Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin Play-by-Play & Round-by-Round Scoring

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin

Round 1

Golovkin takes the lead early as Canelo fades back to the ropes, looking to seemingly counterbox. Tentative jabs from Golovkin early as Alvarez looks to slip counterjabs in and counter behind it. Alvarez slips a Golovkin right hook and Alvarez smacks him with a left to the body. Clean jab, partially blocked right from Alvarez. Another right for Alvarez, then a jab, then a counter uppercut. Alvarez coming alive with counters in the last 60 seconds, using upper body movement to setting up meaningful, hard punches. 10-9 Alvarez.

Round 2

GGG is undaunted to start Round 2, marching forward once more behind a pawing jab. Both clash hard jabs at the 60-second mark of the round, then Alvarez just misses on an overhand right. Jab-hook with the left hand lands for Alvarez, then a lead left hook registers moments later for the Mexican, who is beating Golovkin largely with lead-hand counters thus far. Jab-left hook to the body. Alvarez is a fancy dan so far, using expert timing and variation on his front hand to befuddle Golovkin. Hard body shot by Alvarez, who circles out before the bell. Sherdog.com scores the bout for Alvarez, now up 20-18.

Round 3

Alvarez is starting to befuddle Golovkin. Canelo has operated a counter-oriented game, fronting GGG with left jabs and hooks, then mixing in body shots with both hands now. Alvarez starting to become more assertive halfway through the round, coming forward now and zinging right hands. Left hook lands for Golovkin, but Alvarez immediately pops him with two jabs. Golovkin rips to the body, Alvarez right back with a right hook, then touches him with a liver shot. Golovkin still coming forward but his face is starting to show the damage of Alvarez's consistency. Clean right hook for Golovkin before the bell backs Alvarez away before the horn. It's still a sweep, 10-9 for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Round 4

Jab-left hook-right uppercut for Alvarez lands, but Golovkin rips him with a right hook up top, then a left hook to the body. It's still Golovkin trotting forward, while Alvarez uses upper body movement to duck, slip and counter with his lead left hands. Nice body shot for GGG as Alvarez walks himself back to the ropes, but he doesn't open up as Canelo lays on the perimeter. The crowd roars, hoping GGG will open up, but Alvarez begs him on as if he's Floyd Mayweather, then circles away. Canelo goes to the body, Golovkin touches him harder in response. Better round for Golovkin now. Right cross by GGG, Canelo responds in kind. Alvarez is just circling and loading up on counters now. Golovkin finally seems to have got into a groove. 10-9 for the Kazakh, 39-37 Alvarez.

Round 5

Alvarez still willing to back up and put himself on the ropes as Golovkin attacks, albeit still not opening up fully. As opposed to the first three rounds, Alvarez fighting in bursts more now, loading up on bigger counters. GGG triples his left hand and lands twice in nifty fashion, but Alvarez tags him with two right hands moments later. Golovkin tries a right uppercut and lands, but Alvarez lands the left hook, then another. GGG with a rough right, the hardest punch of the fight, registering an audible crack on Canelo's face, who tries to shake his head in defiance. Golovkin grins at Alvarez as he tries to punch off the ropes. GGG rips with three punches, Alvarez rips back with four. Both men flurrying as GGG lands an overhand right over the top. The T-Mobile Arena crowd roars for the biggest moments of action so far. 10-9 Golovkin, but the Sherdog.com still has Alvarez up 48-47.

Round 6

Golovkin is alive now, even more aggressively walking Alvarez down. Just when the Kazakh opens up, Alvarez rips him with a right hand that visibly backs him up and briefly stops his forward march. Lead hooks from both, but Alvarez puts a left to the body behind his, then another upstairs. Canelo comes off of the ropes now, working his jab before lazily letting Golovkin march him back once more. They clinch and on the break, Alvarez trolls Golovkin by bopping him in the head with a behind-the-back shot which referee Kenny Bayless admonishes. On the restart, Golovkin walks Canelo down, digging the body, then landing a hard one-two. Another jab-cross registers for Golovkin, while Alvarez taps the body again. After three straight Canelo rounds, it's three straight GGG rounds. 57-57.

