Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin settled their rivalry on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After 12 thrilling rounds, Alvarez emerged victorious via unanimous decision to retain his Undisputed Super Middleweight Championship.
Their trilogy marks the first time Alvarez has thrown and landed more power punches than Golovkin. In their two previous meetings, ‘GGG’ was the more active fighter, pushing the tempo and rattling 'Saul' with volume.
Based on CompuBox data from their third fight, Canelo scored an 85-46 edge in terms of power punches landed. The Mexican superstar landed 39% of his power shots, while ‘GGG’ landed just 27% of his power punches.
As for their total punches, the Kazakh threw over 30 more punches than Alvarez but the Mexican superstar was more efficient. Alvarez landed a total of 130 out of his 487 punches. Golovkin, meanwhile, connected on 120 of his 521 punches.
Many believed that the duo’s third meeting was a far less competitive fight than their September 2017 meeting, which was ruled a split draw, or their September 2018 meeting, which Alvarez won by majority decision. As Alvarez has matured as a fighter, father Time has taken its toll on GGG. Perhaps that's why the old Golovkin was missing from the ring in the trilogy.
Canelo Alvarez says he’ll fight anyone & ridicules David Benavidez
Canelo Alvarez has made it clear that he’s ready to face anyone inside the ring. He also addressed why he doesn't want to fight Mexican fighters.
In his post-fight interview after defeating his arch-rival Gennadiy Golovkin, Alvarez explained his previous declaration that he doesn’t like to face any of his compatriots. He said:
“When I say I don't wanna fight Mexican, it's because I represent Mexico and that's why. But I don't care, I'll fight anybody, and I fight my entire life anybody. What do you think I don't wanna fight with one Mexico, Benavidez.”
He went on to say:
“But look, I hear his dad talking a lot of s**t. Look (at) his accomplishments, nothing, one single champion Anthony Dirrell. Please don't disrespect myself, please guys.”
Watch Canelo Alvarez speak in his post-fight presser:
Canelo vs. Benavidez is a fight that fans have been calling for. Benavidez is a volume-puncher who applies relentless pressure and would enjoy a size and youth advantage over Alvarez. But Alvarez thinks that him being compared to Benavidez is a disrespect to his name.