Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez Round by Round Results: Canelo and Golovkin Battle to a Draw

By: William Holmes

Golden Boy Promotions and HBO decided to start their pay per view at 8:00PM EST instead of 9:00PM EST so that they could start the main event earlier than other notable pay per view bouts where the main star often wouldn’t walk into the ring until close to midnight.

Their decision to start the pay per view earlier may have had a negative effect on the undercard as the arena was nearly empty until near the end of the co-main event of the night between Joseph Diaz Jr. and Rafael Rivera.

Photo: Joe Camporeale | USA Today

But the seats were filled and the excitement was thick by the start of the main event.

The national anthem of Kazakhstan was performed first, followed by the Mexican national anthem performed by Lucero, and then the national anthem of the United States.

Gennady Golovkin entered the ring first and was greeted by a chorus of boos. Canelo entered to a chorus of singing and excited Mexican fans.

Kenny Bayless severed as tonight’s referee.

The following is a round by round recap of tonight’s middleweight title bout.

Gennady Golovkin (37-0) vs. Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1); WBC, WBA, IBF, and IBO Middleweight Titles

Round 1:
Golovkin and Canelo meet in the center of the ring and Golovkin lands the first jab of the night. Canelo is circling towards Golovkin’s right hand surprisingly. Golovkin flicks out another jab as fans chant Canelo and Triple G. Golovkin with a jab to the body and a jab upstairs. Canelo throws a cross to the body of Golovkin. Golovkin with a right hand upstairs followed by two lazy jabs. Golovkin with another jab. Golovkin throws out another jab and Canelo answers with one of his own. Golovkin gets hit with a jab and a right to the body. Golovkin lands a good hard jab. Golovkin with a right hand to the top of the head. Canelo lands a hard jab on Golovkin. Golovkin answers with two jabs of his own. Canelo throws a right cross but Golovkin blocks it. Canelo ducks under a right by Golovkin. Canelo with a good two punch combination. Canelo lands another good jab. Close round.

Round 2:
Golovkin comes right at Canelo behind his jab. Golovkin is very active with his jab. Canelo does have faster hands than Golovkin and barely misses with a left hook. They momentarily tie up. Golovkin active with his jab again. Canelo lands a good two punch combination. They both land a jab at the same time. Canelo barely misses with a right cross. Canelo lands a jab of his own. Golovkin doesn’t appear to be able to find a home for his right hand and eats a two punch combination from Canelo followed by a body shot. They both land a good jab. Golovkin with a short right uppercut followed by a left hook. Canelo is showing good head movement. Golovkin keeps his jab in the face of Canelo. Golvokin is active with his punches but not really throwing heavy shots. Golovkin lands a straight right hand. Canelo lands a good uppercut to the body. Another close round.

Round 3:
Golovkin lands another jab. Golovkin lands a short left hook followed by a stiff jab. Canelo connects with a short right and left to the body. Canelo’s straight right is partially blocked. Golovkin with a short left hook and a straight right cross. Canelo with a right to the body. Canelo blocks a left hook from Golovkin. Golovkin moves out of the way of a right hand form Canelo. Canelo with a left to the body. Canelo lands a good straight right hand. Golovkin with three piston like jabs. Canelo with a left hook followed by a good jab. Golovkin lands a hard left hook. Golovkin with a left hook and Canelo with a right uppercut. Canelo goes to the body again. Canelo lands a hard left uppercut. Canelo barely misses with a right uppercut and they tie up. Golovkin is walking Canelo down around the ring. Canelo lands a heavy left hook to the head. Canelo backs up to end the round. Another close round.

Round 4:
Canelo lands an early jab and Golovkin misses with a straight right. Canelo lands another stiff jab on Golovkin. Golovkin lands a jab followed by a left hook. Canelo misses with a wild hook and Golovkin lands a good combination. Canelo with a left hook to the body. Canelo lands a jab. Golovkin misses with a two punch combination but lands a combo immediately afterwards. Canelo misses with a wild straight right. They both land jabs and Golovkin barely misses with a straight right. Golovkin lands some body shots on Canelo by the ropes. Canelo has his back against the ropes and Golovkin is taking his time looking for his shots. Golovkin lands a jab and a right to the body. Canelo digs a right hook to the body but Golovkin answers with a left hook upstairs. Canelo with a straight right to the body. Golovkin is very active with his jab and lands a good straight right. Canelo barely misses with a right hand. Golovkin with another short left hook. Much better round for Golovkin.

Round 5:
Golovkin and Canelo briefly tie up. Canelo lands a short jab. Canelo misses with a combination. Golovkin backs Canelo into the ropes and misses a lot of punches. Golovkin takes a right to the body. Canelo lands two jabs in a row. Golovkin with a right cross then ducks out of the way of a Canelo counter. Canelo with a left hook and Golovkin answers with one of his own. Golovkin with a shirt right uppercut followed by two jabs. Canelo with a hard left hook to the body. Canelo with a good straight right hand to the head. Golovkin with a right uppercut and a jab, but Canelo sneeks in a good straight right counter. Golovkin lands a hard straight right hand. Good exchange by the ropes. Golovkin and Canelo talking to each other. Golovkin has Canelo’s back to the ropes for nearly a minute and lands a good two punch combo but Canelo fights out of it. Golovkin with a good right hand. Another good round.

