By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
IBF #6 super middleweight Ali Akhmedov (19-1 14 KOs) of Kazakhstan put in work in going the distance and pitching a shoutout against Philadelphia veteran “King” Gabriel Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs). Boxing at a fast pace in the early rounds, sizing on another, Akhmedov and Rosado stood busy. Akhmedov connected with a straight right to begin the third round, but Rosado kept his composure and stood busy. Stalking in the fourth, Akhmedov began to let his hands go as he pumped the jab and followed up with right hands, later in the round Rosado swung the right wildly. In the fifth, Akhmedov connected with a solid right hand that stopped Rosado’s momentum as the Kazakh boxed patiently.
In the sixth, Akhmedov stood busy boxing keeping his distance from the stalking Rosado. It was Akhmedov dictating the pace outworking the always tough Rosado, in the eighth the Kazakh let his hands go unloading a combination as Rosado shelled up. As always Rosado came with everything and was disappointing as Akhmedov boxed and worked his way to hard fought decision.
After completing ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 100-90.
Middleweight Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (12-0, 9 KO’s) of Houston won a unanimous decision over Kieron Conway (18-3-1, 4 KO’s) from England, winning the vacant WBA International Middleweight title in opening the DAZN pay-per-view card. Williams boxed early on tallying up points and displaying skill over a very tough Conway. The southpaw, Williams used the jab effectively as Conway worked the jab as well and moved to the left as he snuck in a right hand in the fifth that snapped Williams’s head. Past the halfway point in the sixth round, Conway began to pick up the pace as Williams continued to box. In the seventh, Williams backed Conway to the ropes. Williams scored a knockdown in the ninth and continued to work effectively boxing his way to a unanimous decision victory. The judges scored the bout 97-92, 97-92, and 96-93.
Unbeaten super middleweight Diego Pacheco (16-0, 13 KOs) won his first belt with a fifth round TKO over Enrique Collazo (16-3-1, 11 KOs). Pacheco dropped Collazo in round five and got the stoppage moments later. Time was 2:29. Pacheco claimed the WBC USNBC silver title.
Fresno lightweight Marc Castro (8-0, 6 KO’s) scored a huge knockout over Kevin Montiel (6-2-2, 3 KO’s). Castro put in work against the very tough Montiel. In closing the fourth round, Castro hurt Montiel with a hard right as Montiel staggered and was saved by the bell. A huge right uppercut in the fifth did it as Castro knocked Montiel out cold. Referee immediately waved off the bout at 1:40 of the fifth round.
Super lightweights Aaron Aponte (6-0-1, 2 KO’s) and Fernando Molina (8-0-1, 3 KO’s) squared off going the distance eight rounds and fighting to a draw. It was a fast start with Aponte and Molina exchanging. Aponte scored a knockdown in the second round as Molina appeared to have the better of the exchange as their feet got tangled. However Molina returned the favor as he hurt Aponte early in the fifth with an uppercut, later in the round a right dropped Aponte. With the fight up for grabs, late in the seventh Molina picked up with combinations but Aponte continued to land the solid right. The eighth and final round Molina stalked and connected with the right hand as Aponte used the distance, Molina was the aggressor with Aponte being the conservative fighter. In going the distance eight rounds the judges scored the bout 76-74 for Molina, 76-74 for Aponte, and 75-75 even.
In the opening bout from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, super flyweight Anthony Herrera (3-0-1, 2 KO) of East L.A. won a fifth round technical decision over Delvin McKinley (4-4-1, 4 KO’s) from New Orleans. Herrera boxed patiently from the start as he dissected McKinley, popping the jab and pressing as McKinley’s eye was shut. There was an accidental headbutt to begin the fifth as McKinley went down and couldn’t continues as the fight was stopped at 19 seconds. After completing five rounds, three judges scored the bout 50-45 3x.
Here is my take on tonight’s main event.
Canelo vs Golovkin III
Super middleweight title
THE WEIGHTS
Canelo = 167.4
Golovkin = 167.8
THE QUESTIONS
1. At 40, how much does Golovkin have left?
2. How will Canelo respond mentally to losing vs. Bivol?
3. Will Golovkin carry his power to 168 and will the heavier weight affect his speed and mobility?
4. Will Canelo be affected by having to drop back to 168 after weighing 174.4 for Bivol?
5. They have fought 24 rounds with no knockdowns; will there be a knockdown tonight?
6. What if there is another controversial decision or what if it’s another draw?
7. If Canelo loses will his drawing power be forever damaged and if Golovkin loses will this be his last fight?
THE ANSWERS
1. Golovkin has not been in many wars so there is alot less wear’n’tear on him vs. other 40 year old fighters. Plus he looks to have trained extremely hard so the guess here is he will make this a very competitive fight.
