CANELO VS. GGG RECAP, VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS & POST PRESS CONFERENCE
By Victor O. Garcia, Head Boxing Video Reporter- Ringside
Las Vegas, Nevada (September 16, 2017)— The boogeyman of the middleweight division Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) failed to earn a victory over Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs). The two warriors went face-to-face for 12-rounds in front of a sold out crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, that ended in a draw after the judges scored the bout 115-113 for Golovkin, 118-110 for Canelo, and 114-114 draw. . The mega-fight was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and televised LIVE on HBO PPY.
Far before the match was officially announced back in May 2017, many people would speculate what the outcome would be if Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin were to ever face each other. Most fans and boxing media felt Canelo would be out-gunned by Golovkin. The Kazakhstan champion has been a reigning champion for years now. Destroying everyone that was put in front of him. It was a bit different this Saturday night when Golovkin laced up the gloves to face Saul Alvarez at a full 160-pounds match up for Golovkin’s IBF, WBA, and WBO middleweight titles.
The two fighters walked into the ring with pride and purpose. The pride of their country who stood behind them and the purpose to represent their country and become greatness. Canelo Alvarez felt he had more at stake, despite not being the champion. Tonight, Canelo and his countrymen celebrate Mexico’s independence, so losing was not an option for the Mexican Warrior.
At the first bell, the intensity in the arena was electrifying. It was hard to believe that these two warriors were in the ring ready to exchange blows. Canelo began the fight testing the waters as expected. He started using the ring to move around to get Golovkin to come forward. Golovkin started using the jab to get Canelo to open up but, Canelo would respond with his counter attack. Which in my opinion it would be the best game plan to stick with. We all know Golovkin’s capability and it would not be smart for any fighter to go toe-to-toe with him. In the second round the fighters decided not to waste anymore time and the action started exchanging early. Golovkin continued to pressure Canelo with his jabs and countering well with his right hand, but not well wnough to control the fight. Canelo’s head movement was looking sharp. He kept making Golovkin miss and would not let him set up.
Canelo started to push Golovkin towards the center of the ring where he can let his hands go a bit more, but Canelo could not make Golovkin miss every punch and had to pay the price for it. The rounds were getting harder and harder to score. Golovkin was pressuring well but would have a hard time to find his target, and Canelo was intentionally making Golovkin miss but at times Canelo would not let his hands go as much as he should. Rounds 5-6 were one of the best rounds I’ve seen in a long time. Golovkin was on top of Canelo with continuous pressure landing the jab beautifully and it would make you think that this could be it for Canelo, but Canelo would respond with great combinations to the body and the head, backing Golovkin away.
In the late rounds, Canelo was still leaning against the ropes to lure Golovkin in so he can work his counter-punching. It was clear that it was Canelo’s strategy from the beginning, but although Golovkin was eating a lot of countered-power punches, he would not slow down but would struggle with getting his foot planted to unleash his real power. Canelo was playing a smart fight by moving around the ring. He killed Golovkin’s ability to unload his artillery which many fighters have failed to do so. That right there shows how much the young Canelo has grown as a boxer. As the last round approached, the fight still did not have a dominant fighter. Both fighters were displaying great skills but neither one had full control. It would have to come down to the last second to analyze and see who had a clear lead. When the last ten second mark hit both fighters unleashed everything they had for the fans so no one would leave without the satisfaction of witnessing a great match.
After the fight ended and had to go to the scorecards to determine if there was a clear winner, the fans became sick with one particular scorecard. Judge Adalaide Byrd scored the bout 118-110 in favor of Canelo when the other judges scored a more accurate score. Dave Moretti scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Golovkin and judge Don Trella scored it 114-114 a draw. Which to me was the best decision because there was no clear winner.
After the fight, both fighters had a couple things to say.
“I thought I won the fight. I was superior inside the ring. I won at least 7…8 of the rounds. I was able to counterpunch and even make Gennady Golovkin wobble a couple of times. It’s up to the people if we fight again, I feel frustrated over this draw.” Said Canelo
“It’s a big drama show. I want to thank all my fans, I want to thank all my Kazakhstan fans for supporting me, for coming out. Of course I want a rematch, this was a real fight. Look I still have all the belts, I’m still the champion.” Said Golovkin.
Diaz Jr vs Rivera
In the co-main event of the night, undefeated featherweight Jojo Diaz Jr (25-0, 13 KOs) defeated former undefeated fighter Rafael Rivera (25-1-2, 16 KOs) via unanimous-decision. The judges scored the bout 119-109 (2X) and 120-108. With this big victory Diaz has earn a title shot for the WBC featherweight title.
“I feel like I had a good performance overall. I was able to put pressure and dictate the pace of the fight, and be able to enter into a lot of exchanges. Rivera is strong, has good body shots, and had good speed. I think we gave them a good show tonight.” Said Diaz
“I feel that trying to make weight in time for the fight really drained me and I wasn’t able to perform at my tiptop best. Other than that, I believe we did good despite the circumstances.” Said Rivera
Diego De La Hoya vs Randy Caballero
Diego De La Hoya (20-0, 9 KOs) puts on a show after defeating Randy Caballero (24-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round title fight. De La Hoya is now the NABF and NABO super bantamweight champion after putting a great show. Judges scored the bout 98-92(2X) and 100-90
The winners tonight are the fans. When we did this fight, we knew it was going to be a great opportunity to put on a good show. Diego is a good kid, and a great fighter and I wish him the best. Said Caballero
I trained for this fight, knowing it was going to be a really great battle. All my sacrifice, I fueled into this fight. Said De La Hoya
Ryan Martin vs Francisco Rojo
In the first televised Pay-Per-View bout, undefeated fighter Ryan Martin (20-0, 11 KOs) defeated Francisco Rojo (19-3, 12 KOs) via split-decision in a 10-round bout. Martin retains his WBC Continental Americas Title and wins the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Lightweight title.
