Canelo Álvarez and GGG Put an End to one of Boxing's Most Entertaining Rivalries

Despite his achievements and talent, Gennadiy Golovkin will be known as Saul Álvarez's foil.

Álvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin sat at a big table at the MGM Grand on the Strip two days before their fight. The theater regularly holds Ká, one of Cirque du Soleil's most high-flying acts, and provided an awful contrast to the boxers' perfunctory performance in addressing promoter Eddie Hearn's questions. Golovkin slunk out a side door shortly after the news conference ended.

Álvarez, on the other hand, stayed for photographs. He posed with five belts, three on one arm and two on the other, signifying the magazine titles W.B.A., W.B.C., I.B.F., W.B.O., and The Ring. Eddy Reynoso, his lifelong trainer, stood next to him, holding a trainer of the year award plaque, while thousands of loving supporters roared at them in Spanish.

Despite his success, talent, and victories, Golovkin will be known as Álvarez's foil. To be regarded as the boxer whose greatest contribution was in providing a canvas for Canelo Álvarez. It was even the case before their first fight, in which Golovkin held the middleweight belts and was the small favorite, and it is absolutely the case five years later when Álvarez triumphed in a dominant way on Saturday night.

The bout, which had been planned for four years, was the third time these two boxers had faced each other in five years. The first fight, in 2017, resulted in a disputed draw, despite the fact that most observers thought Kazakhstan's Golovkin had won. Álvarez, who is from Mexico, won the second race by a slight majority decision.

Then, throughout the span of 24 rounds, Golovkin stayed as near to Álvarez as anyone has. The fact that he has fought a few other barn burners against boxers of his caliber may be due to his well-deserved reputation.

Golovkin, 40, is a formidable puncher who has won all of his professional fights against fighters other than Saul Alvarez, practically all of them by knockout. He had to wait two years for Álvarez, 32, to agree to their first fight, and another four years for Álvarez to agree to their trilogy fight.

However, he was not very frightened on Saturday night. Golovkin spent the opening two-thirds of the bout probing Álvarez with his left jab and only tagged him with serious punches when he abandoned prudence late in the fight. "This fight is extremely smart," Golovkin remarked afterward, explaining how it differed from their previous two fights. "More tactical, similar to chess."

It was a generous self-evaluation that mistook timidity for subtlety. On the judges' scorecards, Golovkin won most of the later rounds, and he has to wonder what would have occurred if he had started the fight aggressively. However, he has a history of being a slow starter, and at his senior age, Golovkin may be unable to fight on the front foot throughout 12 rounds.

After being on the wrong end of judging decisions in their first and maybe second fights, Golovkin was finally given the benefit of the doubt. The judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113 in favor of Álvarez, which did not give honor to Álvarez's overwhelming victory.

Álvarez entered the fight fresh off his second loss of the year, a shocking defeat to Dimitry Bivol in May. Álvarez's first defeat in nine years, though, did not dampen his followers' enthusiasm. Fight weekends are typically a big deal in Las Vegas, and this time tens of thousands of Mexicans and Mexican Americans went on The Strip to celebrate Mexico's Independence Day, which was on Friday, near its favorite fighter.

Álvarez moves among crowds like the global celebrity he is. He can't walk anyplace in public without being encircled by dozens of people, who are surrounded by yelling thousands. Law enforcement, private security, friends, family, trainers, filmmakers, and individuals whose jobs appear to be merely carrying his belts are among those who assist him. There are two guys who freestyle rap about Canelo every now and again. If you only see it once, "Canelo! Canelo!" will be stuck in your head for the rest of your life.

Álvarez's allure was not diminished by his defeat to Bivol this spring, but it did transform him. "I've proved that failures are great because they allow you to come back and show humility," Álvarez said after his victory Saturday in the ring. It was an odd statement coming from Álvarez, ever the showman, given that he was wearing a crown at the time.

Finally, the king of his feud with Golovkin. Even if Bivol wins, the problems he raised remain. This was not the Canelo who destroyed Billy Joe Saunders' face last year or defeated Sergey Kovalev in the light heavyweight division in 2019.

When asked if he intended to fight Bivol again, Álvarez replied, "I need to rest my body." "I need to rest my hand and my body, but I'll return stronger." He stated that he hurt his left hand while fighting Caleb Plant last November and that the injury was severe enough that he is unable to handle glass and may require surgery.

Whether he fights Bivol next or someone else, Álvarez's future appears to be in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, which is yet another reason his battle with Golovkin is now done. Golovkin has spent his whole career at middleweight – their first two fights were at that weight — and has only moved up to super middleweight once, for Saturday's battle. Their paths have crossed.

Golovkin stated prior to the fight that he had numerous alternatives regardless of the outcome, possibly anticipating what would come next: questions regarding retirement. "Remember, I'm still the champion at 160," he said. "I return, guys, and I'm still champion."

He then went on to embrace Álvarez, a startling display of post-fight calm. Their relationship had been professional or even friendly at one point — a much younger Álvarez sparred with Golovkin a few times at a training camp in Big Bear Lake, Calif. — but by the time of their second fight, it had devolved into acrimony. Golovkin dubbed his former sparring partner a drug cheat after the fight was postponed while Álvarez served a ban for testing positive for clenbuterol (he blamed bad steak he ate in Mexico and said he stopped eating beef).

In the run-up to the fight, Álvarez said of Golovkin, "He's not honest." "He claims to be a decent person and to be unique, but he isn't."

Maybe it's genuine enmity, or maybe it's just pre-fight nasty talk to get supporters riled up. Whatever it was, the bad blood seemed to wash away the moment the bell rang for the final time.

"Thank you so much, my friend," Álvarez exclaimed while still inside the ring. "Thank you, Golovkin, thank you for everything." "We provided the spectators three exciting fights." Thank you very much."

Later, after the arena was nearly empty, Golovkin returned the favor. "We praised one other, said 'great fight,' and went on," he recalled, adding, "This sport is very deadly at this level." We were pleased with how the fight went and how the rivalry finished."

[canelo vs ggg 3][canelo vs ggg 3 time][canelo fight][Canelo Alvarez][ggg vs canelo][canelo vs ggg results][ggg vs canelo 3][boxing][canelo ggg]