Canelo vs. GGG results: Full analysis, winners and reaction from Saturday

Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin fought to a very questionable 12-round draw in the main event of a huge boxing card on Saturday. One judge scored it 118-110 Álvarez, one judge had it 115-113 for Golovkin and another had a 114-114 draw.

It’s a questionable decision because Golovkin clearly won, at the very least, half of the rounds of the fight — and we think more than that — but one judge saw fit to award a 118-110 for Álvarez, who spent the middle rounds of the fight against the ropes, eating punches and shaking his head.

It was a very closely-contested bout, especially in the first and last couple rounds. Álvarez looked good in the opening rounds, but was quickly put on his back foot in the middle rounds. Golovkin arguably won all of rounds five, six, seven, eight, nine and 10 before Álvarez started to come back and really push him in the final two rounds.

For the most part, Álvarez tried to use his footwork and defense in the bout, but he couldn’t dodge Golovkin for three minutes at a time with his back to the ropes. He took a lot of damage in the middle rounds.

All the hype in the sport of boxing went into the August meeting between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. But Golovkin and Álvarez came into Saturday’s contest as the legitimate two best middleweights in the world, and promised to put on a more competitive, legitimate match than the one that occurred when McGregor and Mayweather met.

Going into the bout, Álvarez was on a winning streak that included big names like Miguel Cotto and, in his last outing, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Golovkin was coming off a huge win over Daniel Jacobs, with Álvarez representing his biggest step up in competition.

The three fights preceding the main event were of decent quality, but nobody ever sniffed a finish. Ryan Martin won a very questionable split decision over Francisco Rojo to open the preliminary card. SB Nation had Martin down several rounds, but the judges disagreed.

Diego De La Hoya and Randy Caballero combined for the most exciting undercard bout, going a full 10 rounds that was ultimately controlled by De La Hoya, who remains undefeated. Joseph Diaz and Rafael Rivera went a full 12 rounds in the co-feature and combined for a pretty lackluster fight, one in which Rivera didn’t definitively take a single round.

Below you can find the round-by-round recap of the pay-per-view card, and below that the full results from Saturday.

Round 1: Álvarez is backing up quite a bit to start, as expected. Golovkin paws the left straight out there, constant jabs trying to get through. Álvarez slips a jab and connects with a short hook to the body. Golovkin ducks under a hook and throws a short straight. Álvarez connects with a right hand as Golovkin misses with one of his own. Nice stiff jab from Álvarez.

Round 2: Álvarez now has Golovkin backing up, not a familiar sight. He lets a left jab come through and eats it, but continues walking Golovkin down. He uncorks a big overhand that just misses. Álvarez is a lot faster, at least right now. Álvarez connects with a big left hook to the body, and Golovkin connects with a big straight right, directly to the side of the face.

Round 3: Golovkin comes out aggressive, throwing a short flurry that Álvarez absorbs and steps away from. Nice left straight from Golovkin, but Álvarez answers back with a big hook to the body. Álvarez jabbing now, and he’s landing. Golovkin’s jabs are getting through, but Álvarez is landing with more power through three.

Round 4: Golovkin is coming forward plenty, but he’s paying a lot of respect to Álvarez’s power, not getting into a brawl. Álvarez gets his back to the ropes but he keeps his head moving and dodges some big shots from Golovkin. Left jab from Golovkin gets through and Álvarez is taunting him. Álvarez is doing a good job of avoiding, but he throws next to nothing in the fourth round as Golovkin walks him down.

Round 5: Golovkin gets Álvarez against the ropes again and tees off. He lands some shots, and Álvarez finally gets off of them when he throws a body shot. Álvarez feints low and just misses with a huge uppercut. More jabs from Golovkin. He eats a short uppercut from Álvarez. He gets Álvarez up against the ropes again and lands a massive right hand that Álvarez shakes off. Golovkin measures him up and and fires big shot after big shot. Álvarez keeps shaking his head like nothing is landing, but it is landing. Álvarez just misses with another wide uppercut and the round comes to an end.

