Canelo Wins Third Fight

Canelo Ends Third Battle with GGG in Convincing Win

(All photos by Al Applerose)

By Uppercut Magazine staff

A sold-out crowd witnessed a clash of titans as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez met Gennady “GGG” Golovkin a third time, and it was an emphatic win as Father Time aided the Mexican redhead in the final contest of the trifecta on Saturday.

No need for debate this time.

Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KO) defended his undisputed super middleweight championship against Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 Kos) and walked away with the easiest victory of the three wars at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Age caught up to the middleweight strongman 40-year-old Golovkin who moved up a weight division to accommodate 32-year-old Alvarez. The reflexes and confidence of four years ago were no longer present. Instead, that heart of courage and chin of steel remained and allowed him to survive 12 rounds of hammer to anvil pounding.

Alvarez advanced with confidence and caution, still remembering the powerful blows Golovkin possessed in their previous bouts in 2017 and 2018. The first meeting ended in a split draw and the second in a majority decision win for Canelo.

Age does not diminish power as it does the legs.

For seven rounds Alvarez was able to increase the tempo of his attacks and Golovkin seemed muted as a Miles Davis trumpet solo. Redness developed on Golovkin’s face and though he punched back, the ability to hurt the Mexican redhead seemed remote.

In between rounds Golovkin’s corner urged the ageing warrior to use the tactics practiced after hours and hours of sparring in the elevated heights of Big Bear Mountain. But the legs didn’t respond. Later, the trainer Jonathan Banks delivered the harshest advice of all and told him to relinquish any fear and revert to a kill or be killed philosophy or quit.

The previous trainer Abel Sanchez called it “Mexican style” and Golovkin morphed into the always advanced-forward killing machine of four years ago.

It was Golovkin’s final wall of defiance and Alvarez was forced to respect it. For three rounds the two warriors battled until the final bell. Then they hugged in an open show of respect and admiration. Both had proved their mettle and entertained boxing fans all over the world. Of course, both also made pound for pound lists and millions of dollars.

Other bouts

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (17-0, 11 Kos) found Mexico’s Israel Gonzalez (28-5-1) too tough to knock out but not good enough to take the WBC super flyweight world title away from the San Antonio boxer. Rodriguez figured out the formula and showed who was the superior body puncher. Gonzalez went down twice from body shots. Rodriguez never did though both veered below the belt numerous times. It was Bam’s second defense of the title.

Middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams (12-0, 9 Kos) pounded out a rugged win over England’s Kieron Conway (18-3-1) to win by unanimous decision after 10 rounds.

Super middleweight Ali Akhmedov (19-1, 14 Kos) defeated veteran fighter Gabe Rosado (26-16-1) and showed he could learn box just as well as knock opponents out in his decision win.

Super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco (16-0, 13 Kos) knocked out contender Enrique Collazo (16-3-1) in the fifth round. It was proof the Los Angeles area fighter has arrived.