Boxing Business: The Dark History Of Canelo vs GGG
Twenty-four rounds were shared, and hundreds of millions were made. Nations were uplifted by two larger-than-life characters. Yet, in the midst of it all, one man was robbed of his legacy, undefeated record and most significantly, from becoming the greatest fighter of his generation, not once but twice. Gennady Golovkin is the name, and politics made his dreams never the same.
Chapter 1: The Run-Around
May 9, 2015: After Canelo Alvarez knocked out James Kirkland at The Minute Maid Park in Houston, the boxing world continued to put pressure on Alvarez to move up from 154 to his natural weight class at 160 to fight the most feared middleweight in the world at the time, Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin.
Canelo’s team refused to concede that he was fighting smaller opponents after beating Kirkland. So, the process of leaving Golovkin at bay and waiting for him to age overnight continued as Canelo booked another fight against another smaller opponent. But, this time, it was Amir Khan who jumped 3 weight classes after being offered 10 million dollars to face the Mexican Alvarez.
Once again, Canelo was successful at beating the smaller fighter, knocking out Amir Khan cold in the Sixth.
In the post-fight interview, Khan’s trainer Virgil Hunter crashed the party and grabbed the mic to deliver a message on behalf of the entire boxing world. “He (Khan) took the risk. He gave up everything. No concessions. Now it’s time for Canelo to take the risk and quit hiding behind little stuff, okay? Amir took the risk. He got to quit hiding behind the flag and fight GGG.”
The pressure was rising.
Still, Canelo continued to batter smaller boxers in Britain’s Liam Smith and an undisciplined Julio Cezar Chavez Jr. On the other hand, at that time, Golovkin was on a 24-fight knockout streak. However, on March 18, 2017, Golovkin’s knockout streak ended when America’s Daniel Jacobs fought Gennady to a razor-close decision win for the Kazakh.
Do you know what that meant? Canelo finally saw the boogeyman humanized. Shortly after that night, Alvarez announced that he was finally fighting GGG. That sequence alone spoke volumes.
Chapter 2: Adalaide Byrd
Finally, you had to pinch yourself; both men were inside the squared circle. The fight is actually happening.
48 minutes later, to be exact, the crowd stood on their feet in awe of what they had just witnessed. The Kazakh did it. In live time, I scored the fight 118-110 ( 10 rounds to 2) for GGG. However, the moment the scorecards were about to be read, there was a feeling that something dark was about to unfold. And it did. Judge Adalaide Byrd handed in the most corrupt scorecard in boxing history. Byrd’s scorecard had Canelo winning 10 rounds of the 12, resulting in the fight being declared a draw.
Chapter 3: The Aftermath
Despite robbing Golovkin in sin city, the classy Kazakh showed up to the post-fight press conference wearing a smile. On the inside, however, Golovkin was in disbelief of what had transpired.
The blowback and backlash against the decision were immediate and furious. Social media made the overwhelming preponderance of fans saw the Kazakh as the clear decisive winner. And the absurd scorecard from Adalaide Byrd only exacerbated the problem. Even Canelo’s promoter at the time, Oscar De La Hoya, acknowledged that Byrd’s scorecard was fiction. So, Canelo’s legacy was in shambles. Therefore, he was forced into a rematch.
That night set the sport of boxing years back. Leaving its integrity and entire history in question.
Chapter 4: Steroids Scandal
After months of negotiations, the rematch was locked and set to take place on May 5, 2018. However, on March 5, 2018, Canelo Alvarez tested positive not once but twice for Performing Enhancing Drugs.
Following Canelo’s steroids scandal, The Nevada State Athletic Commission issued a 6-month suspension for the Mexican, and May 5th went by the board. Eventually, a third negotiation took place. This one was far more bitter and hateful than that which had proceeded it.
At a point where there seemed to be no rematch due to GGG’s team’s skepticism that Canelo is still doping, a last-minute financial adjustment sweetened the pie for Gennady to take the rematch.
Chapter 5: Deja Vu
Canelo entered the rematch with a game plan of fighting as the bigger man. After all, there’s a reason why he tested positive before the second fight. Many in the industry claim that Canelo has been doping throughout his entire career. Still, that didn’t stop Golovkin from beating Canelo a second time.
The fight ends. Once again, we knew who won the battle, but we weren’t confident about the sport that continues to screw us countless times. Once again, it did. Canelo Alvarez was declared the winner by majority decision.
In the second fight, Golovkin’s best round was the 9th. However, the most experienced judge on the panel that night (Steve Weisfeld) scored that round for Canelo.
So yes, the scorecards weren’t as outrageous as the first fight, but that proves that Golovkin never had a chance to win by decision.
Now 4 years later, Canelo chose to fight Golovkin after running him dry for almost half a decade, believing he’s now vulnerable and ready for the taking at 40 years old.
Nobody was wronged in this era more than Golovkin. Instead of celebrating him as the greatest fighter of this era, we will be talking about him as a robbery victim to the system of the sport that gave him hope and, most importantly, a dream when he was 5 years old.
Deep down inside, everyone in the boxing world would love Golovkin to triumph in the third fight. Poetic justice will be the fitting label for Golovkin this Saturday if he manages to pull off the upset.
GGG already beat Canelo twice. So, best believe he could do it a third time, but the question is, will they rob him again? Or will he summon the perfect punch at the perfect time from the universe that brought him back to the same arena with the same judges that stole his dream? Or is the Kazakh simply a shell of himself at 40? Tomorrow night shall reveal all live on DAZN PPV.
