Alvarez kept a curiously reticent Golovkin from throwing more than his jab until late in the fight and Golovkin looked every bit of a fighter that saw openings but was simply too slow to fire and take advantage offensively.
Golovkin did win three of the final four rounds on my card and the fourth could have gone to either fighter but never seriously troubled Canelo, who was content to sit on a lead and cruise home.
The decision was closer than I expected with two scores of 115-113 and one at 116-112 (my score was 117-111 for Canelo) and other than the tenth round, I didn't see any other round that was difficult to score.
It almost had the feel of judges "trying to make things right" from the first two fights by giving Golovkin any close rounds.
I compare it to the second fight between Marco Antonio Barrera where Barrera was felt to have beaten Morals in their first fight and so much was made of it that the judges went overboard for Barrera in the second fight and arguably gave the fight to Barrera when Morales likely deserved the edge.
For Golovkin, I think he should consider retirement.
GGG does have something remaining but as in his win over Ryota Murata, it's taking him far too long to get started and against the top fighters in his weight class (es), GGG could be giving away rounds at the beginning of fights that will eventually cost him against a fighter below his level.
Besides, I really don't see a big money fight for him as he just lost to the champion at super middleweight and while he could return to middle to defend his WBA and IBF titles, the only semi-attractive fight might be a unification bout against WBC champion Jermall Charlo and even that has lost some shine with GGG's loss and Charlo's inactivity along with questionable opposition.
WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly would be for GGG as Golovkin once was for Sergio Martinez, Miguel Cotto, and Canelo himself- a high risk for a very low reward.
As for Canelo, the natural fight is against David Benavidez, although some will think Jermall Charlo with others pushing for Demetrius Andrade.
Benavidez at least tries to stay active while Charlo and Andrade have fought some less than distinguished challengers and while that may not be completely their fault in all cases, I'd like to see either beat a solid contender before a Canelo chance.
Canelo will likely activate his option for a rematch against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol but Bivol has to get past mandatory contender in undefeated former WBO super middleweight king Gilberto Ramirez and that's far from an easy affair for Bivol.
Should Ramirez upend Bivol in what would be a mild but not massive upset, Canelo vs Ramirez in an All-Mexican battle would make all the sense for the long-rumored Canelo attempt to break the boxing attendance record for one fight in Mexico City.
I'd also wonder why Canelo has been outworked down the stretch in each of his last two fights?
Is it possible that we have seen the best that Alvarez may have had to offer in the ring and a slow decline could be starting now?
It's a fair question and one to consider.
In fights that I have not watched as of this writing
Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez retained his WBC junior bantamweight title over Israel Gonzalez via unanimous decision in what has been reported as a very good fight that was closer than the scorecards would indicate.
Super middleweight Ali Akhmedov was reported to have won every round of his ten-rounder against warhorse Gabriel Rosado.
Boxing Challenge
Ramon Malpica: 139 Pts (5)
No comments:
Post a Comment