Round 7

Canelo's lead hook is landing more and more often now, seemingly forcing Golovkin to b breathe with his mouth open. Yet, once Alvarez gets comfy, Golovkin's right cross pays dividends, raking the Mexican along the ropes. Left uppercut lands for Alvarez and Golovkin misses a slow right hook, but GGG keeps on walking his man down and rips another left hook to the body.Jab-jab-cross, then a delayed cross all land for Golovkin .GGG's volume is really starting to show now as Alvarez is circling more than countering now. Hard right to the body by Alvarez but Golovkin tags him back, unfazed. 10-9 Golovkin, who takes the lead, 67-66.

Round 8

Alvarez is more active in Round 8, coming off the ropes and throwing combinations. However, Golovkin sticks him with counter jabs and sneaks in right crosses to stem his forward movement. Canelo still smartly works the jab-hook with the left hand but Golovkin is timing his more aggressive foe now. GGG with a right uppercut on the counter, then a jab. Alvarez just backing away now, really slowing his output and barely escaping a lunging right cross from Golovkin. Out of nowhere, he lands a clean right uppercut on a charging Golovkin, but still can't slow GGG's roll. A jab, another, then a right to the body from Golovkin close the round. Five straight for GGG, 77-75.

Round 9

The emerging narrative of the bout is being crystallized in Round 9, as Golovkin runs Canelo down and starts unloading. GGG lands the best punch of the fight, snapping Alvarez's head up with a right uppercut, then tagging him with a left hook. Canelo wobbles and circles out, then wings a left hook to ward off the rushing Golovkin. GGG will not stop, doubling and tripling his jab to move Alvarez back to the ropes now and looking for the right uppercut. Alvarez is still throwing, landing short uppercuts on his encroaching foe. Left hook to the body then a right hook upstairs. Golovkin dives on him in response, lunging in with a right hook. Sixth straight round for the unbeaten Golovkin, who leads on the Sherdog.com card, 87-84.

Round 10

The tenth round starts in roaring fashion, both men tearing into the other in the ring's center with hooks to the head and body. Alvarez lands harder but Golovkin walks him back to the ropes. It's a phone booth war for a moment, both chopping away in tight before Kenny Bayless warns both for using their heads. Alvarez backs up and Golovkin re-establishes his jab. GGG uses smart footwork to not let Alvarez circle back to the center, keeping him confined to the corners as he tries to regain his wind. Clean jab for GGG and Canelo clinches. Golovkin lands a jab, Canelo with a counter left hook. Alvarez just misses with a right hook, clinch. Golovkin with three punches, then a jab as Canelo tags him. Two punches to the body for Canelo, Golovkin tags him to the body, then with a right over the top. Great round, but 10-9 and now 97-93 Golovkin.

Round 11

Golovkin is the aggressor as per usual, but he's putting his right hook over Alvarez's lead hand now. Canelo playing more defense in the early portion of the round and seems slower with the lead hand. Both men land left hands, but Alvarez rips Golovkin with two rights over his guard. GGG walks right through them and tags his foe to the body. Jab-cross bounce off of Alvarez's forehead. Canelo is still landing but his shots are no longer stopping GGG's forward surge. Hard jab-cross for Golovkin, then another right cross moments later. Jab misses for Golovkin, but he lands a right uppercut-left hook that stands Alvarez up straight, then jabs him out. Make it eight straight rounds for GGG now, 107-102.

Round 12

Alvarez seems to sense he could be behind as he finds a last wind, smacking a rushing Golovkin with left hooks, right hooks and uppercuts. Golovkin tags him back with a lunging one-two, then Bayless warns both for headbutts again. Big action in the final round as Alvarez finally circles instead of backing up, jabbing. Golovkin nicely cuts Canelo's lead foot off and tags him with a right cross. Golovkin misses a two-piece, Alvarez puts a right hook to the ribs, then a left to the chin. Another lead left hook from Alvarez, who is all over Golovkin until the last five seconds, when GGG unloads a six-punch salvo all over a lazy Canelo before the bell. 10-9 Canelo round, but 116-112 Golovkin is the official Sherdog.com scorecard.

The Official Result

Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin Fight to a Split Draw (118-110, 114-114, 113-115) R12 3:00