Photos - Matchroom Boxing
Boxing’s latest rivalry was renewed as Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KO’s) and Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KO’s) of Kazakhstan met for the third time Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The third chapter of the rivalry did not provide the excitement and intensity like the first 24 rounds the two have fought as Canelo convincingly closed the chapter in his rivalry with Golovkin.
Golovkin jabbed to begin as Canelo countered to the body in the opening round. Canelo connected some good shots in round two as Golovkin pumped the jab and boxed patiently connecting with a left hook. Taking the initiative, Canelo attacked in round three backing up Golovkin as the challenger stayed patient. Staying busy in the fourth, Alvarez connected Golovkin with a huge left hook snapping his head as the Mexican looked sharp through four against his rival.
An overhand right by Canelo in the fifth round connected as Golovkin shrug it off and continued to press. In the sixth, Golovkin began to let his hands go but continued using the jab looking for that opening. A chess match in the seventh as Golovkin utilized the jab and Canelo stood patient looking for effective counters. Late in the eighth, Golovkin attacked attempting to connect with the looping left hook as Canelo retaliated with a combination.
Fighting on the inside in the ninth, Alvarez connected with an uppercut, but Golovkin continued to go forward. Golovkin cornered Canelo to and had the Mexican backing, but Alvarez answered with a combination. In the tenth, Canelo stayed busy outworking the predictable jabbing Golovkin as the fight appeared to be in the bag for the Mexican superstar late in the fight. Canelo boxed and kept his distance in the championship rounds as Golovkin was lurking. Coming out strong, Canelo attacked Golovkin and turning it into a street fight, Golovkin had no answer for Alvarez. Canelo never appeared distraught or fatigued closed the show convincingly. At the final bell the two hugged it out and displayed the utmost respect after completing 36 rounds in their rivalry.
The judges scored the bout 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113 for Canelo.
Here is what both fighters said in their post fight interview.
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.”
On 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’s 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 Gennadiy 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.”
On Bivol and if he wants him next if Bivol wins on Nov. 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.”
Do you want to avenge that loss? “Yes. It’d very important for my legacy. For my pride. For my country. For my family. For everything. It’s very important. I will beat him.”
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.”
How was this different that the last two fights v. Canelo? “This fight is so smart. More tactical, like chess.”
You gained energy in later rounds, what changed? “Strategy. Second half, I feel not bad. It’s a good fight.”
Is the beef with Canelo settled? “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 hande with Canelo. If you don’t understand, you don’t understand anything.”
WBC super flyweight champion, San Antonio’s Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (16-0 11 KOs) successfully defended his title with a _ over Israel Gonzalez (28-4-1 11 KOs) of Mexico in the pay-per view co-feature bout. The challenger Gonzalez wasted no time letting his hands go as Rodriguez countered with flush shots. Rodriguez pressed in round three and picked his shots patiently as he stood on top of Gonzalez. Unloading with big punches to begin the fourth, Rodriguez attacked but Gonzalez stood in the pocket exchanging, a low blow by Gonzalez prompted referee Kenny Bayless to issue a warning.
In the fifth, Rodriguez and Gonzalez stood inside exchanging as the 15-1 challenger proved though thus far. The sixth round saw Rodriguez connect with a hard right. Past the halfway point in the seventh round, Rodriguez pressed the action and continued to stay on top of Gonzalez. Proving tough thus far, Gonzalez held his own making the champ work, a low blow by Rodriguez forced Bayless to warn Rodriguez. A second low blow in the eighth prompted Bayless to deduct a point from Rodriguez.
Late in the fight in the tenth, Rodriguez and Gonzalez continued to exchange at close range. The championship rounds saw Rodriguez grinding but connected with another low blow as the champ flirted with disqualification. In the twelfth and final round, Bam Rodriguez stood busy taking it to Gonzalez. After completing twelve rounds the judges scored the bout 118-109, 117-110, and 114-113 as Rodriguez retains his WBC title.
Super middleweight Ali Akhmedov (19-1 14 KOs) of Kazakhstan put in work in going the distance and pitching a shoutout against Philadelphia veteran Gabriel Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs). Boxing at a fast pace in the early rounds, sizing on another, Akhmedov and Rosado stood busy. Akhmedov connected with a straight right to begin the third round, but Rosado kept his composure and stood busy. Stalking in the fourth, Akhmedov began to let his hands go as he pumped the jab and followed up with right hands, later in the round Rosado swung the right wildly. In the fifth, Akhmedov connected with a solid right hand that stopped Rosado’s momentum as the Kazakh boxed patiently.
In the sixth, Akhmedov stood busy boxing keeping his distance from the stalking Rosado. It was Akhmedov dictating the pace outworking the always tough Rosado, in the eighth the Kazakh let his hands go unloading a combination as Rosado shelled up. As always Rosado came with everything and was disappointing as Akhmedov boxed and worked his way to hard fought decision.
After completing ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 100-90
Middleweight Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (12-0, 9 KO’s) of Houston won a unanimous decision over Kieron Conway (18-3-1, 4 KO’s) from England, winning the vacant WBA International Middleweight title in opening the DAZN pay per view card. Williams boxed early on tallying up points and displaying skill over a very tough Conway. The southpaw, Williams used the jab effectively as Conway worked the jab as well and moved to the left as he snuck in a right hand in the fifth that snapped Williams’s head.
Past the halfway point in the sixth round, Conway began to pick up the pace as Williams continued to box. In the seventh, Williams backed Conway to the ropes. Williams scored a knockdown in the ninth and continued to work effectively boxing his way to a unanimous decision victory. The judges scored the bout 97-92, 97-92, and 96-93.
Other Bouts
Unbeaten super middleweight Diego Pacheco (16-0, 13 KOs) won his first belt with a fifth round TKO over Enrique Collazo (16-3-1, 11 KOs). Pacheco dropped Collazo in round five and got the stoppage moments later. Time was 2:29. Pacheco claimed the WBC USNBC silver title.
Fresno lightweight Marc Castro (8-0, 6 KO’s) scored a huge knockout over Kevin Montiel (6-2-2, 3 KO’s). Castro put in work against the very tough Montiel. In closing the fourth round, Castro hurt Montiel with a hard right as Montiel staggered and was saved by the bell. A huge right uppercut in the fifth did it as Castro knocked Montiel out cold. Referee immediately waved off the bout at 1:40 of the fifth round.
Super lightweights Aaron Aponte (6-0-1, 2 KO’s) and Fernando Molina (8-0-1, 3 KO’s) squared off going the distance eight rounds and fighting to a draw. It was a fast start with Aponte and Molina exchanging. Aponte scored a knockdown in the second round as Molina appeared to have the better of the exchange as their feet got tangled. However Molina returned the favor as he hurt Aponte early in the fifth with an uppercut, later in the round a right dropped Aponte. With the fight up for grabs, late in the seventh Molina picked up with combinations but Aponte continued to land the solid right. The eighth and final round Molina stalked and connected with the right hand as Aponte used the distance, Molina was the aggressor with Aponte being the conservative fighter. In going the distance eight rounds the judges scored the bout 76-74 for Molina, 76-74 for Aponte, and 75-75 even.
In the opening bout from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, super flyweight Anthony Herrera (3-0-1, 2 KO) of East L.A. won a fifth round technical decision over Delvin McKinley (4-4-1, 4 KO’s) from New Orleans. Herrera boxed patiently from the start as he dissected McKinley, popping the jab and pressing as McKinley’s eye was shut. There was an accidental headbutt to begin the fifth as McKinley went down and couldn’t continues as the fight was stopped at 19 seconds. After completing five rounds, three judges scored the bout 50-45 3x.