Canelo Alvarez has disappointed defending champion Gennadi Golovkin in the eagerly awaited rematch of the superstars in Las Vegas. The 28-year-old defeated the Kazakh by a narrow majority of points, thus conquering the WBC, WBA and IBO middleweight World Championship titles.
“I’m a great boxer and I showed it today,” Alvarez rejoiced after two judges scored 115:113 for the challenger after twelve hard-fought rounds, the third decided 114:114. Golovkin was so angry after the first defeat of his professional career (38 wins, one draw) that he left the ring without the usual interview after the match. The complete fight in Re-Live can now be seen on DAZN.
In the first duel a year earlier, Golovkin had defended his belts in the same spot with a controversially discussed draw. Now the 36-year-old missed the 21st successful title defence in succession. Alvarez raised his record to 50 victories in one defeat and two draws.
The rematch should already take place on May 5th. However, Alvarez has been tested twice for the calf fattening agent clenbuterol and has been banned for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, retroactively from 17 February. Alvarez explained the positive tests with the consumption of contaminated meat.