All the belts were on the line. Those WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF, and RING super middleweight titles were in the balance when Canelo and GGG hit the ring. But there was a lot more than that. Bad blood between the two made both men bitter. Couple that with the loss Canelo had last time out against Bivol and emotions were high.
MAIN EVENT
Alvarez vs Golovkin
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) took on, for the third time, Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) for all of the that glitter mentioned earlier, and all of the glory that goes along with it. Both men were throwing little strikes in the opening round. More contact from both fighters in the second round. Points scored for both with some good shots. A bit more urgency in the third. Canelo was coming in a lot more and landed some really good punches. He caught Golovkin with a solid shot which sent him backwards. Canelo was definitely the aggressor in the third round.
Round four and still all Canelo. He was throwing his punches in a relaxed manner that was working, including a good left-right combination. GGG has not landed anything substantial yet in the fight. In the fifth round Golovkin landed a few punches, but nothing that came close to doing any damage. Canelo was not working very hard in the round, but actually did not have to. He hit GGG on the hip, and G lost his balance for a moment. Still all Canelo thus far.
Half way through, and GGG had yet to pose a threat. He was more active than other rounds, but it didn’t matter. Canelo was controlling everything; the speed of the fight, the angles, and certainly his opponent. Round seven was the same, and even though the fans were primarily very pro-Canelo, even they were relatively quiet, all things considered.
In the eighth round, GGG was able to land a few punches, but nothing that would even raise a welt on Canelo. And even when he was able to hit him, Canelo would often retaliate. It’s hard to score winning points that way. It was painfully obvious to almost everyone that GGG needed a knockout to win, and that looked highly unlikely.
In the ninth, G did land a few good shots towards the end of the round, and the crowd exploded. It seemed that they had been waiting for a real fight, and at least in this round they got one. Tenth round saw Canelo come out firing again. In the late seconds of the round the two stood together in the middle of the ring and exchanged blows.
Eleventh round, and GGG finally came out to start the war this time. Canelo was still connecting, but where was this Golovkin rounds three or four? But here we were, going into the 12th and final round, and this was had been Canelo’s fight throughout. At least the last three rounds or so Canelo had someone to dance with. Before then, he stood on the dance floor along. In this 12th round things got sloppy, be it frustration, or what. There was a lot of holding and grabbing.
Still, we had to go to the scorecards. The judges saw the fight 116-112, and 115-113 twice, all for Canelo. Frankly, this reporter was not the only one surprised at those scores, but the right man definitely won. And with all of the issues these two claimed to have had, they showed each other great respect after the fight.
Quotes – Canelo
“Thank you so much my friend, thank you Golovkin, thank you for everything. We gave the fans three good fights. Thank you for everything.”
“Thank you so much for your support. I’ve gone through very difficult things in my life. Only thing you can do is continue to move forward. I’ve gone through difficult times with my defeat. But defeats can show how you can be great, how you can come back and show humility.”
With reference to GGG, “He’s a really good fighter. He’s strong. That’s why we are here. I’m going to keep forward, keep my legacy going.”
On when he knew he wouldn’t get the KO. “First round, I knew he was tough. He’s a tough fighter. I need surgery, my left hand is not good. But I’m good, I’m a warrior, that’s why I’m here. I can’t hold a glass. It’s really bad. But I’m a warrior.”
On Golovkin in the later rounds. “It didn’t surprise me. I know him. He’s a strong fighter. For me I’m just glad to share the ring with him. He’s a really good fighter. I’m glad to be involved in that kind of fight.”
Regarding Bivol and if he wants him next if Bivol wins on November 5. “Of course, everybody knows that. We’ll see what happens in that fight. I need to rest my body. I need to rest my hand, my body, but I will come back stronger.”
When asked if he wants to avenge that loss he replied, “Yes, it’s very important for my legacy. For my pride. For my country. For my family. For everything. It’s very important. I will beat him.”
Quotes – GGG
“You know for this – everybody knows – this is high level, the best fight for boxing. Look at his face. Look at my face. It’s high level. Because we trained well, and this is shows that we did a very good fight, very good quality.”
When asked how this fight was different from the last two fights with Canelo, he said, “This fight is so smart. More tactical, like chess.”
