Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has completed a remarkable turnaround of fortunes to defeat Gennady Golovkin and win the WBC and WBA middleweight belts after an exhilarating bout at the T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In a rematch that outshone the much talked about split draw that the pair fought out exactly a year ago, a sell-out crowd were treated to a hand-wringingly tense and competitive affair.
It took the judges to split the pair once more, with the Mexican Alvarez getting the decision. Such was the manner of his win, though, a third and final fight between the pair is all but assured.
It was a gratifying win for the 29-year-old (50-1-2, 34 KOs), who had served a doping ban after that first fight and come under much scrutiny for his use of PEDs, and he was in buoyant mood after his victory.
“I showed my victory with facts,” the native of Guadalajara through an interpreter. “He was the one who was backing up. I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight. It was a clear victory.”
For the Kazakh Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs), a first defeat in a long and storied career was difficult to take and he trudged back to his dressing room without speaking to the press in the ring.
Although both he and his trainer stopped short of questioning the judges, he backed his performance when the media pack did catch up with him. “I thought it was a very good fight for the fans, and very exciting. I thought I fought better than he did.”
There might just have to be another chapter to this tale yet.