2. It seems to have motivated him to train harder as he looked rock solid at the weigh-in. Of course we won’t know until the opening bell rings if there are any deficiencies from him knowing he is no longer “unbeatable”, especially if Golovkin gets him in trouble.
3. Golovkin has always been a great puncher. The guess here is that Canelo will feel it just as much as he did the first two times, though it is worth noting that Golovkin has never had him seriously hurt or in danger of going down despite landing some good shots. Golovkin is 5’10” so he should carry 167.8 well but as the fight enters the later rounds it could really slow him down.
4. Most likely not. Roy Jones made a very bad mistake going from light heavy to heavy and then back again as did Chris Byrd dropping from heavyweight to light heavy. However there was a much larger disparity in the weight drop with both of them vs. Canelo dropping 7 pounds.
5. There very well could be. Both feel like they have alot to prove so they may take more chances. The guess here though is another 12 round chess match with several hard power shots landed but both having the chin to take it. If someone does go down, it would most likely be Golovkin due to his age and legs not being as strong as they once were.
6. Then they will go down in history as being so evenly matched that it was very hard for the judges to pick a clear winner. Of course two items of consideration is Canelo’s star power and the tendency to give Golovkin a break due to the nature of the first two fights. Case in point: many feel Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera were 1-1 after 2 fights but that the wrong man got the decision both times. Fight 1 rewarded Morales’ star status and fight 2 rewarded sympathy for Barrera. The guess here is that the judges won’t be swayed one way or another and will give the rightful winner the decision. Also the chances of seeing a fourth fight (no matter who wins or if there is another draw) are essentially 0%.
7. If Canelo were to lose two straight he would most certainly be damaged goods the rest of his career. He would still have a loyal following but the face of boxing and super star status would be gone forever. If Golovkin were to lose, it may very well be his last fight. The exception would be losing a close competitive fight and him deciding to go back to 160 to defend his titles.
THE POSSIBILITIES
This fight will go one of two ways. It will either be a chess match with both guys trying to use skill to win (out of fear of losing) or it will turn into a pier 6 brawl (out of passion for winning). Canelo boxed with footwork the first fight. In the second fight, he fought more aggressively without outright brawling, choosing to stand in front of Golovkin and use upper body movement while throwing hard punches. Golovkin fought both fights the same way, stalking and looking to choose his punches carefully. Johnathon Banks has said that Golovkin will concentrate on defense for the third fight so this should get Canelo to throw more often. The issue could be stamina, which has always been a weakness for Canelo. If – and it’s a big IF – Golovkin is successful at making Canelo miss many punches in the first six rounds it could get very interesting in the last six as Canelo tires. The guess here is that Canelo will use a hybrid of strategy from the first and second fights. He will start out with movement. In the first fight, it was clear he did that out of concern for Golovkin’ power. This time around it will be out of strategy to get Golovkin using his legs and energy to chase him so it will be HIM instead of Canelo who tires late in the fight. It will also nullify any strategy Golovkin might have about using defense (blocking, rolling, slipping) to wear out Canelo’s arms. Both men would be very wise to invest in body shots early in the fight. One thing there is virtually 0% chance of happening is Golovkin using lateral movement like Canelo did in fight 1. He has never used that type of footwork and at 40 he would lack the necessary tools.
This fight has two possible patterns: the James Toney vs. Mike McCallum trilogy or the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez four fight series. Toney vs. McCallum I and II were eerily similar to Canelo vs Golovkin I and II with identical results: a draw and a majority decision. The time frame is even very close 5 years and two months for Toney/McCallum and 5 years and one day for Canelo/Golovkin. In their third fight, McCallum was the exact same age as Golovkin: 40. He had lost enough speed and reflexes to allow Toney to land punches he was unable to in the first two fights. That being said, McCallum still had enough experience and know-how to keep Toney honest at all times and even won some rounds along the way. In fact, two judges had it 115-113. One other similarity: the first two fights were at middleweight and the third fight was at light heavyweight. There was little effect on either guy’s ability at the higher weight, as will most likely be the case tonight. Now in the Pacquiao vs Marquez series, the fourth fight turned out to be explosive because both guys had much to prove. Marquez was tired of losing close decisions and Pacquiao, like Canelo, was coming off of a loss. It made both guys turn up the heat and resulted in both getting floored as well as ending with a devastating knockout. Which multi-fight rivalry will tonight’s final chapter of Canelo vs Golovkin more closely resemble?
