’ first bout, most ringside observers thought Golovkin had done more than enough to beat Alvarez, who had previously lost only to Floyd Mayweather in his career. But while one judge favored Golovkin and another scored it a draw, judge Adalaide Byrd inexplicably called it 118–110 in favor of Alvarez, who was consistently outlanded by Golovkin throughout the bout.
Alvarez tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug clenbuterol between the first two fights, and his suspension meant the rematch was postponed from May to September. While many ringside observers again thought Golovkin had won, two judges favored the improved Alvarez 115-113, and the third scored it a draw.
Both fighters initially expressed interest in a third meeting for 2019, but the sides drifted apart while Golovkin dealt with management squabbles and Alvarez moved on to less daunting challenges. Alvarez spent 2021 collecting all four major titles at super middleweight.
Golovkin has fought only four times in four years since his loss to Alvarez, also breaking up with longtime trainer Abel Sanchez during that stretch. After he reclaimed two of his middleweight belts before the pandemic, Golovkin ended a 16-month ring absence in April by stopping Ryota Murata in Japan.
Matchroom signed Alvarez with strong plans for a third fight with Golovkin in September — and the Mexican superstar is in need of a bounce-back fight after he struggled mightily in his second career bout at light heavyweight. Bivol won 115-113 on all three scorecards in a fight that probably wasn’t that close.
“The Canelo vs. GGG trilogy is the biggest fight in boxing, and I am delighted to get this made for September 17,” Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn said. “These are two men that bitterly dislike each other and want to end this incredible series with a blistering KO. I truly believe this will be the most thrilling fight between these two great champions and it will be fireworks from the first bell to the last man standing.”
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Kamaru Usman may not have Canelo Alvarez on board just yet, but at least he got him to respond.
[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] may not have [autotag]Canelo Alvarez[/autotag] on board just yet, but at least he got him to respond.
UFC welterweight champion Usman has been eager to lace up the boxing gloves against fellow pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter Alvarez, but can’t seem to get enough steam behind his idea.
For one, he’ll have to get the approval of UFC president Dana White, who has been heavily dismissive of the idea. Alvarez appeared more willing, but insists he’s focused on his legacy first.
The reigning IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring super-middleweight champion will challenge Dmitry Bivol for his light heavyweight title on May 7 on DAZN pay-per-view. Usman is expected to rematch Leon Edwards next in July, quite possibly at the UFC’s newly announced return to London.
Check out Alvarez and Usman’s back-and-forth, which was sparked by Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
