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On This Day: Canelo edges past Golovkin in blockbuster Las Vegas rematch
Canelo Alvarez had his seven-year reign as a world champion ended on Saturday night after he was outpointed by pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford for only the third loss in a career spanning 68 fights across 20 years.
Despite being dethroned, Alvarez is widely viewed as one of the most dominant and entertaining champions of the 21st century.
The Mexican has treated boxing fans to some blockbuster fights with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan and perhaps most famously his trilogy with Gennady Golovkin.
Today, September 15, marks seven years since Canelo and Golovkin put on a super-fight rematch in Las Vegas after their controversial first meeting in 2017.
This brace of fights is viewed as one of the most iconic rivalries the sport has seen in the modern era. The unfortunate trilogy fight was too late, and Golovkin was too old to offer any real opposition to Canelo, but their sequel fight was one of the best of the decade.
The first fight
The first fight was an instant classic as two of the most dominant champions in recent years met in the ring to see who the true king of the middleweight division was.
Canelo shocked many by becoming the first man to truly dare to share the middle of the ring with Golovkin and refuse to take a backwards step for many of the opening three rounds, trying to impose his speed and power on the Kazakh.
But even the might of Canelo would not be enough to deter the inevitable forward march of Golovkin, who, after a close first three rounds, began to push Alvarez back and forced the Mexican to focus on making him miss and counter rather than initiating any attacks of his own.
In the eyes of many, Canelo was letting the fight slip away from him in the middle rounds as he mostly retreated, punctuated by the odd central exchange, allowing Golovkin to push the action with effective aggression.
The fight was close heading into the final stanzas with most having Golovkin ahead by a round or two, but Canelo found a way, perhaps finally understanding Golovkin’s patterns, to made a dent in his defences and even looked to have his man hurt in the 10th round as a left-right combination inside caused Golovkin to lose his balance for the first time in his career.
Both men put on career-best performances and displayed the highest level of technical mastery. The scorecards sparked hysteria and controversy as one of the judges scored the fight 118-110 in favour of Alvarez, only giving Golovkin two rounds.
The two other judges offered more modest scorecards, with one scoring it 114-114 and the other 115-113 in favour of Golovkin for a majority draw.
It was the perfect set-up for a rematch that would capture the imagination of the boxing world.
Rematch in jeopardy
Only a few months after their first fight, Canelo tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol in two random urine samples.
The pair were contracted to have their rematch on May 5, but this would no longer be possible as Alvarez received a retroactive 6-month suspension from the time of the failed test and could not return to the ring until August 2018.
Following this, both fighters looked to be exploring other fights, and Golovkin went on to knock out Vanes Martirosyan on the exact date of the originally scheduled rematch.
The fight was finally announced on June 13 to be held at the T-Mobile Arena after struggling negotiations over purse splits left the rematch in further jeopardy.
A new and improved Canelo
From the first bell, Alvarez came out with a different intention than had been seen in the first fight.
His guard was more compact and his feet much more planted. For the first time in his career, Golovkin found himself on the back foot. Both men still occupied the middle of the ring, but it was Golovkin who found himself having to circumnavigate Alvarez.
In the early exchanges, it was clear that Golovkin would not be able to physically dominate Canelo the way he had previously.
Canelo had managed to perfect a balance between his subtle head movement and a strong high guard that allowed him to attack at more varied angles than his opponent.
(Getty Images)
Canelo shuts Golovkin out
Between rounds five and nine, Canelo won 4 out of the five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards, flipping the script from the first fight, where we saw Golovkin able to impose himself and accelerate.
His improved ring generalship meant that he did not touch a rope and nullified Golovkin’s physical strength advantage – the exchanges were fiery and heavy, with Canelo just edging an advantage on the scorecards with each passing round.
This, paired with his accurate counter punching and higher output, gave him a healthy lead through the middle rounds.
He found lots of success with his left hook, both to the head and body. The variation also left Golovkin guessing, and on more than one occasion he would defend a body shot, only for Canelo to bring the hook up as a hybrid uppercut and find Golovkin’s chin exposed.
These shots landing on any other man could have been a knockout blow, but Golovkin’s iron chin and resolve meant he was unbothered, but falling behind.
Golovkin finds another gear... but falls just short
With the fight on a knife’s edge, with some giving Golovkin the advantage and others crediting Canelo with controlling the pace and landing more accurate work, the Kazakh knew he needed to make a statement in the championship rounds.
Canelo had clearly begun to feel the pace, and Golovkin started to land heavy jabs and backhands with much more regularity, as the Mexican's tight guard began to slip.
The final three rounds were fought at close quarters, and Golovkin bloodied the nose of Alvarez to stamp his authority on the deciding exchanges.
Golovkin won all three of the final rounds on one judge's scorecard and two of them on the others. Yet it was anything but one-sided, with both men landing heavy blows and displaying their granite chins.
The fight concluded with both men giving everything, and whoever you had winning, it would have been by the barest of margins.
Golovkin’s late onslaught would not be enough, as Canelo’s middle-round supremacy earned him the nod, with two of the judges scoring the fight 115-113 in his favour, and the final scorecard was a 114-114 draw.
Canelo's aggressive approach had paid dividends, and, despite Golovkin's protestations, he was the new middleweight champion of the world.
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