By Geoffrey Ciani: Last weekend it finally happened. It had been 4 years since they last met, and 5 years since they first met: the highly anticipated third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. This one was for Canelo’s undisputed super middleweight world championship.
The rivalry began in September 2017 when Canelo was the lineal middleweight world champion and Golovkin was the unified WBA/WBC/IBF middleweight champion. The official verdict was a controversial draw, with most observers believing Golovkin deserved to win. Judge Adalaide Byrd inexplicably scored the fight 118-110 in favor of Canelo, which in no way reflects the action that occurred inside the ring.
The rematch occurred in September 2018, and this time it was Canelo’s bloodline against Golovkin’s WBA/WBC, who had since been stripped by the IBF. The rematch was a much closer and more competitive contest that could reasonably have gone either way, and could reasonably have been declared a draw. However, Canelo was victorious by majority decision, in a fight that was close enough that it would inevitably generate some degree of controversy among boxing fans.
Last weekend, on September 17, they finally met again, and this time Canelo completely outclassed Golovkin for a unanimous decision victory. So officially Canelo won the rivalry beating Golovkin twice, and also having a draw. But the first fight ended in a controversial draw, the rematch was extremely competitive and could have gone either way, and Canelo clearly won the third match. All of these things combined leave a degree of doubt as to who really won the rivalry in the eyes of many fans.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will provide a quick review of the third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, as well as provide some thoughts on the historical high stakes that were not matched in overall drama and intensity throughout this trilogy, which was important in the history of the 160 and 168 pound divisions. Watch and enjoy the video to get a man’s opinion. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).
