Canelo Wins Mexican Style Rematch by Majority Decision

LAS VEGAS-Mexican style erupted and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez proved that it’s not foreign to him as he bested powerful Gennady “GGG” Golovkin to win the middleweight world titles by majority decision on Saturday.

The Mexican redhead Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) proved in his 50^th win superior to Mexican style fighter Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) of Kazakhstan before a sold-out crowd of 21,965 screaming fans at T-Mobile Arena. Still, it was close.

After months of name calling and accusations of cheating, plus a suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission because of illegal use of banned drugs, Alvarez abided by the penalty rendered and was supervised by VADA to be eligible to fight Golovkin in the rematch after their first encounter ended in a majority draw.

This time Alvarez cleaned the slate and won by majority decision after 12 turbulent back and forth rounds. The fans were loud in their support for both throughout.

Youth was in Alvarez’s favor and he took advantage with his speed despite standing in striking distance in every round. It was a matter of machismo for the Guadalajara native who had suffered hearing Golovkin’s team claim he did not fight like a Mexican while the middleweight champion did in the first fight.

Alvarez took it to heart.

Early in the fight Alvarez was quicker to the draw though Golovkin was able to counter with powerful blasts. The exchange of blows was measured in a pace dictated by Golovkins jabs in the first three rounds. It was too early to determine who was the superior fighter.

Golovkin picked up the pace in the fourth round and snapped Alvarez’s head back with vicious right uppercut. Alvarez then blasted a left hook to the body and got a reaction from the blow, but overall Golovkin had his best round.

The quickened pace continued and Alvarez began targeting Golovkin’s body with right uppercuts to the belly and left hooks to the liver and ribs. Though the always strong Golovkin did not show it, Alvarez continued the body assault. In the sixth round both unloaded with tremendous blows that seemingly would knock out anyone. Both remained standing.

Alvarez began to get into a rhythm with rights to the body and lefts to the body mixed in with power shots to the head. Golovkin rallied a bit with a three-punch combination and seemed to regain control of the round overall. It stopped Alvarez’s momentum.

Both fighters engaged in some hellacious shots in the next few rounds though both seemed tired. At one point Alvarez did the sign of the cross and entered in the fray as if prepared to walk into fire. He did.

Golovkin absorbed some tremendous blows to the head and though tired he never wilted. Neither did Alvarez. The final two rounds were hard to determine whose blows were affecting each other. Golovkin must have known the decision was in the balance and erupted in the final round with rights and a right uppercut followed by a left hook and right-left combination. A big right cross from Alvarez stopped the onslaught and then the Mexican redhead began connecting with his own.

A collective exhaling took part when the final bell sounded. Both Golovkin and Alvarez hugged briefly. Both had fought to the full extent of their abilities and both fought Mexican style.

One judge Glenn Feldman scored it a draw 114-114, while Steve Weisfeld and Dave Moretti scored it 115-113 for Alvarez who becomes the new WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titleholder.

“It was a very exciting and very emotional 12^th round,” said Alvarez, 28. “He’s a great fighter. I salute him. He’s a great fighter but I did this for Mexico.”

Golovkin was classy in defeat and knew it was very close and could have been a draw.

“I’m not going to say who won tonight because the victory belongs to Canelo according to the judges,” said Golovkin, 36, who was taken to the hospital for stitches. “I thought the fight was very good for the fans.”

Many felt the fight was superior to the first in terms of pure action.

“If he wants, we can do it again,” said Alvarez. “But let’s enjoy this tonight.”

Munguia

WBO super welterweight titlist Jaime Munguia tried to contain the storm within but once Canada’s Brandon Cook began unleashing wild overhand rights, the chains of restraint were off and both were flailing away like bullies in a street fight. In this street fight Munguia was vastly in his element in winning by third round knockout.

Munguia used his jab and foot movement to keep the fight at a distance in the opening round. Cook looked to land some counter rights every time the taller Mexican fighter fired a jab, but no luck. And when Cook tried to mount an offense with more overhand rights the fight was on and Munguia was like a wild stallion unleashed out of the gates.

At the end of the second round Munguia had Cook cornered in the corner and connected with a blistering right cross from that long arm he possesses. Cook barely survived.

Munguia seemed more intent to close out the fight in the third round as he cornered Cook and dropped a right hand like an anchor and down went Cook. The Canadian bravely got up but Munguia raked him with a blistering four-punch combination and referee Tony Weeks wisely stopped the fight at 1:03 of the round. It was another knockout win for the Tijuana fighter.