Round 6: Golovkin lands a straight right off a left feint. Álvarez against the ropes again, but comes out swinging. Álvarez connects with a nice jab. Golovkin continues to walk him down though. He lands a right straight, and a stepping left jab. Nice left hook to the body, and a right straight. Álvarez tries to throw a left hook of his own but it’s blocked. Álvarez just misses with a huge hook. Álvarez may have a strong chin and good footwork, but he’s getting outboxed.

Round 7: Golovkin is a little slower to start this right, he’s keeping himself away from Álvarez’s left hook, which he’s thrown a lot. Golovkin misses a hook, eats a jab, and swings through it, narrowly missing. Álvarez against the ropes again, and he’s shaking his head again as Golovkin hits him.

Round 8: Golovkin tags Álvarez with a hard straight early. Álvarez lands a hard right hook of his own, and then a pair of big hooks to the body. Golovkin, though, is connecting with the jab plenty. Álvarez is now walking forward, as opposed to backing up as he has been. But Golovkin turns things up and gets Álvarez backpedaling again. Golovkin is so aggressive, he’s preventing Álvarez from mounting an offense.

Round 9: Álvarez is swinging a lot early in this round. He just misses with a big uppercut, and a hook. Golovkin responds by walking him down into the ropes. He lands a big left hook and Álvarez lands one of his own. Golovkin eats a big shot, but he keeps coming, connecting with a big right hook over the top. Álvarez is backing up big time. It feels like he’s going to go down at some point before the end of this fight. He does buy himself some time with a side-stepping left hook. But Golovkin is back on the offensive, with Álvarez up against the ropes.

Round 10: Golovkin might have eaten the biggest shot of the fight in that last right, a big right hook, but Golovkin still probably won the round. In this one, Álvarez once again starts fast. He lands a big body combo and is working hooks up top. His corner told him that he needed three perfect rounds to close the fight. Golovkin eats some big shots, but responds with a big left jab. Álvarez connects with a short right hook. Golovkin lands with a nice straight left. This is Álvarez’s round, but with 1:30 to go in it, he’s slowing down some, and gets backed against the ropes. Golovkin doesn’t land anything huge late in the round though, so it’s probably Canelo’s.

Round 11: Golovkin gets Álvarez against the ropes early, but Álvarez quickly circles out of it. He knows he can’t be passive any longer. Nice overhand right from Álvarez lands. Golovkin lands a nice straight combo, and avoids another big overhand from Álvarez. Neither fighter dominated this round, with both landing good shots.

Round 12: The final round gets underway. Álvarez misses with a left hook, but connects with two consecutive straight lefts. They clinch up, something that hasn’t happened much. Álvarez is giving it his all here. Golovkin continues to walk forward, but Álvarez is swinging wildly, and landing enough of his shots. Nice right straight from Golovkin, and then another. They clinch again. Álvarez starts backing up. Golovkin comes forward with a huge flurry, landing a straight in there. Another jab as Álvarez backs up. Golovkin ducks under a big counter right from Álvarez. Golovkin lands a couple big rights as Álvarez is backing up near the end of the round.

Round 1: Diaz lands a hard left to the body, and then just backs away from the big counter. Rivera eats a right hook while jumping in for another shot. Diaz lands the best shots of this round.

Round 2: It’s more of the same in this round. They’re both active, but Diaz’s shots are just more polished, more refined. He’s connecting a lot more and Rivera is backing up.

Round 3: Rivera misses with a big right hook and eats a straight left. Diaz works a huge body combo. Rivera tries to come forward more in this round, but Diaz’s countering is too strong. He does eat a big left hook though, late in the round.

Round 4: Rivera wings two massive, wild hooks near the end of this round that just miss. Diaz, though, continues with his precision striking. He picks Rivera apart with beautiful counter hooks, and lands a big uppercut near the end of the round.

Round 5: Rivera is trying very hard to stay in this, but Diaz is picking him apart with counters. Not much happens in this round — just more of the same from Diaz, controlling the fight.

