By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After four years of waiting to finally set up the third and final match of one of boxing’s most highly anticipated trilogies, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez made it clear he would be victorious after dominating rival Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Alvarez got the nod of all three judges and scored a unanimous decision win, 115-113, 115-113, 116-112, and remained as the sport’s undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
It didn’t take long for Alvarez to execute his game plan after connecting on early heavy right-hand hooks that disrupted Golovkin’s rhythm going forward.
Known to be a pressure fighter in his career, Golovkin drew flashes of their first fight after stalking the Mexican champion all over the ring.
However, Alvarez’s efficient offensive arsenal negated Golovkin’s pressure and aggressiveness which didn’t help his goal of piling up the points in the first six rounds.
Alvarez took control of the match in the fifth and bullied Golovkin with his 1-2 combination starting with a body shot followed up by a sneaky right straight that kept on landing every time they met in the middle of the ring.
The Alvarez hitting clinic continued until the eighth round but a late surge from Golovkin changed the complexion of the dogfight.
Soon as the ninth round kicked off, Golovkin fearlessly went back to his original game plan of applying pressure and tagged Alvarez with a couple of jabs and right hooks in the ropes.
Golovkin fans began to celebrate after he pinned Alvarez in the ropes in the 10th round and inflicted more damage than he did in the ninth.
Eager to put the win in the bag and avoid a late match meltdown, Alvarez played the percentages and engaged Golovkin within his desired distance.
The thousands of fans in attendance then began standing up soon as the bell rang in the 12th and final round. With Golovkin seeking a much-needed knockout to clinch the win, Alvarez played a technical approach and disengaged every time the Kazakhstani legend went in to cut the distance.
The two warriors then paid their respect to each other and hugged for almost a minute. After the decision was made official, Golovkin applauded Alvarez while receiving warm cheers from his fans in Las Vegas.
“Thank you, my friend. Thank you. We gave the fans three good fights and thank you for everything. He’s a really good fighter. He’s strong. He’s a great fighter, and that’s why we’re here. I’m going to keep going forward to keep my legacy growing strong. He’s tough, he’s a tough fighter,” said Alvarez after the fight.
