Canelo Decisively Defeats Golovkin | BoxingInsider.com

Posted on 09/18/2022

By: Sean Crose

Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez returned to the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday to once again face his arch-rival, Gennady Golovkin. The first two controversial fights (which ended in a draw and Canelo’s victory, respectively) between the two men had taken place in the middleweight division. The timing of the fight in the super middleweight division, with all of undisputed champion Canelo’s world title belts on the line. The sense of unfinished business, coupled with the fact that neither the 57-2-2 Canelo nor the 42-1-1 Golovkin seemed to like each other very much, added to the element of intrigue.

The first round was close with both men looking good. Canelo may have outdone him, however, with more activity. Canelo continued to assert himself in the second, effectively going to the body as Golovkin used his stinging jab. Canelo landed hard in the third as Golovkin’s face began to bruise. In the fourth, it was clear that age had taken its toll on the once-feared Golovkin, as he took a lot of hits, was slow to pull the trigger and delivered power shots infrequently. Canelo, on the other hand, looked amazing, shooting and landing power shots.

That said, Golovkin had a better fifth, though Canelo was still able to hit him with power shots. The pace slowed a bit in the sixth, but it was about time Golovkin made something happen if he was to have any chance of winning the fight. The seventh was clearly the closest round of the fight to that point, with Canelo’s production slowing down considerably. Things continued to be interesting, and quite close, in the eighth. Canelo was still landing power shots, but not as many as he had. What’s more, Golovkin could have successfully altered the pace.

There was no question in the ninth that the fight had turned competitive. However, the force of Canelo’s punches seemed to be the difference. Things stayed competitive in the 10th, but Golovkin needed to be more than competitive at that point. By relying almost entirely on the jab from him, as he did for most of the fight, Golovkin may have taken the eleventh round. Surprisingly, Golovkin dedicated himself to hanging on a lot in the twelfth and final round. Fortunately, both men warmly hugged each other after he finished the fight.

Canelo deservedly earned the unanimous decision win.

“Thank you very much, my friend,” Canelo said kindly to Golovkin afterward. “Thank you Golovkin. Thank you.”

Share This Event
Scroll to Top