Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez swept aside the troubles of his difficult year, and a festering rivalry, when he defeated a faded Gennady Golovkin in a unanimous victory on points in their third fight in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Álvarez, the undisputed world super-middleweight champion, was a comprehensive winner and the only surprise was that, for once, the judges were sympathetic to Golovkin. Two scorecards of 115-113 were strange, with the third official’s verdict of 116-112 in favour of Álvarez a marginally more accurate reflection.
Álvarez was too young, too strong and too driven for Golovkin – a once great world champion who is now a 40‑year‑old man in the unforgiving ring. Beneath the glaring lights and the percussive impact of Álvarez’s power punching, Golovkin cut a subdued figure from the outset of a one-sided contest. He was unable to impose himself and, especially in the first seven rounds, he looked a disconsolate version of the previously formidable middleweight champion who dominated his division for so many years.
