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Gennadiy Golovkin was not surprised when Dmitry Bivol beat Canelo Alvarez four months ago.
Based on what Alvarez’s rival knew about both fighters, Golovkin expected Alvarez to have a hard time dealing with Bivol’s movement and skills. The smarter, taller Bivol has been a light heavyweight throughout his seven-year pro career, which Golovkin saw as another advantage for the undefeated WBA 175-pound champion. What baffled Golovkin was Alvarez’s assessment of how his 12-round, 175-pound championship bout was scored on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where Golovkin and Alvarez will finally fight for the third time on Saturday night. the night.
Judges Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld scored their fight 115-113 for Bivol, whose performance seemingly guaranteed a larger win on their undercards. Álvarez stated during the post-fight press conference that “I lost maybe four or five rounds, but I definitely didn’t lose the fight.”
CompuBox unofficially credited Bivol with landing 68 more punches overall than Álvarez (152 for 710 to 84 for 495). CompuBox counted more power shots (106 of 292 to 74 of 266) and more jabs (46 of 418 to 10 of 229) for Bivol, who was unfazed by Alvarez’s power and much more active. thanks to the superior conditioning of it.
Golovkin would not say how Bivol-Alvarez scored, but acknowledged that Alvarez lost more than the seven rounds the judges credited Bivol with winning.
“It would not be appropriate for me to suggest what the score might be,” Golovkin told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “I am not a judge. People will probably question my opinion on that anyway, so I don’t want to do that. But Bivol looked better and his victory was more convincing than the scoreboard reflects. The behavior of his opponent, Canelo, raising her arms after the fight and then saying that he probably only lost a couple of rounds, that only shows his loss of touch with reality and his inability to assess things properly. ”.
Golovkin chose his words carefully, but Bivol-Alvarez’s score should at least be in the back of his mind as he heads into fight week for his long-awaited third matchup with Alvarez, a pay-per-view main event of DAZN.
Nevada’s Moretti and New Jersey’s Weisfeld have also been assigned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to judge Alvarez-Golovkin III, along with Oklahoma’s David Sutherland. While his loss to Bivol showed that Alvarez can indeed lose a unanimous decision in Las Vegas, the official closeness of what appeared to be a more definitive loss could not escape Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs), who believes that he deserved better than the scores from his first two fights against Alvarez.
Moretti and Weisfeld scored their middleweight championship rematch 115-113 for Álvarez, who was more effective against Golovkin during their rematch than in their first fight. Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) won their 12-round rematch by majority decision because the third judge, Glenn Feldman of Connecticut, scored a draw, 114-114, in September 2018 at T-Mobile Arena.
Their first fight infamously resulted in a 12-round split draw in September 2017, also at T-Mobile Arena.
Nevada’s Adalaide Byrd absurdly listed Alvarez as the 10-round winner, 118-110, over Golovkin that night, but Moretti credited Golovkin for a 115-113 victory in their opening meeting. Connecticut’s Don Trella scored his first fight with a draw, 114-114.
Bivol’s performance against Alvarez was more convincing than anything Alvarez or Golovkin accomplished in their first two fights. Golovkin feels Russia’s Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) could have been even more dominant that night.
“I wouldn’t say I was surprised because I know who Canelo is, I know who Bivol is,” Bivol said. “What surprised me the most was the reaction of people who were under some kind of illusion, who have basically been deluding themselves for a long period of time. [about Alvarez]. I think Bivol could have been more superior. We all saw how he looked after the fight. He didn’t even look tired. He had the ability to make his victory more convincing.”
Alvarez, 32, of Mexico, is listed by most sportsbooks as at least a 4-1 favorite to defeat Golovkin, 40, in their third meeting, a 12-round bout for the titles. Álvarez’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
