There would be no controversy on this night as Canelo Alvarez was faster, stronger, and simply outworked his rival as he upended Gennadiy Golovkin with a definitive unanimous decision victory to retain his undisputed super middleweight crown at T-Mobile Arena.
Unlike their previous two outings that were marred with controversy, the third fight saw Canelo (58-2-2) make a statement from the outset by taking the center of the ring and routinely beating Golovkin (42-2-1) to the punch.
Their first two meetings saw Golovkin outwork Canelo with plenty of observers believing that GGG deserved at least one win. That wouldn’t be the case here as Canelo made a diligent effort to beat his rival to the punch.
GGG did find success in the middle rounds and briefly stunned Canelo in the ninth round with a right hand. But it was too little, too late as Canelo banked enough rounds to ensure victory.
It wasn’t quite the barnburner the first two fights were, but it was a great fight that saw one of the best boxers of our generation end a heated rivalry with respect. Both Canelo and Golovkin embraced afterward and stated that the bad blood was over. Golovkin’s future is in question as he could retire but he wouldn’t confirm that following the second loss of his career.
As for Canelo, he injured his left hand in the fight and said he needs some rest. When he returns, he could go after a rematch with Dimitry Bivol or stay at 168 pounds and defend his titles.
But, for now, one of the best boxing feuds in recent memory is over without any controversy or confusion.
Here’s how it all went down.
Canelo vs. GGG 3 live results, updates
Canelo ends the GGG rivalry with a dominant performance
Scores: 116-112, 115-113 & 115-113
Photo By: Sarah Stier
