Canelo Alvarez (red trunks) and Gennadiy Golovkin (white trunks) box during a middleweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAYCanelo Alvarez won a decisive decision win over one of his long-time rivals Gennady Golovkin 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 in his 62nd professional boxing fight to close out their three-fight trilogy and continue his claim to being the undisputed super middleweight champion. Alvarez won the first eight rounds with ease to take the win over 40-year-old Golovkin, who attempted a late resistance against his Mexican opponent’s dominance but left things far too late.
The history between these two fighters was the selling point for this matchup. Their first ever fight was termed a draw and their second fight went Alvarez’s way – both high level, rarefied air boxing bouts that saw them at their peak. This fight was built up on some words exchanged between the two future hall-of-famers and despite GGG’s age, was looked as a defining fight for both.
…AND STILL 👑🥊 #CaneloGGG3 pic.twitter.com/SDXNamiHhK
— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) September 18, 2022
If those initial two bouts had taught any lessons, it was that Alvarez always chooses to start quickly against Triple GGG. And he did just that. The 32-year-old immediately took control of the fight by taking the centre of the ring. He refused to cede that ground and would eventually be rewarded for that decision. Taking that centre space in the ring was effectively Canelo laying the gauntlet down for GGG. If the Kazakh boxer wanted to create lasting damage, he would have to step into the middle and take some as well.
Canelo, who last fought and lost the super light heavyweight title, was coming down in weight class and the residual power that could have carried over, coupled with his age, made GGG wary of fighting in the middle of the ring. Golovkin, who has relied on some delicious jabs throughout his career, simply would not let his feet go. Age and protecting his body from damage was likely GGG’s priority in the initial rounds.
Canelo Alvarez got it done again in the third and final matchup vs. Gennadiy Golovkin 👊#CaneloGGG3 | @autozone pic.twitter.com/0neVXJSFO0
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 18, 2022
The result, a Canelo masterclass in footwork – especially his two-step forward reach that saw so much success on Sunday. The two-step forward movement from Canelo essentially closed distance down fast, didn’t allow GGG to see where the next punch was coming and gave Alvarez time to land any punch he wanted. The right cross to the body – there for the taking. The left hook to the head – there for the taking. In later rounds, that dynamic foot movement would even help Alvarez fetch a right, almost overhand slug that would hand cameras a picturesque moment where Triple G’s face swung to his left and sweat droplets flew through the air. This was Alvarez showing just how good he could be against an opponent that let him do his thing.
Golovkin for his part was a shadow of his former self. The Kazakh boxer was once upon a time looked at as the man who could take down Alvarez – purely based on his excellent hand work as well as a chin that was tenacious in its refusal to buckle. These two were the answer to what would happen to boxing after Floyd Mayweather Jr.
That winning moment for Canelo 👑
Re-watch #CaneloGGG3 on https://t.co/FoiaUucI53 (excl. MX, KZ & LATAM) | DAZN PPV in US, CA, UK, IRE, AUS & NZ pic.twitter.com/XpwMcRQA5h
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 18, 2022
And yet on Sunday, preservation was the name of the game for Golovkin. His foot movement, especially in the first eight rounds, was minimal. It means that other than a smattering of a few jabs here and there, there really wasn’t much offensively that he brought to the table. The combinations were non-existent and the famous triple jab was just a memory for fans who were looking at a boxer well past his prime.
And right when this fight was looking like a shutout, Golovkin started to go to work. He seemed to have finally found his feet and started to use the ring a lot more post round 8. He started to consistently back Alvarez onto the ropes – but even then, it was never like their previous bouts where Golovkin had his moments. Alvarez was dangerous even on the ropes and the Mexican continued to land dangerous shots – prompting Golovkin to stop going for a head-hunting adventure of his own.
In the end, father time decided the outcome of the fight. Golovkin just never had much of a tank for this war and his strategy of leaving it for the later rounds was not much to go by when considering the stature of the boxer in front of him. After the end of the 12th round both embraced each other and let the bad blood go. Golovkin was asked about the fight and said, “Every bad step, fight finished. This is high level boxing. We train well and we did a fight of high quality. More tactical, more smart. Today Canelo was better.”
Canelo said that his left hand was not good and leading up to the fight he wasn’t able to even hold a glass. He was a lot more circumspect after the bout and said, “We gave the fans three good fights.” They did.