Alvares hands Golovkin first defeat of pro career

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Alvares hands Golovkin first defeat of pro career
Canelo Alvarez (left) lands a punch to Gennady Golovkin in the sixth round of their middleweight bout on Saturday.

Las Vegas - The fight, in front of a sellout, celebrity-studded crowd that included Tyson, Will Smith and LeBron James

By Reuters

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Published: Sun 16 Sep 2018, 9:55 PM

Last updated: Mon 17 Sep 2018, 12:00 AM

Gennady Golovkin suffered the first loss of his professional career when Saul 'Canelo' Alvares won an epic middleweight world title fight in Las Vegas on Saturday.
A year after their first fight ended in a controversial draw, Alvares clinched a points decision that again divided experts in what many thought could have gone the other way.
Two judges gave it 115-113 for Alvares, while the other had it a 114-114 draw.
The fight, in front of a sellout, celebrity-studded crowd that included Mike Tyson, actor Will Smith and basketballer LeBron James at T-Mobile Arena, lived up to its billing as the best two pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Golovkin landed some big blows to the head in the closing rounds, opening a cut above Alvares' left eye, but the Mexican prevailed to improve his career record to 50-1-2, including 34 knockouts.
Golovkin fell to 38-1-1, with 34 knockouts. It was his first defeat since the 2005 world amateur championships.
"It was a very tight fight," said Alvares in a ringside interview after becoming the WBC, WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine world champion.
"I looked for a knockout but it's difficult. He's a great fighter but in the end I got the victory.
"I'm very excited, very emotional. I want to thank everyone who believes in me. This is for them and long live Mexico."
Kazakh Golovkin, 36, thought he had perhaps done enough to get the decision. 


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