Gennady Golovkin on Saturday retained his three world titles, fighting to a draw with Mexican star Canelo Alvarez in a showdown for middleweight supremacy that lived up the hype.
The 35-year-old Golovkin, making his Las Vegas debut, kept hold of the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation belts in front of a crowd of 22,358 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Judge Dave Moretti scored the tense battle 114-114. Dan Trella saw it 115-113 for Golovkin, but Adalaide Byrd had it one-sided, 118-110, for Alvarez.
Photo: Joe Camporeale / USA TODAY Sports
Byrd’s lopsided score did not reflect the explosive drama of a bout in which Golovkin moved forward aggressively while challenger Alvarez was the counter-puncher with sometimes faster hands.
“This was a real drama show,” Golovkin said. “I want to thank all my fans for supporting me. Of course I want the rematch. This was a real fight.”
Asked if he thought he won, Golovkin said; “Look I still have the belts and I am still the champion.”
The baby-faced champ from Kazakhstan with the steel jaw is considered one of the fittest athletes in boxing, but Alvarez was also well-prepared for the 160-pound fight which both needed to validate their places in history.
“This is one of the best fights we have seen in recent years,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya said.
Asked if he wanted a rematch Alvarez said: “Absolutely. If the fans want to see it again, why not?”
Despite the draw this was Alvarez’s coming out party in the higher weight class as he delivered a performance that established himself as a bona-fide middleweight.
He had won seven straight fights since losing his only fight to Floyd Mayweather in 2013.
“He has a different power than others I have faced,” Alvarez said of Golovkin. “But he is not the monster everybody is talking about. I didn’t feel that.”
Alvarez, who is eight years younger than Golovkin, is entering his prime and will certainly move up on the pound-for-pound list.
“We used the ring. We used the ropes and we fought in the center of ring. We did exactly what we prepared for,” he said.
Golovkin won most of the early rounds, but then got hammered a few times with Alvarez’s uppercuts and right hands and seemed to be the more tired of the two near the end.
Golovkin established himself early with his stinging jab, all the while effectively cutting off the ring. There was no feeling-out process in this one as both fighters came to fight from the opening bell and tried to land big punches early.
Golovkin said he expected Alvarez’s game plan to include a few surprises and the former two-time champion Alvarez did not disappoint.
In the fourth round, Alvarez tried to press the attack, but he paid for it as Golovkin got the better of those exchanges.
There were very few clinches in the fight as both did damage in close. In the eighth round they each landed sharp uppercuts that snapped their opponent’s head back.
The 27-year-old Alvarez’s best round was the 10th, when he stunned Golovkin with a vicious right hand to the head about 30 seconds in. Alvarez tried to finish him off, but Golovkin survived and once he shook off the cobwebs the two continued their brawl on the ropes and in the centre of the ring.
“I wanted to finish him off, but he was a strong an opponent with a lot of experience. It didn’t unfold the way I wanted it too,” Alvarez said of the round.
By the time they reached the final 12th round, both boxers looked exhausted. Alvarez charged out of his corner looking for the knockout and Golovkin finished the round with a wild flurry of lefts and rights.
Alvarez moved to 49-1-2 with 34 knockouts and Golovkin remained undefeated at 37-0-1 with 33 knockouts after a fight that was two years in the making.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their