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Rick Maese
Reporter covering a variety of topics, including health and safety, the Olympics, legal and political issues in sport
Canelo Alvarez, on the left, hits Gennady Golovkin. (Steve Marcus / Las Vegas Sun via Associated Press)
LAS VEGAS – As midnight approached, Canelo Alvarez left T-Mobile Arena wearing a shimmery gold sports jacket, wearing a bandage over his left eye and suddenly holding all the cards.
His strategy had paid off – not just in Saturday's win over Gennady Golovkin, but in the years before.
If Golovkin had things his way, the two fighters would have been in the ring three years earlier when the Kazakh fighter was closer to his climax. Instead, Alvarez had slow negotiations, facing Golovkin when he was ready, scoring a tie and now a majority decision – the only two imperfections of the Golovkin record (38-1-1). Alvarez (50-1-2) will have the chance to end the trilogy against a 37-year-old Golovkin.
So, no, it's not a surprise that Alvarez, seven months after failing two After a six-month hiatus, he was so eager to declare Saturday one of the best nights of his life.
"I'm happy because I fought well," he told an interpreter. "It was a clear victory."
[Recapping Canelo’s narrow victory over Golovkin]
To his credit, he played perfectly, especially the 12 rounds of Saturday. Criticized and chastised for his approach at the initial meeting last September, Alvarez looked like a different fighter this time around. in truth, he looked more like himself. He kept fighting in the middle of the ring, he led the action in Golovkin and he never hesitated to mix and exchange shots. It was a distinctly different game plan than the one used by Alvarez a year earlier. Golovkin camp had ridiculed the Mexican fighter for having retreated and opted for a strategic, defense-oriented approach.
"We've seen the best way to defeat him is to pull him back," said Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez's long-time coach, about his revised strategy.
While the first fight resulted in a controversial draw and a deserved black eye for the sport, the rematch was all that the first match was not. There was even more action, more ferocious exchanges and a breathless end that did not seem to be blinking, and many observers in the ring felt they could go both ways. "He has met expectations," said Oscar De La Hoya, director of Golden Boy Promotions.
[Round-by-round analysis of Canelo-GGG 2]
With animosity between the two boxers, Alvarez had hoped to become the first fighter to put Golovkin on his back. "Unfortunately, we did not have the knockout," he said. "Thank God we won."
It was as close as possible. Golovkin threw more punches (879 out of 622 at Alvarez) and landed more (234 to 202). to grasp the momentum.
The three judges agreed on eight of the twelve innings, and Alvarez led six rounds to three before the 10th. Both fighters dug deep for the championship rounds, but Golovkin seemed to have the advantage. He won 10th and 11th on the three dashboards, requiring last three minutes to avoid a disaster.
He fought valiantly on the 12th lap, opening with a big right uppercut, and then continued to shoot until the final bell. Although everyone knew that the last leg was close – and many thought Golovkin inflicted a little more damage – Judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld both gave the ball to Alvarez. Glenn Feldman scored 114-114, while the other two gave Alvarez a 115-113 advantage.
As the match was so close and there was not much consensus on the last lap, Golovkin could have been noisier with his disappointment and challenged the result. The fighter was clearly angry in the ring, but he and his camp were measured with their words later.
"Look, the judges were good judges," said Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's coach. "They saw the fight for Canelo tonight. Maybe next time they will see it in our favor.
Golovkin said, "I feel like a champion, but he's also a champion."
The good news is that almost everyone on Saturday night quickly expressed hope that a third fight was now in order. The bad news is that it's boxing and that companies have a way of simplifying the simplest plans. But if all managers can get their numbers in order, both could be back in the ring next year, probably in May or September.
A third fight would probably be very lucrative and would go a long way towards validating Alvarez's position in sport and Golovkin's place in history books – probably both.
Alvarez is now in rarefied air, perhaps the biggest name in a desperate sport for a transcendent superstar. Although he has 52 professional fights under his belt, he is only 28 years old and still shows signs of growth. He is certainly a much stronger fighter than the 23 year old who lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.
This fight continues as the only loss of his fight resumes, and Alvarez is now in a position to dictate the conditions as long as he wants to continue in the sport. He showed his willingness to deal with anyone – and on Saturday he showed his ability to beat everyone.
Golovkin, meanwhile, knows that Saturday was another missed opportunity. After beating everyone in front of him for so long, he would run the risk of not winning in three tries against the Mexican champion. Part of it is, no doubt, a product of his inability to attract the best middleweight sports in the ring when he was still at its peak, an outstanding artist at the time. He once placed 23 opponents in a row on the mat. He has now seen three of his last four fights go to scorecards. He had three decisions in total in his first 36 bouts.
Like Alvarez, Golovkin also suffered a cut and received eight stitches on Saturday night. He attended a post-fight press conference wearing dark sunglasses. His mood was mild, however. Despite several occasions, he refused to criticize the result, through an interpreter. Then, before leaving the podium and out of the arena, Golovkin took the microphone and, in perfect English, offered some assurance to journalists, fans and maybe to himself.
"I'm coming back, guys," he said. "I come again."
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