After the match, Ryan Martin shared a few words,
“I didn’t feel 100% tonight, even though I got the split decision. I know I fought a good fight despite the adversity in the ring. I know the judge that scored in favor of Rojo recognized good boxing in him. I’m glad I have this new belt and it’s on to the next.”
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin argued afterward about who won their middleweight showdown.
No one could argue it wasn’t a great fight.
Golovkin retained his middleweight titles Saturday night, fighting to a 12-round draw with Alvarez in a brutal battle that ended with both fighters holding their hands aloft in victory. It was a fight neither deserved to lose and, when the scores were tallied, neither did.
The middleweight bout years in the making lived up to its hype as the two fighters traded huge punches and went after each other for 12 rounds. Neither was down or seriously hurt, but both landed big punches to the head that had the crowd screaming in excitement.
Alvarez rallied late to win the last three rounds on each scorecard and pull out the draw, though both fighters claimed victory.
“I won 7-8 rounds easily,” Alvarez said. “I was superior inside the ring.”
“Today people give me draw. I focus on boxing,” Golovkin said. “Look my belts, I’m still champion. I’ve not lost.”
Golovkin was the aggressor throughout and landed punches that had put other fighters to the canvas. But he couldn’t knock Alvarez down, and the Mexican boxer more than stood his own in exchanges with Triple G. The two were still brawling as the final seconds ticked down.
Alvarez was leading after the first three rounds, then Golovkin dominated the middle rounds. After a pep talk from his corner, Alvarez came out more aggressive in the 10th round to pull out the draw.
Two scorecards were close, with Golovkin ahead 115-113 on one and a 114-114 draw on the other. But veteran judge Adalaide Byrd inexplicably had Alvarez winning 118-110, giving him all but two rounds. The Associated Press scored it 114-114.
Golovkin, who has never lost in 38 fights, retained his middleweight titles. But Alvarez showed that he could not only take the punches of the fighter from Kazakhstan but land telling punches of his own.
A frenzied crowd of 22,358 at the T-Mobile Arena roared throughout the fight as the two middleweights put on the kind of show that boxing purists had anticipated. They brawled, used sharp jabs and counter punched at times, with neither one willing to give the other much ground.
“Congratulations all my friends from Mexico,” Golovkin said. “I want a true fight. I want a big drama show.”
There was plenty of drama toward the end of the fight as Alvarez rallied in the late rounds and rocked Golovkin with uppercuts and big right hands. But just as soon as he landed, he often took one back from the slugger so feared that most other fighters avoided him.
There was even more drama on the scorecards, as Byrd’s score was off the other two by a wide margin.
“That’s the life of a judge,” said Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “She had a bad night in a big fight.”
It was a battle from the opening bell, as Golovkin tried to walk Alvarez down only to get hit by sharp counter punches.
Both fighters raised their hands in triumph at the final bell and jumped into the arms of corner men. Then they waited as the scorecards were added up to see who would leave the ring with the belts.
“It’s not my fault,” Golovkin said. “I put pressure on every round.”
Golovkin predicted before the fight that the late rounds would resemble a street fight, and in a way they did. Both fighters were willing to trade, and both had no problems landing hard shots to the head.
Ringside punching stats credited Golovkin landing 217 of 703 punches while Alvarez landed 169 of 505.
Golovkin had chased Alvarez for nearly two years, trying to get the signature fight that would pay him millions and make him a pay-per-view draw on his own. Alvarez, the redhead known as Canelo, finally agreed to the match after Golovkin looked vulnerable earlier this year against Daniel Jacobs in a decision win that stopped his knockout streak at 23 fights.
But Alvarez said Golovkin didn’t have anything he wasn’t expecting, and that his power wasn’t what it was made out to be.
Golovkin, who moved to Los Angeles from Kazakhstan to pursue stardom in the ring, said he would welcome a second fight
“Of course I want a rematch,” he said. “I want a fight. A true fight. I have my belts. I want a championship fight.”
Alvarez said he was more than willing to do it again.
“Obviously yes, if the people want it,” Alvarez said. “He didn’t win, it was a draw. I always said I was going to be a step ahead of him.”
After the decision was announced, both fighters hugged and Triple G whispered something in Alvarez’s ear. They then exchanged thumbs-up signs and a handshake, knowing they had done their jobs well.
“We knew this was going to be a war,” said Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez. “There were no surprises.”
The draw was the first mark on Golovkin’s record, which now stands at 37-0-1. Alvarez is now 49-1-2, his only loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Golovkin entered the ring first, one of the concessions he had to make to get the fight with Alvarez despite holding all the middleweight belts. Alvarez, who brings millions of Mexican and Mexican-American fans, also got a bigger share of the fight proceeds and top billing.
The fight drew a sellout crowd to the T-Mobile Arena, where Mayweather and Conor McGregor engaged in their spectacle three weeks ago. But while that was more of a reality show than a fight, this was a battle that had fans on their feet screaming almost from the opening bell.
Alvarez was guaranteed $5 million, while Golovkin had a $3 million guarantee. Both were expected to make much more on a share of the pay-per-view revenue.
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