Round 6:
Canelo misses with uppercuts and Golovkin lands two good right hands. Canelo backs into the ropes and Golovkin lands two good shots on him. Golovkin is fighting his style of fight. Canelo lands a heavy hook to the body of Golovkin. Canelo with another good left hook. Golovkin has a good jab tonight. Canelo lands a short left hook. Golovkin with another left hook to the head. Canelo’s left hook finds it’s home again. Golovkin with a good straight right hand. Canelo backs into the ropes again before they tie up. Golovkin with a two punch combination. Canelo circling away. Golovkin has him backed into the ropes again and lands a right to the body. Golovkin lands two good shots on Canelo. Canelo with a straight left. Golovkin with a straight right and Cnaelo answers with a right uppercut. Canelo barely misses with a right cross. The crowd is now chanting for GGG. Canelo backing up as the round ends.

Round 7:
Golovkin again stalks Canelo to start the round. Canelo lands a good three punch combination but Golovkin answers with a combo of his own. Canelo keeps on backing into the ropes and Golovkin’s jab has been very steady this fight. Golovkin with a short-left hand and blocks a combination from Canelo. Golovkin connects with a two-punch combination. Golovkin with a right to the head of Canelo. Golovkin is the aggressor by far this fight. Golovkin backs Canelo into a corner again. Canelo misses with a straight right hand. Canelo digs a hook into the body of Golovkin then lands a two punch combination. Golovkin lands two good shots upstairs on Canelo then follows it with a short uppercut. Canelo lands a good counter jab. Golovkin takes a right uppercut to the body from Canelo. Close round again.

Round 8:
Golovkin lands a good right hand to the top of Canelo’s head. Canelo can’t keep fighting with his back to the ropes. Canelo lands a short left hook to the body. Canelo with a right uppercut followed by a left hook. Golovkin with a good heavy jab. Canelo appears to bother Golovkin when he lands his body shots. They both land a jab at the same time. Golovkin lands a good three punch combination. Canelo barely misses with a straight right hand. Golovkin with a short left uppercut. The crowd begins to chant GGG again. Golovkin with a short jab and Canelo moves him with a left hook. Golovkin with a left uppercut. Golovkin barely misses with a straight right hand. Golovkin with another jab. Very good right uppercut by Canelo. Golovkin keeps on coming forward. Another good body shot by Canelo. Another close round.

Round 9:
Golovkin starts off with a right to the body of Canelo. Canelo lands a two punch combination. Canelo pressing forward a little more this round. Golovkin lands a good jab followed by a right uppercut and a right cross. Golovkin seems willing to take some of Canelo’s best shots. Golovkin lands a good right hook. Canelo is having trouble keeping Golovkin off of him. Golovkin with a heavy jab. Golovkin does not appear to be phased when hit in the head by Canelo. Canelo takes a deep breath and lands a thudding right hook. Golovkin keeps on coming forward. Golovkin lands another good jab. Canelo has a two-punch combo blocked. Canelo moves out of the way from a Golovkin right hand. Golovkin is keeping heavy amount of pressure on Canelo. Canelo lands two good body shots on Golovkin. Good three punch combination by Canelo. Another close round, but that right by Canelo was the best punch of the night.

Round 10:
Golovkin opens with a short right uppercut to the body before they tie up. Canelo misses with a wild left hook but lands a left uppercut. Canelo turning it up a little bit this round and lands a good combination. Canelo with a two punch combination and Golovkin appears to be hurt but he lands a left hook. Golovkin lands three good jabs. Golovkin with a right hook. Canelo lands a left hook. Good exchanges this round. Golovkin with a right to the top of the head again and they tie up. Golovkin with a jab and a right to the ear. Golovkin lands a good jab. Golovkin with another jab. Golovkin with a good straight right. The crowd is chanting for Canelo. Golovkin misses with a right hook and they tie up again. Canelo lands a good jab. Golovkin with a good jab and Canelo with a left to the body. Golovkin and Canelo appear to be tiring a little bit. Golovkin with a good three punch combination on Canelo. Canelo can’t keep backing up to end rounds.

Round 11:
Canelo begins the round circling away again. Golovkin misses with two jabs. The crowd is chanting for Canelo again. Canelo lands a good hook to the body. Golovkin lands a short jab on Canelo again. Canelo lands a good jab. Golovkin just keeps on walking forward not worried about getting tagged. Golovkin with another jab. Canelo with a right hook to the body but Golovkin lands a right hook upstairs. Canelo with a very clean right cross. Golovkin tells Canelo to come forward. Golovkin with a jab. Golovkin misses a combo and so does Canelo. Golovkin with a good right corss followed by a left hook upstairs. Golovkin sneaks in a good right uppercut. Another close round.

Round 12:
Neither boxer can be comfortable that they are winning. Canelo lands two good jabs and a combo to the body. Canelo connects with a left hook upstairs. Canelo lands a short left hook to the head of Golovkin. Good three punch combination by Canelo followed by another multi punch combination. Canelo lands a good straight right hook. Both boxers are exchanging and landing. Canelo dodges out of the way of a Golovkin right hand. Golovkin lands two good jabs followed by a short right cross. Canelo looks gassed. Golovkin lands a short jab. Golovkin with a right hand and Cnaelo answers with a straight right of his own. Golovkin lands a short right uppercut. Canelo lands a looping right uppercut. They exchange as the fight concludes.

The final scores were 118-110 Canelo, 115-113 Golovkin, 114-114 Draw