LAS VEGAS — Only the argument continues.
A third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena was supposed to settle it, once and for all. The third fight was way past its due date. Still, fans screamed for an answer. History begged for something definitive.
That didn’t happen.
Instead, it was more of the same. Twelve more rounds of no knockdowns. Twelve more rounds and three more scorecards. There have been 36 rounds in all. There was a controversial draw in the first one. There was a controversial majority decision won by Canelo in the second one.
In the third, not much changed. The scorecard margins were bigger. Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) won again, this time by two points on two cards (Steve Weisfeld and David Sutherland) and by four on the third (Dave Moretti).
The decision was unanimous for the first time. Yet, the margins were still close enough to argue some more. But that argument figures to out-live the rivalry. Time is putting an end to it. Don’t expect a fourth fight. For the record, Canelo had the edge, winning two-thirds of the trilogy
If there was any momentum in the rivalry, Canelo had it. At 32, however, he had time on his side.
At 40, GGG did not. For him, retirement is near. He had his moments in the third fight, especially in the later rounds. He backed up Canelo with solid jabs in the ninth and again in the 10th. But even that was almost predictable.
Canelo, the aggressor in the opening rounds, started to show some fatigue midway through the bout. His feet quit moving. GGG knew that would happen. The crowd expected it. It had already seen Canelo tire, especially in his loss by decision to light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol last May.
A subtle, yet significant, difference this time was that Canelo responded, fought back his fatigue, with a burst of energy and a couple of head-rocking combinations.
This time, he prevailed exactly at the same time he failed in May.
“The loss was good for me,’’ said Canelo, still the undisputed super-middleweight champion. “It made me humble. “I’m going to move forward. I’m going to get back at work on my legacy.’’
It was evident that the move forward will not include GGG (42-2-1, 37 KOs). After years of angry exchanges and insults, the two hugged after the scorecards were announced Saturday. It was as if they were saying goodbye.
“Thank you so much, I said to him,’’ said Canelo, who collected the lion’s share of a $65-million total purse.
When asked if there was finally peace between Golovkin and Canelo, GGG said: “Yes, 100-percent.’’
GGG, still the middleweight champion, also seemed ready to move on. There’s been talk of a retirement fight in Kazakhstan, his home country. There’s also a likely place in the Hall of Fame.
“I have a great plan,’’ GGG said. “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 hands with Canelo. If you don’t understand, you don’t understand anything.”
He shook hands. He also gained some hard-earned appreciation from a crowd that sounded hostile before the bout and throughout the early rounds
The chants started early. Ca-nel-o, Ca-nel-o. Me-he-co, Me-he-co. One sounded like the other. A man and his country, in sync in song and purpose.
Canelo started early, too, energized by a roaring crowd seemingly attached to him like the green, white and red on the Mexican flag
The opening bell sounded not long after some in the crowd booed the Kazakhstan anthem. Golovkin had to hear it. The echoes shook the building. But it was impossible to detect if they had any impact on GGG, a somewhat enigmatic edifice throughout his long career at the top of the middleweight division.
He made his ring walk through hostility, looking very much like prey headed to slaughter. But he endured Canelo’s early assaults and countered with some of his own late.
In the end, he survived and kept himself in an argument without an answer.
Or a clear-cut winner.
Jesse Rodriguez struggles, yet wins unanimous decision
Jesse Rodriguez promised super-stardom. The promise is still there. But for one night it went unfulfilled.
Nothing super about Rodriguez Saturday night.
He struggled throughout a dull performance in a 115-pound title defense against Israel Gonzalez in the last fight before Canelo Alvarez-Gennediy Golovkin at T-Mobile Arena.
Put it this way: The super-fly champion was a super disappointment. Rodriguez survived, winning a unanimous decision over Israel Gonzalez by some questionable scores. It was 118-100 on one card. It was 117-110 on another. Only a 114-113 card appeared to be accurate.
Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs), a likable little guy from San Antonio and a leading contender Fighter of the Year, never had any of the stuff indicated by his nickname.There was no Bam.
For a while, there was more bum than bam.
Rodriguez was warned for one blow. He then was penalized one point for one that put Gonzalez on his hands and knees. In the eleventh, Rodriguez put Gonzalez (28-5-1, 11 KOs), of Mexico, down again. Video showed it was another low. But referee Kenny Bayless didn’t see it on a night when a couple of judges didn’t see much either.
Ali Akhmedov scores shutout decision over Rosado
Ali Akhmedov had it all. There was precision. There was power. Put them together, and the result was a shutout.
Akhmedov (19-1, 14 KOs), Gennadiy Golovkin’s fellow Kazak, had all the points, too, winning every round in a one-sided decision over Gabe Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs) in the second fight on the DAZN pay-per-view card featuring Canelo-GGG 3. Rosado’s counter was only his toughness. It allowed the Philadelphia fighter to go the distance, 10 rounds. But there was nothing on his side of the judges’ cards.
Austin Williams wins unanimous decision
Houston middleweight Austin Williams calls himself Ammo. He had just enough of it to score a unanimous decision over Kieron Conway to open the DAZ pay-per-view card featuring the third Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin fight Saturday night.
Williams (12-0, 10 KOs) scored a quick knockdown in the ninth round. It put him in control of an otherwise dull bout. Conway (10-3-1, 4 KOs), of the UK, didn’t have enough power to hurt Williams.He also lacked the kind of power he needed to keep Williams off of him.
Diego Pacheco scored fifth-round TKO
Call it the boom before the pay-per-view.
Los Angeles super-middleweight Diego Pacheco (16-0, 13 KOs) closed the non-televised portion of the Canelo-GGG3 show with the kind of finish that begged for an encore.
Canelo promised a knockout.
Pacheco delivered one.
He dropped Puerto Rican Enrigue Collazo (16-3-1, 11 KOs) onto the canvas in a knockdown that echoed throughout a mostly-empty T-Mobile Arena. Seconds later at 2:29 of the fifth round, it was over, a fight stopped after it was evident that Collazo had been left dazed and defenseless..
Lightweight Marc Castro scores scary KO
It was beautiful. Scary, too
Fresno lightweight Marc Castro (8-0, 6 KOs) delivered it — a right-uppercut — precisely and powerfully, knocking Kevin Montiel Mendoza (6-2-2, 3 KOs) flat on his back in dramatic a fifth-round KO in the third fight on the non-televised portion of the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golvkin 3 card.
Mendoza remained motionless for several long moments as the ringside physician and his cornermen stood over him. Finally, he was helped to his feet and on to a stool, where he sat, also for several long moments. Then, Castro walked across the ring to make sure he was KO. That’s when Mendoza climbed to his feet and congratulated his powerful foe, a stoppage winner at 1:40 of the fifth.
Aaron Aponte and Fernando Molina battled to an eight-round split draw in a super lightweight contest.
In round two, Aponte dropped Molina with a left hook to the head. In round four, it was a combination that was finished off by a right to the head that put Molina on the deck.
Aponte is now 6-0-1. Molina is 8-0-1
Anthony Herrera won a five-round technical unanimous decision over Delvin Mckinney in a six-round super flyweight bout.
McKinney was cut and could not continue. Herrera won by scores of 50-45 on all cards.
Herrera is 3-0-1. McKinney is 4-4-1.
