Heading into their middleweight title fight on Sunday (AEST), Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin were expected to provide fireworks. Moreover, the fight was expected to be the anti-Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor bout from last month.
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The public had been told by Alvarez, Golovkin and their respective camps this would be the "real fight," which is what we got: In front of a sold-out crowd of 22,358 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a split draw (118-110 Alvarez, 115-113 Golovkin, 114-114).
One of the main story lines heading into the mega-fight was whether Alvarez (49-1-2 34 KOs) could pass his biggest test since he suffered the only loss in his career, to Mayweather in September 2013.
While the sentiment among the fans and media inside the arena was that Golovkin did enough to get the unanimous decision, Alvarez quieted his critics in a fight that ended in controversy.
Alvarez has a lot to be proud of even though he didn't get the result he desired. He showed the world a heart of a champion.
When the chips were down, Alvarez could have folded. He could have collected his millions for 36 minutes of work. Instead, he showed he isn't a cowardly fighter, that he could stand up and rise against the premier opposition boxing has to offer.
Alvarez was in control in the opening rounds. He was the aggressor, throwing harder shots. The moment didn't get to him. He stayed cool, calm and collected while Golovkin was frozen as though the gravity of the fight was too much for him to handle.
The way the fight progressed, it looked as though it would be a walk in the park for Alvarez and it would show Golovkin was nothing more than someone with a catchy nickname.
Golovkin shut those thoughts down starting in the fourth round. He began looking like the "GGG" we had become accustomed to seeing. He stalked Alvarez, walking him down, pushing him against the ropes, connecting on punch after punch with Alvarez not providing much resistance. Canelo looked like nothing more than a punching bag.
By the end of the ninth round, another round to Golovkin, the fight had shifted significantly to Golovkin's side. It looked as though Alvarez would be known as the fighter, when he faced a significant upgrade in competition, who wouldn't be able to rise to the occasion.
The 27-year-old looked dejected, perhaps feeling the fight was slipping away and the naysayers would be right in their assessment. Then a key thing happened as he took a deep breath and sat on his stool.
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Head trainer Chepo Reynoso sensed his fighter wasn't in the right frame of mind. He told Canelo: "These rounds are for your life."
Three rounds would make or break the career of Canelo Alvarez. Would he be able to do what many thought he couldn't?
Alvarez came out for the 10th round like a completely different fighter. He pushed as the aggressor, going at Golovkin, throwing hard shots to the body and landing straight right hands to Golovkin's head.
In the 12th round, knowing the fight was in the balance, Alvarez threw an unheard-of seven-punch combination and went on to land 23 of 64 punches (35.9 percent). He connected on 19 of 43 power punches, or 44.2 percent.
In rounds 10 through 12, Alvarez landed 54 of 159 punches (33.9 percent), with 44 of those punches being power shots.
A rematch in 2018 is likely. Regardless of what people think of the result, we saw a great fight between two of the best fighters in the division, and on the planet.
Thank you, Canelo, for showing everyone — including myself — that you are a great fighter who can truly box.
Moreover, thanks for proving to the world that, in a difficult fight, you will leave your blood, sweat and tears in the ring.