“I was a little more composed and concentrated this time around,” Munguia said as fans cheered. “Before, I was always looking first for the knockout and only the knockout, this time I focused a little bit more.”

Talk on his readiness to move up to the middleweight division is already being discussed.

“Little by little you find out what you do well,” said Munguia about what he learned from this win. “I think it’s a process I’m only 21 and I’ll take the fight of the winner. We’ve learned a lot of things. I want to show that I can fight the best to show that I am the best.

Lemieux

A blistering war on social media was ended abruptly in the boxing ring as former middleweight world champion David Lemieux (40-4, 34 KOs) knocked out Ireland’s Spike O’Sullivan (28-3, 20 KOs) with a left hook to the chin in the first round.

Lemieux and O’Sullivan warred like hungry dogs on social media but when it came to the actual fighting the real alpha dog showed when the Canadian beat the handle-bar moustache boxer to the punch with a quick left hook. Down went O’Sullivan in sections at the end of the first round. After delivering a jab O’Sullivan was following up with a right when Lemieux short-circuited him with the blow. The end came at 2:44 of the first round as referee Russell Mora stopped the fight though a wobbly O’Sullivan got up.

Now will Lemieux fight the winner of Golovkin-Alvarez?

“They’re two excellent fighters but there is no middleweight like David Lemieux. I’m not rooting for anybody, I think it’s a 50/50 fight,” said Lemieux before the main event. “I once fought Golovkin at his peak. Perhaps Golovkin will fight Lemieux at his peak.”

Chocolatito

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (47-2, 39 KOs) answered several questions at once with a single blow as he knocked out Mexico’s Moises Fuentes (25-6-1, 14 KOs) to return with a bang after a year’s absence.

After losing back-to-back fights and the super flyweight world title, many felt Gonzalez no longer possessed the fighting skills that enabled him to capture four division world titles and consideration as the top fighter pound for pound. Others wondered if his political leanings in his native Nicaragua might also be a tug on his ability to concentrate on boxing.

With one punch, Gonzalez answered all those questions with a rocket right cross that deposited Fuentes in his own corner and unconscious at 1:44 of the fifth round as referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight.

“When he hit the floor, I got very worried for him and I panicked,” said Gonzalez who trotted over to the fallen Fuentes. “I asked for him to forgive me because this is the job that we chose and that I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

Up until the fifth round Gonzalez exchanged combinations with fellow multi-division world champion Fuentes and looked faster and sharper than his Mexican counterpart.

“I’m very thankful for this opportunity,” said Gonzalez. “I am a step closer to being a world champion.”

Other Bouts

Heavy-hitting prospect Vergil Ortiz (11-0, 11 KOs) crushed former sparring partner Mexico’s Roberto Ortiz (35-3-2, 26 KOs) and scored two knockdowns before the fight was stopped at 1:00 of the second round. A quick counter right cross delivered Roberto Ortiz to the floor and he rolled around for a few seconds. Though he did beat the count and tried to rally he was blasted out by a three-punch combination and down he went for the final time forcing referee Vic Drakulich to halt the super lightweight fight.

Though both prizefighters are named Ortiz they are not related. But they do know each other from ring sessions earlier in their careers.

“The win is bittersweet because I won against a great name and a record, but “Massa” (Roberto Ortiz) was my first ever sparring partner when I first turned pro,” said Vergil Ortiz, who grew up in Dallas and trains in Riverside, Calif. “Now he’s a win on the next step of my career. During my first sparring session he gave me a swollen lip. Today I knocked him out.”

Santa Ana’s Alexis Rocha (12-0, 8 KOs) won the battle of southpaws versus Carlos Ortiz (10-3, 10 KOs) of Mexico by unanimous decision after six rounds in a super welterweight clash. Rocha was a little quicker and slicker with his punches and nearly had a whitewash. The scores were 80-72 twice and 79-73 for Rocha.

“I wish I could have thrown more punches and more combinations,” said Rocha whose brother is former featherweight contender Ronny Rios. “He was really good at catching shots and countering.”

Philadelphia’s Jaba Khositashvili (4-0) won by decision after six super middleweight rounds against San Bernardino’s Lawrence King (4-1).

“My opponent kept holding me and wouldn’t let me fight him,” said Khositashvili.

New York’s Brian Ceballo (5-0, 3 KOs) won by stoppage in the second round over David Thomas of Texas in a welterweight match set for six rounds. The end came at 30 seconds of round two.

“I figured out beforehand that he always fights the same way,” said Ceballo. “So I knew to keep my distance and keep a fast pace.”

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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