THE RESULT
The pick here is an almost identical duplicate of Toney vs. McCallum. Despite both guys being hard punchers, neither Toney nor McCallum ever came close to scoring a knockdown in 36 rounds of combat due to their savvy defense and reliable chins. The stylistic match-up of Canelo vs Golovkin is a mirror image: Canelo, like Toney, is a good counterpuncher who also tends to fight in spurts. Golovkin, like McCallum, is a good technical fighter who tends to fight at the same pace all the time. We might get some fireworks here and there (possibly a knockdown though doubtful) but in the end, it will go 12 rounds once again. Canelo’s speed advantage and flashier punches will pull the trick, just like the second fight, albeit this time on a more successful scale due to Golovkin’s advanced age, just like the case in Toney vs McCallum III. The scores will even be similar: 116-112, 116-112, 117-111 for Canelo (the verdict for Toney in fight 3 were 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111).
One final note: those who look at Golovkin’s last three fights and see weaknesses that almost guarantee Canelo dominates him tonight….don’t forget what a tremendous factor motivation can be. Remember Thomas Hearns getting KO’d by Iran Barkley in and just barely eking out a split decision over James Kinchen in 1988? He then signed to face Sugar Ray Leonard in a rematch in June 1989. Everyone thought it would be a blowout. And what happened? Hearns floored Leonard twice and got a controversial draw in a fight most felt he won. Yeah, don’t count Gennady Golovkin out. Anything is possible.
That’s 6 minutes I’ll never get back.
Longer, but more interesting, than the Suliman novels.
Thank you for the in-detail write up. I am picking Canelo on a UD. GGG’s age is his nemesis going into this fight. Canelo’s youth, being more active, hunger, and the seeking of a confidence booster from his recent loss will push him to a UD. I like GGG, but this is not his fight.
Awesome write up. “Anything is possible” sums it up, friend. Thanks.
Excellent breakdown. That was like having a conversation without having one. Heart say GGG, logic says Canelo.
Rosado fought this evening being one step behind Ali from the start of the bell. Why? Rosado has much mileage on his engine and should consider walking off into the sunset as his health is far more important. Ali is not a perfect fighter, but an improving fighter. Ali tends to make occasional mistakes such as moving laterally and keeping his feet very close to together at times and arm punches with a lack of commitment using his body for additional power. However, Ali overall, does a good job with speed and using his jab.
I agree. He has some serious mileage on the odometer, and it hasn’t been from cruise control either. I pray that he is financially secure to the point of not having to be a ragdoll for up and comers. He had the build, look, and heart, but he was genetically just under the elite.
The commentators are absolutely the worst I’ve ever heard!! I am a true boxing fan and the guys are an absolute disgrace to the profession!! Big night in the history of boxing and we have to listen to this!! Bad choice!!
Hard to pick this one. Canelo has great tools to use them and GGG has great skill also, but…….he is 40 years old. Now, historically speaking, given the fact that GGG is past his prime and unless he has one more great performance in him, I think that he loses this one by close decision. A boxer’s ego will compel him to search for that one last great fight. They both have great legacies, just wish they would have fought more often. Grazie.
Rosado needs to seriously consider retirement, he can no longer be used as up and comer punching bag!!!! He gets a wooping on every fight! He is as tuff as they come but, enough is enough of the torture he puts in every fight just to walk out with loss after loss! He aint going anywhere but, looking to breath thru a ventilator if he comtinuos taking beatings! I hopevthis warrior hangs his swords sndvwalks out for good!
these announcers are horrid as usual…from stupid women to Sergio Mora, the single ugliest fighter of the last 25 years and the worst middleweight “champion” gulp ever perhaps.
So-called judge Patricia Jarman is a joke,an incompetant…shameful the judging of the super -Flyweight title fight
DAZN ring announcer is a freakshow oddball. I do not appreciate he being the face of announcing when trying to get my wife to watch. Freakshow.
interesting comment never did like that announcer