When it was mentioned he gained energy in the later rounds, so what changed, he replied, “Strategy. Second half, I feel not bad. It’s a good fight.”
When asked if his beef with Canelo is settled, he said, “Yes. 100%.”
Will your career continue from here? “Absolutely. I have a great plan. I have a lot of appointments. Congrats today, Canelo, congrats fans. Remember, I’m still champion at 160. I come back guys, I’m still champion. I want to shake hands with Canelo. if you don’t understand, you don’t understand anything.”
TELEVISED UNDERCARD FIGHTS
Rodriguez vs Gonzalez
The WBC World super flyweight title challenge saw the undefeated super flyweight champion Jesse Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs) defending that belt against Israel Gonzalez (28-5-1, 11 KOs). This fight was for a scheduled 12 rounds. The men took a few potshots at each other in the opening round, but nothing too impactful. That changed as the second round began, as they both came out swinging. We saw a lot of body work in this round by Gonzalez. Sometimes Rodriguez would absorb the shot and come over the top to connect to the face of Israel.
In rounds three and four Gonzalez was the one who was letting his hands go more often. It seemed as if Rodriguez was waiting to pick his spot, but that had not been working thus far. Israel was throwing too many punches that were connecting. Jesse had a better round in the fifth, and he made a statement at the end, keeping Israel on the ropes and landing several shots. Nonstop action in the sixth by both fighters. Both of them landed body shots, uppercuts, and jabs, not to mention power punches.
Gonzalez seemed to some out a bit stronger than Rodriguez in the seventh, although neither man was looking tired at this point. A clash of heads in the eighth had the doctor taking a quick look at Gonzalez, but then the action resumed. Then, a low blow delivered to Gonzalez stopped the action for just a few seconds. Another low blow, much worse this time, resulted in a point taken away from Rodriguez.
It was toe to toe action all of round nine. The fighters were connecting with many of their punches, and we were watching a good fight here. Round 10 saw much of the same, but the edge had to go to Jesse. He was really putting his skills to use. His jab was working well for him, as were his power punches.
In the 11th round, yet another low blow doubled Gonzalez up. But the fight continued. No point taken, but that was the third one Jesse delivered upon Israel. The 12th and final round saw both men trying to score as many points as they could. No surprise, with that WBC title on the line. We went to the scorecards. Those scores were 118-109, 117-110, and 114-113, giving the unanimous decision to Jesse Rodriguez. He held on to that belt.
Akhmedov vs Rosado
The super middleweight Ali Akhmedov (19-1, 14 KOs) went up against the always tough Gabe Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs). This fight was for the IBF North American championship and was scheduled for 10 rounds. These two had no trouble meeting in the middle of the ring straight away and showing they were not afraid of each other. In about the middle of the second round, Akhmedov began teeing off on Rosado. But Gabe was able to punch out of it. Ali did the same thing again late in the round, showing just how quick his hands were, not to mention accurate. In the third, Rosado was able to use his left-hand jab to keep Ali off of him. He could then land a punch with his right.
The fourth had bright spots for both men. Akhmedov again relied on his quickness, while Rosado has a good job to keep the opponent off of him. Gabe is a very durable war horse, but the skill and quickness of Ali had been proving itself over the first half of the fight. There is no quit in Rosado, but this was turning out to be a tough road for him.
There was a lot of action in the next two rounds, but not enough to change the trend that had been set early on by Ali. The last few rounds were basically the same. Rosado could not connect solid punches on Akhmedov. Ali was just too quick, and could jump in there, land several, and then retreat before Gabe could really get him. Still, the fight went the distance, and we went to the scorecards. The judges all saw it the same, 100-90 for Akhmedov.
Williams vs Conway
Opening up the PPV undercard bouts and fighting for the WBA International middleweight title were Austin Williams (12-0, 9 KOs) facing off against Kieron Conway (18-3-1, 4 KOs). This fight was scheduled for 10 rounds. As we had already seen earlier today, the first round was a slow one, so we waited for the action to begin. Things picked up in the second, with leather landing for both men.