Round 6: Diaz is more aggressive in this round, opening up Rivera with a strong jab. He lands some big body shots, and it’s another round for him.

Round 7: Rivera connects with a nice right hook early in the round, but Diaz pushes forward with a three-four punch combo. Good left hand from Diaz, and he misses with a big uppercut. Another round of the same. Rivera hasn’t won one and Diaz isn’t slowing down.

Round 8: Rivera can’t get anything done. He has nothing to offer Diaz, who is punching plenty but doing no real damage. He tries to work the body some, but doesn’t have the power to really hurt Rivera at this pace.

Round 9: Rivera is much, much slower now. He eats some big hooks. He’s letting his guard down more, but Diaz is still landing with regularity. Rivera comes forward with a wild combo near the end of the round, but Diaz avoids it easily.

Round 10: The referee tells Rivera he’s taking too much punishment. Diaz is throwing with a lot more heat in this round. He wants to finish this fight, but I’m not sure he can do it. Rivera is showing a lot of damage, but no one punch is hurting him badly.

Round 11: Rivera is throwing a lot of desperation shots in this round — huge overhands and hooks that aren’t landing and aren’t really coming close to landing. Diaz keeps up more of the same and we’re going to a 12th round.

Round 12: Rivera wants badly to land something heavy and he comes out swinging. There’s no form here, just wild hooks and overhands. Nothing has landed. He comes close with a right straight with a minute left, but Diaz lands a pair of body shots. The fight comes to an end with both swinging. That was not a good fight.

Round 1: De La Hoya and Caballero both rush to the center of the ring, and begin firing from range. Both do a good job keeping out of the way of early shots. Caballero eats a short left hand and nearly falls, but it’s a trip more than anything. De La Hoya lands some short shots throughout the round, but it’s just a warmup for both.

Round 2: Caballero trips again early in the round. He also eats a huge right hook right on the jaw, and after they clinch up, he eats a body shot and an uppercut. He lands a bodyshot of his own. They clinch up multiple times and Robert Byrd is having none of that. He warns both. De La Hoya throws a big combo that is punctuated by a huge right hook that just glances off Caballero. It’s De La Hoya’s round.

Round 3: Caballero keeps coming forward, but every combo he throws is met with a more fierce combo from De La Hoya. This is a competitive round though, and Caballero is landing some nice body shots. Still, De La Hoya controls it for the most part.

Round 4: These two are really going at it, especially De La Hoya. He connects with some big body shots and a couple hooks. But about halfway through the round, Caballero starts landing more. Twice he connects with a short left hook that stuns De La Hoya. De La Hoya will need to adjust his timing or he’s going to eat a shot he can’t take.

Round 5: Good body shot from Caballero. Another one, and he eats a left hook over the top. They clinch, and are separated. They clinch several times. De La Hoya lands a brutal body shot late in the round and Caballero backs up into the ropes. He clinches up though, and gets some time to recover. The round, De La Hoya’s, comes to an end.

Round 6: De La Hoya lands three huge uppercuts to the body in a row, and avoids the big overhand counter from Caballero. Big body shot from Caballero. It’s a slower round, pretty evenly matched.

Round 7: They are both keeping their heads very low and firing off uppercuts and short hooks. They exchange plenty of shots this way, and clinch up way too often to accomplish anything of significant. This one has slowed down considerably. De La Hoya throws a nice combo but for every four or five shots thrown, only one lands. He does hit Caballero hard with a low shot that might have been a little too low. The referee didn’t see it though.

Round 8: There’s some big swelling under the left eye of Caballero. Caballero lands a nice body shot followed by a right straight to the face. They clinch plenty and continue the same fight they’ve been fighting. De La Hoya explodes in the final 20 seconds and lands a good couple shots. Its a close fight, but one that De La Hoya is controlling.

Round 9: Caballero really begins to slow down in this round, and De La Hoya starts picking him apart. De La Hoya lands over and over and Caballero’s corner is very frustrated.

