The mega fight came, it delivered and it finished without a definitive conclusion.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin ended in a split draw (118-110 Canelo, 115-113 Golovkin, 114-114) that will most likely re-spark conversations over judging practices within the sport. Fightful scored it 114-114. Below is the finish of the fight from Fightful's live coverage of the fight.
Round 12: Canelo lands an uppercut and seems to hurt GGG for a bit. The two champions are scrapping at each other and GGG gets hit with another hard Canelo shot. Both men get tagged hard by their respective opponent's jabs. They clinch. GGG attacks with the jab and then both men land short hooks upstairs. The two boxers clinch once more. They look exhausted. GGG blocks Canelo's 1-2. GGG eats a short uppercut from Canelo. Both men trade blows and the fight ends with the crowd giving a standing ovation.
Fightful scored round 12 for Canelo 10-9, making it a 114-114 draw
Official Result: Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez fight to a split draw (118-110, 113-115, 114-114)
As far as the fight is concerned, it was the fireworks show that promoter Oscar De La Hoya promised for months. Golovkin established the jab early in the fight, but Canelo would bounce back almost midway through the fight. After Golovkin started throwing harder punches and Canelo's best shots seemingly did no damage to the unified champion, Canelo appeared to look tired heading into the championship rounds.
But the Mexican star refused to give up and brought the fight to Golovkin in the last three rounds, going toe-to-toe with Golovkin and even getting the upper hand in most exchanges late in the round to at least secure the draw.
Despite the fight living up to many people's expectations, the story of the fight was judge Adalaide Byrd's 118-110 score in favor of Canelo as the boxing community almost unanimously reacted in disgust of that one score.
The fight was for Golovkin's unified WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles, but Golovkin retains the titles as a result of the draw. The whole world is demanding a rematch and in the post-fight interviews with Max Kellerman, both Golovkin and Canelo said they want a rematch.
For all intents and purposes, the sport needs a rematch in order to determine a definitive winner. Throughout the week leading into the fight, De La Hoya said Canelo vs. Golovkin could be a trilogy. Based on how this first fight ended, a trilogy may not be so farfetched after all.
Check out the Fightful podcast where managing editor Sean Ross Sapp and Carlos Toro recap the fight, as well as the rest of the pay-per-view card in the video above.