Conway upped the ante a bit more in the third, stepping in and making contact often. Williams started to go on the offence a bit in the fourth. Sometimes that got him in trouble and he had to eat a punch, but at least he was willing to throw those jabs more often. Williams stepped it up again in the fifth. While he did not do any real damage, he kept moving forward and landed some shots. Both were engaging in the sixth, which drew a bit of applause from the still sparce crowd -inside T-Mobile Arena.
Williams was having a good moment in the seventh, which necessitated Conway to hold on. Then the fight once again turned rather ugly and lackluster. Now the fans began to whistle. Conway had been looking leaden in the last round or so, and that was continuing here in the eighth. It seemed that Williams just needed to pounce.
Austin did come out much more aggressively in the ninth than we had seen him to this point. Blood was pouring out of the nose of Conway after a huge right-hand uppercut by Williams dropped him in that ninth round. The fight continued and we went to the scorecards. They read 97-92, 97-92, and 96-93, all for Williams.
NON-TELEVISED UNDERCARD FIGHTS
Pacheco vs Collazo
For the last bout before the televised undercard fights, Diego Pacheco (16-0, 13 KOs) faced off against Enrique Collazo (16-3-1, 11 KOs) in the super middleweight division. This fight was scheduled for 10 rounds. This fight was for the WBC, USNBC Silver super middleweight championship. We saw a slow and methodical first round in the fight for this championship. That did not change in the second. One might think that with 23 knockouts between them, there would be more action. But not yet.
A bit more involvement in the fourth, but not a lot. Pacheco did throw some punches, although not too many. Collazo seemed content to paw and block. Finally, Pacheco found his stride. He launched an attack on Collazo that put him on the canvas. A big right hand started it off, then a couple of hard body shots finished the job. Enrique was definitely shaken up, but to his credit got up and tried to continue. But the referee had seen enough, and after more punishment, he stopped the fight at 2:29 of the fifth round.
Castro vs Mendoza
Our next fight saw Marc Castro (8-0, 6 KOs) step in the ring with Kevin Montiel Mendoza (6-2-2, 3 KOs). This fight was set for eight rounds in the lightweight division. There was no damage done in the first, with the fighters seeming to test range and power. What had seemed to be more of a tactical fight got a bit more physical by both men in the third. Even more lively in the fourth, with Castro closing the round with some good shots. It was all Marc in the fifth. Finally, a direct heavy right shot by Castro to the chin of Mendoza landed hard, putting Mendoza down and out. Kevin remained on the canvas for a few scary moments. The time of the stoppage was 1:40.
Aponte vs Molina
In our second bout, we saw two undefeated fighters, with Aaron Aponte (6-0-1, 2 KOs) going up against Fernando Molina (8-0-1, 3 KOs). These super lightweights were scheduled to go eight rounds. As expected, these two did not wait long, and jumped right in to make a statement. Aponte continued his attack, and knocked Molina down in the second. It was not the cleanest shot in the world, but it counted. Aaron continued to be in charge in the third. In roughly the middle of the fourth, Molina had his best moments thus far, as he landed several good shots on Aponte. But Aaron was also scoring points.
In the fifth, Fernando has another good rally, landing a flurry of punches. A right uppercut followed up by a little left by Molina put Aponte down in this round as well. The sixth round was uneventful. Action was briefly stopped in the seventh after one of the gloves of Molina tore, but they taped it and went on. We moved into the eighth and final. Both men were able to find their targets in the last round, but we went to the scorecards. Those scores were 76-74 for Molina, 76-74 for Aponte, and 75-75. We had a split draw.
Herrera vs McKinley
First fight of the afternoon took place at 2:00. We saw Anthony Herrera (3-0-1, 2 KOs) facing off against Delvin McKinley (4-4-1, 4 KOs). This fight was to go a scheduled six rounds and was in the bantamweight division. Both men were active in the first, with Herrera showing some decent body work. Not much change in the second. Herrera was the aggressor in the third, not allowing McKinley to get any rhythm.
Herrera was relentless in the fourth, delivering body shots and head shots almost at will. In the fifth, an accidental headbutt by Anthony to Delvin put an end to the bout at 19 seconds, as he could no longer continue. Herrera was given the technical decision victory. After completing five rounds, the scorecards all read 50-46.