Canelo And Golovkin Brawl To A Draw

By Marc Livitz in Las Vegas, Nevada:This one will be discussed for quite a while, not because of the lack of excitement but rather the deplorable scoring on one judge’s scorecard. At a sold out(22,358) T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin each left the ring with their respective middleweight titles in hand.

Despite the scoring, the bout itself was entertaining, exciting and fun. After much buildup and anticipation, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin battled for a full twelve rounds and did so to a draw. Canelo held on to his lineal as well as Ring Magazine titles, while Golovkin maintains possession of his WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO championships. The frenzied crowd was quiet for a few seconds after the opening bell, after which chants of "Canelo" were quickly followed by that of "Triple G" to a near deafening level. Golovkin tried to find his range with his left jab as Canelo patiently danced back before landing a nice left hook to the hip. He broke through with a left jab a few seconds later.

This wasn’t exactly a "getting to know you" three minutes. The two gentlemen clearly meant business tonight. Canelo countered Gennady’s jab with a nice overhand right early in the second. He swung but missed with a right hook seconds later. Golovkin had yet to throw a power punch and Alvarez’s jab was finding a home until Gennady at last connected with his right hand. "GGG" came out firing in the third but Canelo quickly slowed the assault.

They continued to trade jabs. Canelo connected with a left to the body and a right to the chin a few moments later. Gennady returned the favor with a left hook to the head. They wisely tied up with thirty seconds left in the round.. Golovkin landed another left hook just before the bell. More punches were exchanged in the first minute of round four. One seemed to wait for the other to finish. Gennady showed some nice defensive moves as he slipped past an Alvarez right hook.

Canelo willingly put himself against the ropes in the final minute and shook his head at Golovkin’s efforts. The sold out crowd at T-Mobile seemed pleased at what they were witnessing. Canelo once again brought the action to the ropes in the opening moments of the fifth. He didn’t stay there for long this time. Golovkin caught Canelo flush with a hard right and once again, Canelo said, "no". He fought back and punched his way to the ring’s center. The packed house roared with delight. Alvarez landed his best shot of the night after fighting off an early Golovkin sixth round push. His right connected with ease. Gennady answered in the last minute.

He landed more hard rights, yet Canelo answered the call once again with a nice combination to the head. "GGG" continued to stalk his Guadalajara foe in the seventh. He caught Canelo with a few more of his trademark right hands. Alvarez moved backwards not because he was tired or hurt, but to invite Golovkin into a well placed counter shot. Jabbing was a thing of the past by now. There were jabs, but not to keep the distance. Round nine was much of he same and at first glance, it appeared to belong to Golovkin. Canelo landed a fine right uppercut and Gennady returned the favor, only with his left glove.

A hard right from "GGG" popped Canelo’s head back, yet he kept firing back. He caught Gennady with an overhand right moments later. This was a good one indeed. Many had Canelo finished by round ten, yet here he stood. A left hook momentarily staggered his Kazakh opponent, much to the delight of the house. Golovkin stalked while Canelo walked, perhaps conserving his energy. Each man looked a bit fatigued.

A delightful firefight ensued in the last ten seconds of the period. Very little separated the two. Gennady shook off Canelo’s punches and kept trotting forward. Alvarez connected with a nice right in the last minute. Golovkin landed a hard left upstairs.

We needed fifteen rounds for a contest like this, but we’d have to settle for twelve. The customary touch of gloves led to more brawling in the center of the ring.. Action packed was the theme of the night and nothing stole its thunder. The final one hundred seconds ticked away.

Golovkin landed more rights and lefts. Canelo answered as he’d done all night. As the wood clacked to signal ten seconds to go, each man swung wide. The crowd got every cent of their ticket price validated tonight. The judges held the final call.

SecondsOut scored the contest 115-113 for Gennady Golovkin. Scores listed below Dave Moretti: 115-113 (Golovkin) Don Trella: 114-114 Adalaide Byrd: 118-110 (Canelo)