As their thrilling 36-minute war drew to a close, Gennady Golovkin shook Canelo Alvarez’s head with a lasting uppercut before the final bell rang in Sin City.
The two great rivals had just staged a classic under the bright lights of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, relentlessly clenched in an epic sequel to their controversial first meeting. But for Golovkin there was only one winner.
After initially hugging Canelo at the bell, the Kazakh fighter raised an arm as he was held aloft in jubilation by trainer Abel Sanchez, adamant they put this rematch on the scorecards.
Gennady Golovkin’s last encounter with Canelo Alvarez was captivating from start to finish
The pair hugged as it drew to a close, but Golovkin was adamant that he’d done enough
What followed, however, was another highly controversial decision that Golovkin still refuses to accept to this day.
Because instead, it was Canelo, the beneficiary of a disputed split-decision tie the first time, who triumphed in Paradise thanks to two scores of 115-113 and a redundant 114-114 verdict.
As the Mexican celebrated his triumph, a stunned and demoralized Golovkin looked around blankly before leaving the ring and returning to his dressing room in horror.
Four years, four months and twelve days after that sad night in Vegas, he returns to the same arena this weekend in a bid to get lucky against Canelo for the third time. Although at 40 and seemingly having his best days behind him, GGG is faced with an almost impossible mission.
When he first started working with Alvarez in September 2017, Golovkin entered the competition as arguably the most avoided fighter in world boxing. .
But it was Canelo whose hand was raised in a very controversial way that night
Golovkin to this day refuses to accept that controversial decision and insists he won
The two big rivals are now set to meet for the third time in Las Vegas this weekend
He had 37 consecutive wins, 34 knockouts and was widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound stars on the planet. Simply put, GGG seemed like an unstoppable force at the time.
His mega fight with Canelo was supposed to be the unstoppable force that would meet the immovable object, though it certainly didn’t turn out that way in the end.
Alvarez held out and contributed to a truly memorable piece, with both men proving their unparalleled resistance to punches by shaking off their right hand, which would see most fighters star.
But in general, the boxing world seemed to agree that Golovkin had defeated his opponent. The middleweight king was the well-trained aggressor over 12 rounds, often pushing Canelo back and slightly overpowering him in a classy, powerful display.
While he may have only been two or three rounds ahead, Golovkin was the clear winner and deserved to keep his three championships. In the end, he did just that, but via a split-decision draw.
One judge scored the match 114-114, while another leaned 115-113 to GGG. The other, still ridiculed to this day, was an outrageous 118-110 for Adalaide Byrde’s Canelo.
Golovkin was one of the leading fighters in the world when he first met Canelo in 2017
But five years later, he is now seemingly past the peak of his powers at the age of 40
So if he couldn’t do enough to influence the judges at the height of his power, how on earth can Golovkin expect to do so at the twilight of his career? The veteran stares a mountainous task straight in the face on Saturday night.
Not only is he the natural outsider against Canelo – who has boxed four times in the past 18 months and became an undisputed super middleweight champion, competing only once – but GGG is arguably doomed, even if he manages to win a lead too tight case.
To prevail on the scorecards against the PPV superstar, a one-sided beatdown seems necessary, as Dmitry Bivol discovered earlier this year.
The Russian light heavyweight was muscular, thoughtful and outclassed Canelo in May, barely dropping a round against his overmatched opponent, then taking home three mind-bogglingly narrow 115-113 results.
Even in his one-sided defeat to Dmitry Bivol, Canelo received a generous scorecard
One judge even scored his final loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather as a draw
Even during his man-versus-boy training by Floyd Mayweather in 2013, where the boxing legend rode to a routine win, he received an inexplicable score of 114-114 from judge CJ Ross.
While not implying foul play, the Guadalajara fighter has a history of profiting from controversial decisions, meaning it’s only realistic to assume that Golovkin has already run into them in their highly anticipated trilogy.
Since his win over Kamil Szeremeta in December 2020, the unified middleweight champion has only enjoyed a comfortable hiatus from Ryota Murata in April, his only appearance in the past 21 months.
You’ll have to scroll back even further to remember the last time he also contested a meaningful fight – and unlike him getting a generous points verdict after a slow rendering. Sergiy Derevyanchenko arguably inflicted Golovkin’s first real defeat that night, but found himself on the wrong side of a questionable decision.
Golovkin almost faces an impossible mission in his trilogy fight against the Mexican
In the twilight of his career, Golovkin will have to produce an age-defying, career-best performance if he is to finally triumph on paper against his nemesis.
Of course there’s a chance Canelo is still reeling from his defeat to Bivol, although the 168-pound king is still the man to beat in this division and will instead likely be inspired by the thought of redemption this weekend .
GGG, meanwhile, steps up from 160 pounds for the very first time and throws another obstacle for him to overcome into the mix.
But when he turns back the years and pulls off the unthinkable in paradise, Golovkin will ride into the sunset with a fairytale ending in the bag.