sport news Canelo vs GGG 3: Gennady Golovkin is facing mission impossible in Las Vegas ... trends now
As their thrilling 36-minute war drew to a close, Gennady Golovkin jolted Canelo Alvarez's head back with one lasting uppercut before the final bell chimed in Sin City.
The two great rivals had just put on a classic under the bright lights of Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena, exchanging fists relentlessly in an epic sequel to their controversial first encounter. But for Golovkin, there was only one winner.
After initially embracing Canelo at the bell, the Kazakh fighter raised one arm in the air while being held aloft in jubilation by trainer Abel Sanchez, adamant that they had edged this rematch on the scorecards.
Gennady Golovkin's last encounter with Canelo Alvarez was enthralling from start to finish
The pair embraced when it drew to a close, but Golovkin was adamant he had done enough
What followed, however, was another deeply contentious decision that Golovkin still refuses to accept to this day.
Because instead it was Canelo, the beneficiary of a disputed split-decision draw the first time around, who prevailed in Paradise thanks to two scores of 115-113 and a redundant 114-114 verdict.
As the Mexican celebrated his triumph, a bewildered and demoralised Golovkin looked around vacantly before exiting the ring and heading back to his dressing room in disgust.
Four years, four months and 12 days on from that sorry night in Vegas, he returns to the very same arena this weekend in a bid to make it third time lucky against Canelo. Though at the age of 40 and with his best days seemingly behind him, GGG is almost facing mission impossible.
When he first locked horns with Alvarez in September 2017, Golovkin entered the contest as perhaps the most avoided fighter in world boxing, exuding a fearsome air of invincibility after coming through a thrilling battle with Daniel Jacobs to retain his WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles.
But it was Canelo whose hand was raised in deeply controversial fashion on the night
Golovkin still refuses to accept that contentious decision to this day and insists he won
The two great rivals are now poised to meet for a third time in Las Vegas this weekend
He had claimed 37 straight victories, 34 knockouts and was widely considered one of the top pound-for-pound stars on the planet. Simply put, GGG seemed an unstoppable force at that time.
His mega-fight with Canelo was supposed to be the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object, though in the end it certainly didn't play out that way.
Alvarez held his own and contributed to a truly memorable scrap, with both men proving their unparalleled punch resistance by shaking off right hands that would leave most fighters seeing stars.
Yet on the whole, the boxing world appeared in agreement that Golovkin had got the better of his adversary. The middleweight king was the educated aggressor
