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By Arne K. Lang
LAS VEGAS, NV –After four long years, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Genndiy Golovkin renewed acquaintances tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, In their first two encounters, it was hard to find two boxers who were more evenly matched. Toss out Adalaide Byrd’s preposterous 118-110 tally for Canelo in the first meeting, and the cumulative tally favored Alvarez 571-569.
Despite this history, few of the pundits expected the third meeting to be comparably competitive, GGG was now 40 years old, an age when most boxers, if still active, are far over the hill. And indeed, Golovkin did look older and slower, especially during the early portion of the fight when Canelo built up a lead that GGG could not overcome as Canelo's workrate declined.
GGG did his best book in the eighth and ninth rounds and actually appeared less tired as the bout wended to its conclusion. The judges had it 116-112 and 115-113 twice. Thia bout was not as lusty as the first two encounters. In GGG's own post-fight words, it was "more of a tactical fight, more chess." The crowd booed intermittently and especially in the last round.
Canelo, now 58-2-2 (39) entered the contest as the world's undisputed 168-pound champion and retained all four of his belts. He has indicated that he will likely pursue a rematch with Dmitry Bivol if Bivol defeats Gilberto Ramirez. However, his first order of business is to repair a damaged hand. GGG (42-2-1) has never lost to anyone other than Canelo Alvarez and retained his distinction of having never been knocked down.
Co-Feature
In a bout where both combatants threw a ton of punches but there was yet little in the way of fireworks, San Antonio southpaw Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the sport’s youngest reigning world title-holder, successfully defended his WBC super flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Israel Gonzalez, The judges had it 118-109, 117-110, and 114-113.
There were no knockdowns, but Rodriguez, who improved to 17-0 (11), had a point deducted for a low blow and Gonzalez suffered a cut over his left eye from an accidental clash of heads. Gonzalez (28-5-1) has suffered four of his five losses in bouts sanctioned for a world title.
Other Bouts of Note
Kazakhstan middleweight Ali Akhmedov, who is promoted by Gennadiy Golovkin, pitched a shutout over 36-year-old Philadelphia warhorse Gabriel Rosado, winning 100-90 on all three cards. The bout wasn’t as lopsided as the scores suggested as Rosado, who had Freddie Roach in his corner, was always dangerous and had a few good moments.
This was the third fight back for the Kazakh after being stopped in the 12th round by Carlos Gongora in a match where Akhmedov was comfortably ahead on the scorecards. He advanced his record to 19-1 (14) whereas Rosado, who never fails to render an honest effort, declined to 26-16-1.
Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams went 10 rounds for the first time in his career but advanced his record to 12-0 (9) with a unanimous decision over Northampton, England’s Kieron Conway (18-3-1). Williams landed the best punch of the fight in the ninth round, an uppercut that knocked Conway back against the ropes and was properly scored a knockdown. The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice.
LA super middleweight Diego Pacheco moved up in class and scored a fifth-round stoppage of Luis Collazo. The bout started slowly and there were scattered boos from the scattered bodies in the arena. Pacheco found his rhythm in the fourth frame and turned up the heat in the next stanza. An overhand right followed by a swift succession of body punches (and a little push) put Collazo on the deck. He beat the count but an ensuing barrage forced a stoppage. The official time was 2:25 of round five.
The rangy six-foot-four Pacheco, a stablemate of David Benavidez, improved to 16-0 (13). Collazo, a 2012 Olympian for Puerto Rico, declined to 16-3-1.
Twenty-three-year-old Fresno, California lightweight Marc Castro, who was reportedly 177-7 as an amateur, improved to 8-0 (6) with a brutal one-punch knockout of Mexico’s Kevin Montiel Mendoza (6-2-2). A scorching right uppercut ended matters at the 1:30 mark of round five. Mendoza landed flat on his back, unconscious, and needed medical assistance before he was fit to leave the ring.
In a battle between undefeated super lightweights, Aaron Aponte (6-0-1) and Fernando Angel Molina (8-0-1) traded inconsequential knockdowns in an 8-round contest that ended in a draw. The scores were 76-74, 74-76, and 75-75.
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