Canelo vs. GGG 2: Robbery in the Desert

By: Gary Todd

When the rematch was finally announced for Canelo v Golovkin; I originally thought, “Why would you go back to the scene of the crime?”. They could have staged this fight in Dallas or New Yor and it would have sold out, but it wasn’t to be. It’s clear Las Vegas is the fight capital ,the Mecca of boxing, and it puts up the huge money required. This glittering town in the desert always has and always will be considered the Mecca,because money talks.

There is no doubt in my mind that Gennady Golovkin was a victim of a crime last night in Vegas. It was armed robbery in the ring. The fight was billed as “Final Judgment”, but after 12 rounds of tremendous armed combat by these two champion boxers, there was no judgment, and that was final.

Canelo Alvarez fought a great fight. He had a lot to prove, and he did answer a few questions in the ring. He fought the best he could , and he came forward while pressing and he stuck to a game plan. That game plan was to target Golovkin’s body every time he got inside the pocket. He also showed how tough he really is while taking some heavy blows. He also stayed off the ropes and fought the fight of his life. In saying all that, it still wasn’t enough to beat Gennady Golovkin.

GGG was dominant with his jab, and at one point in the fight I said to myself, “He’s winning this fight with one arm. “

I gave eight rounds to Golovin in this fight. I thought the 2nd round was close and I gave it to Canelo. I thought round 5 was close so I gave it to Canelo. I also gave Canelo rounds 6 and 8 . Other than that, it was Golovkin’s fight. The jab, uppercuts, and clean power shots stole the show.

I have been been covering boxing for a long time, and through the years I have been ringside to witness some of the greatest fights and this was a great fight. I travel alone, and when I get there, all I focus on is the fight and the fighters. There is no agenda with me. I don’t just watch the fight, I study the fight. I don’t count the punches, but I have been around long enough to know how to score a round. The judges scored this fight wrong. They have been around a long time. Maybe too long. They should all be made to sit in a room and watch the fight again and see how they scored it the second time around. 114-114 ? 115-113 ? 115-113.?

The 12th round was the deciding round according to the scorecards and 2 of the 3 judges gave it to Canelo. If you watched that 3 minutes of boxing , 10 times over, you would score that round to Gennady Golovkin. With everything at stake, these judges who are put into a tremendous position of power, need to get it right.

Like in the movies, all the good heists have a take down team, that all have a part to play, and last night in Vegas, there was a robbery in the dessert.

Gary Todd is an international author with his books on Boxing’s World Champions, “Workouts from Boxing’s Greatest Champs Volumes 1 and 2”. He has been involved in all aspects of the sport of boxing for over 25 years.