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.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to