By Gerardo Granados: Last night, the middleweight Champion of the World Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin and challenger Saul Canelo Alvarez fought to a controversial draw at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The general opinion was against the judges that scored the bout a split draw; judge Adalaide Byrd had it 118-110 for Canelo, judge Dave Moretti had it 115-113 for Golovkin and judge Don Trella had it 114-114.
For me, it was a great competitive fight, but there were only two close swing rounds, which I ended up giving one to each fighter. So in the end, I saw Gennady Golovkin win by the score of 116-112.
Many boxing people gave their take on twitter. ESPN commentator Teddy Atlas was loud and clear on how wrong the fight scoring was and I totally agree with him.
Nigel Collins “I don’t always agree with Harold Lederman’s scoring, but IMO he nailed it with his 116-112 score for GGG.”
Promoter Tom Loeffler “Respect @Canelo for finally taking the fight against @GGGBoxing. The Fans know who the true champion still is #CaneloGGG”.
Dave Coldwell “BULL[expletive]! They robbed him. They screwed @GGGBoxing 100%. Disgusted 118-110 Canelo? Disgrace. Absolutely gutted.”
Former heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis “Here we go again. These scorecards were ridiculous!
Tyrannus Teran “Boxing is the only place you can be robbed without a gun -M.Tyson”
Light welter Champion of the World – Terence Crawford “That judge that had it 118 110 need to be fired asap.”
Al Bernstein “Been told most at press row had 116-112 for GGG. That or 115-113 is good to me.”
Dan Rafael “Round 12: They go the distance in a terrific fight! Rd 12 for Canelo. GGG wins 116-112 on my card.”
Paul Malignaggi “Nah that was politics man. Unfortunately when a fighter generates the money Canelo does lots of people get rich so cash cow gets protected.”
Former heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe “Robbed man @GGGBoxing got robbed boxing need to get there [expletive] together. That’s what’s up. Bowe.”
Douglas Fisher “I scored #CaneloGGG 115-113 for Golovkin. Lot of press row writers had GGG winning 116-112. Very good fight. Byrd’s score stains it, tho.”
Peter the sport Gawd “The Mexican crowd is cheering ggg and booing Canelo, that’s all you need to know.”
Brian Campbell “We have a problem in this sport. It’s not a new problem. It’s still awful.”
J Lepak “What a [expletive] joke that decision was!!! #CaneloGGG.”
Manny Pacquiao “Did they bring these judges over from Australia?”
Dan Rafael “#CaneloGGG is a classic fight ruined by inept judge in a draw.”
Stephen A Smith “I can’t believe this B.S. A f$&@&) Draw. GGG won the damn fight. It was close and a great one, but GGG won 115-113”
Alvarez surprised me when he started the fight with great hand speed and accurate punching and even that he was not shy to get hit by Golovkin, Canelo showed great upper body movement to make Gennady miss many shots in the first three rounds that he won. Alvarez gained confidence in those rounds whilst Golovkin looked hesitant to let his hand go.
From the fourth round, GGG started to get control of the actions, using his jab more, backing Canelo who constantly moved away from Golovkin´s range. When Alvarez stayed on the ropes, he even dared Golovkin to come to him, but Gennady was cautious. Both fighters exchanged hard blows but GGG kept on walking through Canelo´s best punches all night long.
In the last two rounds Canelo and Golovkin still were trying to rip each other head off. At the end Alvarez showed that he do is a great boxer with good chin and stamina. I have been critical about Canelo in the past, but with his performance against 666 he regained the respect I once had for him.
If Canelo had end up losing the fight instead of the fight have been ruled a draw, then I bet the audience that packed the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, would have cheered him and not booed him hard after the cards were announced. When interviewed by Max Kellerman, Alvarez´s face expression told the story of defeat; he was not upset or looked angry about the draw.
The draw and mostly the 118-110 score, ended up robbing Canelo from the respect that he had earned inside the ring. Days ago I told to a friend that a defeat means nothing when it comes from an epic battle or against a dangerous opponent.
The readers must know why this type of scoring had happen in the past and why for sure it will keep on happening, so I will just leave up to you to decide if this was a fair ruling by the judges. Now Golovkin has been denied from an official win but for sure fight fans around the world know who won that fight.
For Golovkin, a rematch should be the fair deal; maybe next May, perhaps now it’s more evident that his speed and reflexes have diminished. But for sure, Gennady GGG Golovkin proved that he is for real to his detractors.
As for Saul Canelo Alvarez, once again the fight judges have made him look bad in the eyes of many fight fans, and they’ve also robbed him from the respect that he had gained inside the ring. I think so, but do the readers agree with me?