Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin, billed as Supremacy, was a professional boxing superfight contested for the unified WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, IBO, Ring magazine, and lineal middleweight championship. The bout was on September 16, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip. It was televised on HBO pay-per-view in the United States, on BoxNation Box Office in the United Kingdom, and on Space in Latin America.
The fight ended in a draw, with Dave Moretti scoring the fight 115-113 for Golovkin, Adalaide Byrd scoring it 118-110 for Álvarez, and Don Trella scoring it 114-114.
Video Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin
Background
Following Canelo Álvarez's victory against Miguel Cotto in 2015, talks began between the Golovkin and Álvarez camps over the future WBC title defense. In the end, an agreement was ultimately reached to allow interim bouts before the fight to, in the words of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, "maximize the interest in their highly anticipated showdown. The fight was anticipated to take place well into 2016.
On May 18, 2016, a few weeks after knocking out Amir Khan, Álvarez vacated the WBC middleweight title, which resulted in Golovkin being immediately awarded the title by the WBC who officially recognized him as their middleweight champion.
Immediately after his victory over Julio César Chávez Jr. on May 6, 2017, Canelo Álvarez announced that he would next fight Gennady Golovkin on the weekend of September 16, 2017 at a location to be determined. Golovkin joined him in the ring during the announcement to help promote their upcoming bout, accompanied by his trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler. Speaking through a translator, Álvarez said, "Golovkin, you are next, my friend. The fight is done. I've never feared anyone, since I was 15 fighting as a professional. When I was born, fear was gone." When Golovkin arrived in the ring, he said, "I feel very excited. Right now is a different story. In September, it will be a different style -- a big drama show. I'm ready. Tonight, first congrats to Canelo and his team. Right now, I think everyone is excited for September. Canelo looked very good tonight, and 100 percent he is the biggest challenge of my career. Good luck to Canelo in September." In the post-fight press conference, both boxers came face to face and spoke about the upcoming fight.
On May 9, Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions told the LA Times that Álvarez had an immediate rematch clause in place on his contract, whereas Golovkin, if he loses, won't be guaranteed a rematch. De La Hoya later also revealed in an interview with ESPN the fight would take place at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds with no re-hydration clauses, meaning Golovkin and Álvarez would be able to gain an unlimited amount of weight following the weigh in. On June 5, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue of the fight, and would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in the state of Nevada. The AT&T Stadium, Madison Square Garden and Dodger Stadium missed out on hosting the fight. Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions said in a statement that Álvarez would fight for the IBF meaning he would participate in the second day weight in, which the IBF require that each boxer weighs no more than 10 pounds over the 160 pound limit. Although he said there was no word on whether Álvarez would fight for the WBC title, Álvarez claimed that he would not be. On July 7, 2017 Golden Boy and K2 Promotions individually announced the tickets had sold out.
Maps Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin
Fight details
On fight night, in front of a sold out crowd of 22,358, Álvarez and Golovkin fought to a split draw (113-115, 114-114, 118-110). ESPN's Dan Rafael and HBO's Harold Lederman scored the fight 116-112 in favour of Golovkin. Judge Adalaide Byrd's scorecard of 118-110 in favor of Álvarez was widely ridiculed. Many observers felt that Golovkin had won a narrow, closely contested fight, and while a draw was justifiable, a card that wide in favor of Álvarez was inexcusable. Nevertheless, Bob Bennett, director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said that he had full confidence on Byrd going forward. Despite the controversy, several mainstream media outlets referred to the bout as a "classic". The fight started with both boxers finding their rhythm, Álvarez using his footwork and Golovkin establishing his jab. During the middle rounds, particularly between 4 and 8, Álvarez started each round quick, but seemed to tire out after a minute, with Golovkin taking over and doing enough to win the rounds. The championship rounds were arguably the best rounds and Álvarez started to counter more and both fighters stood toe-to-toe exchanging swings, the majority of which missed. The draw saw Golovkin make his 19th consecutive defence, just one behind middleweight great Bernard Hopkins. CompuBox stats showed that Golovkin was the busier of the two, landing 218 of 703 thrown (31%), while Álvarez was more accurate, landing 169 of his 505 thrown (34%). Golovkin out punched Álvarez in 10 of the 12 rounds.
Post-fight
Speaking to Max Kellerman after the fight, Golovkin said, "It was a big drama show. [The scoring] is not my fault. I put pressure on him every round. Look, I still have all the belts. I am still the champion." Álvarez felt as though he won the fight, saying "In the first rounds, I came out to see what he had. Then I was building from there. I think I won eight rounds. I felt that I won the fight. "I think I was superior in the ring. I won at least seven or eight rounds. I was able to counterpunch and made Gennady wobble at least three times. If we fight again, it's up to the people. I feel frustrated over my draw." Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez believed judge Byrd had her scorecard filled out before the first bell rang.
Álvarez ruled out another fight in 2017, claiming he would return on Cinco de Mayo weekend in May 2018. At the post-fight press conference, Álvarez said through a translator, "Look, right now I wanna rest. Whatever the fans want, whatever the people want and ask for, we'll do. You know that's my style. But right now, who knows if it's in May or September? But one thing's for sure - this is my era, the era of Canelo." Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler stated that they would like an immediate rematch, but Golovkin, who prefers fighting at least three times in a calendar year, reiterated his desire to also fight in December.
Reception
The fight surpassed Mayweather-Álvarez to achieve the third highest gate in boxing history. ESPN reported the fight generated $27,059,850 from 17,318 tickets sold. 934 complimentary tickets given out, according to the NSAC. Mayweather vs. Álvarez sold 16,146 tickets to produce a live gate of $20,003,150.
The replay, which took place a week later on HBO averaged 726,000, peaking at 840,000 viewers. The LA Times reported the fight generated 1.3 million domestic PPV buys. Although HBO didn't make an official announcement, it is believed that the revenue would exceed $100 million.
Fight card
Fight purses
Guaranteed Base Purses
- Canelo Álvarez ($5 million) vs. Gennady Golovkin ($3 million)
- Joseph Diaz ($200,000) vs. Rafael Rivera ($15,000)
- Diego De La Hoya ($80,000) vs. Randy Caballero ($50,000)
- Ryan Martin ($50,000) vs. Francisco Rojo ($25,000)
International broadcasting
See also
References
External links
- Gennady Golovkin's career boxing record
- Canelo Álvarez's career boxing record
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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