Round 10: Caballero comes out looking desperate, but he can’t land on De La Hoya’s face. De La Hoya backs up a lot more in the round, but he’s landing counters while he does it. He knows he’s ahead on the cards and he lasts to the end.

Round 1: The first minute is spent with both competitors right in the pocket, but nothing big thrown. Both paw forward with jabs into the guard of their opponent, nothing sneaking through. Rojo lands two significant body shots, But Martin keeps his hands high. Nothing big lands in the round — Rojo threw and landed more shots.

Round 2: Martin is much more active early in this round, landing a couple stiff jabs. He eats another big body shot, and lands a nice straight left as Rojo misses with a hook. Rojo does land some more body shots, but ultimately eats plenty of straights throughout the round.

Round 3: Rojo again lands some nice body shots in the round. Martin is going to have some trouble later if he can’t start avoiding these body shots. Martin does respond with a pair of hooks that land flush on the jaw. But Rojo keeps walking forward. Big left straight from Martin, and he eats another right to the body. Nice overhand right from Rojo near the end of the round.

Round 4: Martin is probably losing this fight — or at least he should be. He needs to make some changes because it’s hard to imagine him speeding up later in the match after absorbing those body shots. Martin continues to throw multi-straight combos that don’t really make it through Rojo’s guard. Rojo gets Martin up against the ropes and unloads a couple big combos, peppering Martin with body shots but landing nothing up high. Martin comes back out swinging, connecting with a nice uppercut. But Rojo keeps coming forward. Rojo does eat two straight lefts flush.

Round 5: Martin is backing up a lot more in this round. Rojo wings a wild hook that Martin blocks. He also just avoids a counter left hook from Martin. Martin gets backed up against the ropes again and eats a couple big shots. Both boxers are looking a little bit tired halfway through this fight.

Round 6: Rojo continues with the aggressive fighting. Martin doesn’t look like he’s getting destroyed by any means, but he’s offering next to nothing in the way of defense. He’s landing his own short shots, but he again eats big body shots, gets pressed against the ropes and eats some big, big shots.

Round 7: Martin lands a nice body shot of his own and a one-two hook combination. Rojo connects with a big body shot of his own. I think Rojo expected Martin to be slowing down a bit more than he has by now. Rojo still continues working the body, landing some big shots. He eats a right hook to the head, but lands another big combo that pushes Martin to the ropes again.

Round 8: Martin is warned for going too low with a hook. When they resume, Martin throws another combo, and is warned again. The referee will take a point away if it happens again. Martin is a lot more active, though, and peppers Rojo’s head with one-two after one-two. It’s a Martin round for sure, one of the first definitive Martin rounds.

Round 9: And Martin loses a point he can ill-afford to lose by going low once again about a minute into the round. Rojo continues coming forward, but Martin is fighting with some urgency now. A competitive round ensues, one that Martin likely won with his aggression, but the point is going to hurt him.

Round 10: Martin controls the pace of the round early, throwing heavy with his left hook and straight right. Rojo, though, comes on strong near the end of the round. He gets Martin pressed against the ropes again and fires heavy body shots. It’s probably Rojo’s fight.

PPV Main Card

Middleweight: Canelo Álvarez fights to a draw against Gennady Golovkin (118-110 Álvarez, 115-113 Golovkin, 114-114)
Featherweight: Joseph Diaz def. Rafael Rivera via unanimous decision (119-109, 119-109, 120-108)
Super Bantamweight: Diego De La Hoya def. Randy Caballero via unanimous decision (100-90, 98-92, 98-92)
Lightweight: Ryan Martin def. Francisco Rojo via split decision (91-98, 96-93, 95-94)

Non-PPV Undercard

Super Lightweight: Vergil Ortiz def. Cesar Valenzuela via KO in Round 2
Welterweight: Serhii Bohachuk def. Joan Valenzuela via TKO in Round 2
Flyweight: Marlen Esparza def. Aracely Palacios via unanimous decision