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Canelo takes majority decision win over Golovkin

0915_AP_CaneloGGG07

AP/Isaac Brekken

Canelo Alvarez lands a punch against Gennady Golovkin in the 12th round during a middleweight title boxing match, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, in Las Vegas. Alvarez won by majority decision.

Updated Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 | 10:08 p.m.

Canelo Beats GGG by Majority Decision

Canelo Alvarez, left, of Mexico lands a punch on WBC/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin of Khazakstan during their title fight at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. Alvarez took Glolovkin's WBC/WBA titles by majority decision. STEVE MARCUS Launch slideshow »

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez out-punched Gennady Golovkin to a majority decision in the highly-anticipated rematch Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Judge Glenn Feldman scored the contest a 114-114 draw, but both judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld had it 115-113 for Alvarez.

The Mexican weathered an early storm of jabs from Golovkin, and landed powerful counterpunches late in the fight that left Golovkin once again unhappy with the decision. Two judges gave the 12th round to Alvarez. If Golovkin would have won the round the fight would have once again ended in another draw.

Instead Alvarez leaves the fight as the WBC, WBA and IBO middleweight champion of the world. Unlike the first match, Alvarez started this match on the front foot and pushed the pace of the fight early. The two traded punches but the majority of Golovkin's were jabs and straights while Alvarez's were hooks and uppercuts.

Late in the fight Golovkin began landing heavy shots, one of which gave Alvarez a gaping cut above his left eye. While many felt it would be enough to earn the decision, the judges saw it differently.

When asked inside the ring if he would accept a third fight with Golovkin, Alvarez replied, "If people want another fight we will do it, but right now I want to enjoy this win with my family. But if they want another fight we will do it, no doubt."

Golovkin left the ring in displeasure for the decision, while the pro-Alvarez crowd of 21,965 chanted "CA-NE-LO" joyously as they exited the arena.

Note: I scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Golovkin

11th Round

Canelo retreated to his corner following the 11th round with his hand raised above his head, but it was Golovkin that landed the better shots in that round. I have Golovkin leading a razor-close fight 105-104 with one round remaining.

10th Round

Canelo's confidence is through the roof as he stood in front of Golovkin with his hands down and dodged the punch combination with nothing but slight head movement. The flashy move brought the sold out crowd to its feet and Canelo followed it up with a strong uppercut through Golovkin's guard. Then all of a sudden Golovkin finishes the round with a flurry of combinations that left Canelo stunned as he walked back to his corner. It felt like Canelo was seizing control of this fight in the late rounds, but what an answer by Golovkin. I've got it all tied up 95-95 with two rounds to go.

9th Round

Canelo sent sweat bursting off Golovkin's head with a strong right straight. He appears to be taking control of the fight in the late stages and is up 86-85 on my scorecard.

8th Round

The swelling underneath the eyes of Golovkin is growing quickly as Canelo continues to land power shots on the champion. Canelo handled Golovkin's pressure better than ever in the eighth round and won it handily. I've got the rematch all tied up 76-76 with four rounds to go.

7th Round

Canelo Alvarez continues to be the fight's aggressor, stalking Golovkin down and throwing heavy shots. The champion has continued to sneak his jab through Canelo's guard at will, but Canelo landed a pair of heavy shots near the end of the round that could have been enough to win it. I've got the fight razor close, with Golovkin leading 67-66 through seven rounds.

6th Round

Golovkin is the fresher fighter at this point in the fight and it's showing with the output. He is landing more often but Canelo is landing an occasional uppercut to bring the crowd to its feet. Canelo is also moving forward most of the fight, which is a contrast from the first bout between the two. I have Golovkin leading 58-56 at the midway point of the fight.

5th Round

Both fighters landed their share of punches in the fifth round, with Canelo's flurry coming at the end of the three minutes. The Mexican landed a few good counter punches including a big right that I thought stole an otherwise even round. I have Golovkin leading 48-47 through five.

4th Round

After three very evenly-matched rounds Golovkin finally showed the first signs of control of the fight in the fourth. The champion battered Canelo with two huge rights followed by a massive right uppercut. Canelo looked to slow down as the round went on. Whether that is due to conditioning or the big punches he took remains to be seen but it's something to watch going forward with more than half the fight still remaining. Golovkin out to a 39-37 lead on my scorecard.

3rd Round

Golovkin appears to be finding his rhythm in the third round, where he landed his biggest punches of the fight to this point. Golovkin timed Canelo's wide punches well with straight punches down the pipe that beat Canelo to the punch. He takes that round and leads 29-28 on my card.

2nd Round

The pro-Canelo crowd at T-Mobile Arena had more to cheer about in the second round, as the Mexican opened up with a few heavy punches. He countered Golovkin on multiple occasions including one late in the round that led to a great body shot landed by Canelo. He takes the second round and evens it 19-19 on my scorecard.

1st Round

The fighters came out to the roar of the crowd and traded jabs throughout the first round. Golovkin appeared to land the more solid shots, but neither fighter gave ground as they each connected. Golovkin gets the slight edge from me and has a 10-9 lead after one round of action.

Pre-fight

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin will finally face off in their highly-anticipated rematch tonight at T-Mobile Arena.

It’s been almost exactly a year since the two fought to a controversial draw on Sept. 16, 2017. Most believed Golovkin deserved to win the first bout, and the statistics backed that up. CompuBox calculated Golovkin outpunching Alvarez 218-169, and landing more shots in all but two rounds.

Despite those numbers judge Adalaide Byrd scored the fight 118-110 in favor of Alvarez, while Dave Moretti gave the fight to Golovkin 115-113, and Don Trella had it a 114-114 draw. Those scores resulted in a split draw, and a lot of controversy.

The rematch was originally scheduled for May 5, but Alvarez was yanked from the fight after testing positive for a banned substance, clenbuterol. Golovkin fought Vanes Martirosyan in his place, knocking him out in the second round.

Golovkin (38-0-1, 33 knockouts) looks to remain undefeated tonight while defending his WBA, WBC, and IBO middleweight titles.

Canelo (49–1–1, 34 knockouts) hopes to add the biggest victory of his career to an already-decorated resume.

The fight will air on HBO pay-per-view and was preceded by a three-fight undercard. First Roman Gonzalez knocked out Moises Fuentes in the fifth round, followed by David Lemieux knocking out Gary O'Sullivan in the first. In the co-main event referee Tony Weeks stepped into stop Jaime Munguia's punching barrage on Brandon Cook in the third round. Munguia defended his WBO junior middleweight title to remain undefeated at 40-0 with 34 knockouts.

This story will be continually updated throughout the night, including round-by-round updates during the main event.

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.

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