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Saul "Canelo" Alvarez had a lot of frustrations coming out on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Since his last fight – a controversial draw with Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, a long-standing middleweight pivot – a saga of storybooks has become a nightmare.
First, drug testing failed and a reputation was broken. Then there was the intimidation of cowardice, that he was not enough "Mexican" in terms of style or substance, that he was destined to remember more of the fights that he had. he had lost only those he had earned.
For a whole year, there was little that Canelo could do, but take his big pieces. Never a favorite medium, it was even more closed than usual, apparently filled with a rage that desperately needed an outlet. But when the bell rang to start the revenge with Golovkin, it was finally time to fight back.
In the first fight, Canelo gave up the middle of the ring to the dreaded Golovkin, which any Kazakh career fighter did or paid a terrible price for failing. Not so in the second inclination. This time, as promised, Canelo managed to convince GGG to achieve unprecedented success, winning a majority decision after 12 grueling rounds.
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"It's a big opponent," Canelo told HBO's Max Kellerman after the fight, as Golovkin was out of the ring for the locker room. "But every big fighter needs a rival, I was this rival, I showed him tonight."
Almost immediately, as Canelo unleashed devastating quality hooks and nuts that made the crowd cry with pleasure or despair, something truly remarkable happened. GGG, who had won a record 20 middleweight fights, was the victim of Canelo's sustained attack.
The eight-year-old Canelo, 28, did not refuse to take a step back – he began to support Golovkin regularly, wearing both his cheekbone, which was soon bright red, and his psyche.
But Golovkin did not become a living legend by the slightest coincidence. A rally was inevitable, and he never stopped trying to attack one of the most violent blows that had made him a cult figure in HBO boxing shows. From time to time, he sent his right hand into Canelo's face, finally opening a cut above his left eye that never closed.
If these shots disturbed the new champion of the WBA and the WBC, he managed to hide it.
"He was connecting with punches," concedes Canelo. "But they were rare."
Golovkin, to his credit, never stopped winning, winning the 10th and 11th rounds of the three judges' scorecards. Finding himself with the fight and his legacy, Golovkin pressed Canelo into the ropes for the first time in the fight. In the first defeat of his long career, Golovkin (38-1-1) showed the character of the Hall of Fame that his critics were waiting to see.
In the last stanza, the young man came out swinging. In the past, loaded with muscles, Alvarez seemed fear fades at the end of a long fight. This time, he took it to the champion up the bell, winning the innings and fighting with heart and as much as his superior boxing talent.
Golovkin had joined André Ward at retirement Ring The new champion of the magazine, a legendary title that crowns the best sports fighter, regardless of the weight category. With the victory, it is normal that Canelo replaces the conquered hero on the throne.
Many fighters are adorable technicians and have skillful entrances and exits – boxing masters who even force the most keen critic to admit that punches can be a science. Many fighters are tough brawlers, able to impose their will on both their own body and that of their opponents.
Very few are both, so Canelo's growth as a pugilist is impressive. He throws every punch with authority, from the developing jab to the kind of shots that make fans wince at the other end of the arena. When the moment demands it, he can come out of danger with eagerness. But when the time is right, he's also more than ready to play Rock 'Em Sock'. Em Robots with the biggest cups on the planet.
Already sport most popular starAlvarez proved against Golovkin that he is also the best fighter of boxing. His only setback, a 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the age of 23, only improved Alvarez, sharpening his boxing skills and highlighting the importance of ingenuity and craftsmanship. Against Golovkin, he proved that he could also stand in the pocket with a generational power shot, taking and delivering the strokes needed to win.
For the first time since Mayweather's departure, it seems that boxing has a new standard-bearer. The king of middleweights is dead.
Long live the king.
Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.
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