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Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Canelo topples Kazakh God of War to reign supreme over middleweight division


Sun 16 Sep 2018 | 01:24 PM
shawar ibrahim

CAIRO, SEPTEMBER 16(SEE): Canelo Alvarez pulled an unexpected upset and defeated Gennady Golovkin to claim the middleweight boxing titles and end Golovkin's undefeated streak.

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It took a year for boxing's most anticipated rematch to finally come to fruition, and both men didn't disappoint resulting in 12 more rounds of war.

Alvarez got what he had waited for, victory over Gennady Golovkin following 12 months of conjecture and controversy, with the narrowest of points victories being announced as T-Mobile Arena and the boxing world waited to see the outcome of this fascinating rivalry.

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One judge scored it level at 114-114, with the other two favoring Alvarez 115-113, though in truth, a repeat of the outcome of the first matchup in September 2017, would not have been inappropriate.

Canelo stated post fight "I showed my victory with facts. He was the one who was backing up," said Alvarez. "I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight. It was a clear victory."

Both men came in with a point to prove. The rematch was supposed to happen in May, but Alvarez tested positive for banned substance Clenbuterol, which he claimed was a result of eating contaminated Mexican meat.

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The fight was a bit more than a boxing match as it was filled with intensity. It looked a lot different this time, as Alvarez abandoned his previous counter punching game plan and became the aggressor, moving forward whenever possible and taking the fight to Golovkin.

Alvarez was definitely the aggressor of the first couple of rounds until the mid-point of the contest and seemed to be growing in confidence. But when Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez informed his fighter he was almost certainly losing on the scorecards, it brought a fresh round of effort and intensity.

Golovkin won the 10th and 11th rounds and appeared to have done enough to also secure the 12th round, which was considered by many as the most offensive round of the fight, as both fighters were uncertain of the result. If all three judges agreed, a draw would have resulted a second time. That's how close it was.

 

Canelo Alvarez celebrates after defeating Gennady Golovkin by a majority decision in their highly anticipated middleweight championship rematch in Las Vegas.