By Vince D’Writer: On Saturday night, September 17 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defended his undisputed super middleweight crown against Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin. The third installment of the rivalry was not as exciting as the previous two encounters, but nonetheless, Alvarez was able to take control of the pace of the fight right away and ultimately earned a unanimous decision win.
After starting the fight with a sluggish first round, Canelo took control for the first three quarters of the fight using the jab, going to the body and landing clean counterpunches. Triple G stumbled out the doors with a slow start as he seemed hesitant. It didn’t look like he was trying to shoot with his right hand, and the only success he experienced during the first three quarters of the fight was utilizing a jab touch. Triple G didn’t pick up the pace on him until the ninth round of the fight when he threw some combinations and was able to back up Canelo.
Despite attempting a rally throughout the championship rounds, GGG ended up coming up short as Canelo came out on top and successfully defended his undisputed super middleweight crown. From an entertainment standpoint, the fight trilogy was lackluster, had limited action, and the only big dramatic show came when the fight cards were tallied. For some strange reason, the judges scored the fight closer than it should have been, as they had the contest scored 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112, but at the end of the day, the right fighter got the prize. unanimous decision win.
Gennadiy Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs), 40, gave the impression of an aging fighter who didn’t want to take chances and was content to go the distance. During his post-fight interview, Golovkin hinted at continuing his career at 160 and defending his IBF and WBA titles. Triple G also took a moment to praise Canelo. “Everyone knows that this is a high level class. This is the best fighter in boxing. Everyone knows who Canelo is. It’s a great fight. Look at his face, look at my face. We trained well and that shows that we put on a very good quality fight”.
Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) capped off the trilogy with a win, but his battle royal began after the boxing match was over. While participating in the post-fight press conference, the 32-year-old addressed a line of questioning that he doesn’t like or appreciate. “Guys, I always say this, show that video and put what you want. When I say I don’t want to fight Mexicans, it’s because I represent Mexico, and that’s why, but I don’t care. I fight anyone all my life. Whether you think I don’t want to fight a Mexican Benavidez, but look, I hear his father talk a lot of shit, but look, he hasn’t accomplished anything, a single champion Anthony Dirrell.”
The aforementioned David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) is a former two-time WBC super middleweight champion. He was stripped of the title from him in September 2018 due to a positive drug test, stripped again in August 2020 because he was over the 168-pound weight limit, but never lost the title from him inside the ring. Benavidez has won title eliminators, and in May 2022 he scored a third-round TKO victory over David Lemieux to become the interim WBC champion, but he has yet to receive an invitation to step into the ring with the undisputed champion. Frustration has built up in the Benavidez camp, and one member in particular has been vocal about the situation.
Jose Benavidez Sr is the father and trainer of David Benavidez. During an interview with Fighthype, he expressed his thoughts on the Canelo situation. “I was scared to fight David Benavidez. If David was that easy, he wouldn’t care if he was Mexican or black or whatever, but he knows David is stronger, bigger and hungrier.” Jose continued his opinion of Canelo when he said: “He doesn’t want to take the risk or the chance of losing to David Benavidez and taking all the fame out of him. He loses to Bivol, no problem, if he loses to David, David becomes a superstar and is forgotten. That is what I think.”
Canelo Alvarez is a legend in the sport of boxing, but it’s becoming painfully obvious that he doesn’t want to face anyone who is a known threat to his throne. Dmitry Bivol was a nasty surprise because he looks like he’s a cherry pick gone wrong. Bivol didn’t look too impressive in his fights before the Canelo fight, and it seemed to be the easiest route to a 175-pound title, but unfortunately for Alvarez he was overwhelmed by Bivol’s strong jab and combination of punches from Bivol. the.
This past Saturday Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin gave boxing fans a fight they didn’t ask for. Members of the boxing community such as Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr, Pauli Malignaggi and Robert Garcia have stated that they would love to see a Canelo-Benavidez matchup. A fight between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez is a fight that is in demand, but unfortunately Alvarez will be out for a significant amount of time due to a hand injury. Hopefully, when he gets back in the ring, Canelo could give boxing fans the fight they really want to see.
