A number of high-level fights have allowed the sport of boxing to thrive in 2022. Shakur Stevenson dominated Oscar Valdez to unify super featherweight titles. Katie Taylor eeked out a close decision against Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden. Even Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk have made noise with their second heavyweight clash. Not to mention, Jermell Charlo, Ryan Garcia, Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Errol Spence Jr. have also stepped inside the square circle of truth this year. While each of those fighters has provided top-tier action, no fight has crossed over to the mainstream quite like the third chapter of the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin saga.
Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez have developed a bitter rivalry over the years. In 2017, Alvarez stepped up to challenge Golovkin for four pieces of the middleweight title. After 12 exciting rounds, Golovkin and Alvarez fought to a controversial draw that many critics felt should have gone on in Golovkin’s favor. One year later, Golovkin and Alvarez revisited their rivalry for a second time. This time around, Alvarez was able to earn a hotly contested decision victory. With a win, Alvarez opted to move up to the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions where he earned multiple world titles. Meanwhile, Golovkin stayed at middleweight where he regained his world title and defended it twice in four years. Just when many felt that the two may never finish their story, Golovkin and Alvarez agreed to meet one last time in Sin City.
On Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Alvarez-Golovkin saga came to a conclusion. Throughout the first eight rounds of action, Alvarez took control using his explosive combination of speed and power. Despite falling behind early, Golovkin began to let his hands go in the ninth round and pick up some momentum. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Alvarez finished the 12th round on top and picked up the 58th win of his career. Sitting ringside, all three judges delivered the following scorecards in favor of Canelo Alvarez: 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.
Canelo and GGG embrace in the middle of the ring ?#CaneloGGG3 pic.twitter.com/MCe21KTCUa
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 18, 2022
