Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin trilogy, from the 2017 draw to the 2022 finale

Across five years and three nights at the same Las Vegas arena, Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin produced one of the defining rivalries of modern boxing. The first fight ended in a split draw remembered for a single judge's card, the rematch was delayed by a doping suspension and then decided by one round, and the third meeting, at a heavier weight and with both men older, finally closed the story.

Two Champions on a Collision Course in 2017

By the late summer of 2017 the middleweight division had been waiting years for this pairing. Gennady Golovkin, the Kazakh puncher known as GGG, arrived unbeaten at 37-0 with 33 knockouts and held the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and IBO belts. Canelo Álvarez, the Mexican star who had lost only once, to Floyd Mayweather Jr., came in at 49-1-1 with 34 knockouts. The Ring magazine title and the lineal championship were also on the line.

The fight was set for September 16, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip. According to the official purses reported at the time, Álvarez was guaranteed 5 million dollars and Golovkin 3 million. The event sold out with a crowd of 22,358, and the live gate of more than 27 million dollars ranked among the largest in the sport's history.

Twelve Rounds and a Split Draw

The contest itself lived up to the build-up. Golovkin was the busier fighter for most of the night, while Álvarez picked his moments and landed with slightly better accuracy. Golovkin appeared to hurt Álvarez in the ninth round, though no knockdown was scored at any point.

The CompuBox numbers reflected Golovkin's higher work rate. He landed 218 of 703 punches thrown and outlanded Álvarez in 10 of the 12 rounds, while Álvarez connected on 169 of 505, the slightly better percentage. When the final bell rang, many ringside observers expected Golovkin's hand to be raised, or at least a narrow result either way.

Instead, referee Kenny Bayless stood between two fighters as the cards were read. Dave Moretti scored it 115-113 for Golovkin. Don Trella had it level at 114-114. Adalaide Byrd scored it 118-110 for Álvarez, giving Golovkin only the fourth and seventh rounds. The result went into the record books as a split draw, and Golovkin kept his belts for a 19th consecutive middleweight defense, one short of Bernard Hopkins' record of 20.

The Scorecard That Overshadowed the Fight

The reaction centred less on the draw itself than on one card. HBO's unofficial scorer Harold Lederman and ESPN's Dan Rafael each had Golovkin winning 116-112, and plenty of commentators argued that a draw was defensible in a close fight. What few could defend was a ten-round-to-two margin for Álvarez. Byrd's name spread quickly through boxing coverage, and spellings of it even varied between outlets, with some printing Adelaide.

Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez claimed Byrd had made up her mind before the opening bell. The Nevada Athletic Commission's executive director, Bob Bennett, publicly stood by her and said he retained confidence in her work. Golovkin made clear the scoring was not his responsibility and that he still held the titles, while Álvarez insisted he had done enough to win seven or eight rounds. ESPN quoted Golovkin after the fight as saying, "This was a real fight." The Ring later named the night its Event of the Year for 2017, and on October 2 the WBC formally ordered a rematch.

A Rematch Derailed by Clenbuterol

HBO announced in January 2018 that the two would meet again on May 5 at the same arena. On March 5, however, it emerged that Álvarez had tested positive for clenbuterol, a banned substance, in two random urine samples collected on February 17 and February 20. Álvarez attributed the trace amounts to contaminated meat eaten in Mexico, where the drug has been used in cattle feed, and denied knowingly taking it.

The Nevada commission placed him under temporary suspension, and on April 3 Álvarez withdrew from the May date. At its meeting on April 18, 2018, the commission voted 5-0 to approve a six-month suspension, backdated to the first positive test, which meant he would be eligible again from August 17. As ESPN reported, he was not fined because the cancelled fight meant there was no purse, and Álvarez accepted that the violation stood under Nevada rules regardless of intent.

Negotiations resumed, and on June 13, 2018, the sides agreed to a new date of September 15. Reports at the time said Golovkin agreed to a 45 percent share of the purse, after Álvarez had pushed for a 65-35 split in his favour. In the meantime he was stripped of his IBF belt, so that title was no longer at stake when the rematch finally happened.

September 2018 and the Majority Decision

The second fight looked different from the first. Álvarez dictated the pace, while Golovkin had the better of the jab in the early rounds. In the second half Álvarez invested in the body, landing 46 body punches to Golovkin's six according to CompuBox, and the two went blow for blow through the late rounds before Álvarez pushed hard in the twelfth.

This time the cards went Álvarez's way by the narrowest of margins. Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld each scored it 115-113 for Álvarez, and the third judge had it 114-114, giving the Mexican a majority decision. He took the WBA (Super), WBC and IBO middleweight titles along with the vacant Ring and lineal championships, and Golovkin suffered the first defeat of his professional career.

As after the first fight, opinion was divided. A tally of media scorecards compiled afterwards showed more outlets favouring Golovkin or a draw than Álvarez. Sky Sports quoted Golovkin as saying, "I thought I fought better than he did," while Álvarez said he would do it again if the public wanted a third fight. The Ring named the rematch its Fight of the Year for 2018. It was also the last pay-per-view HBO broadcast before the network ended its boxing coverage.

Four Years Apart Before the Third Fight

A trilogy did not follow quickly. By 2022 Álvarez held the undisputed super middleweight championship. The pieces came back together in 2022, after Álvarez lost a unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight on May 7. Rather than pursuing an immediate rematch with Bivol, Álvarez agreed on May 24 to face Golovkin a third time, and Golovkin moved up to 168 pounds for the first time to challenge for the undisputed super middleweight championship.

When they met again at T-Mobile Arena on September 17, 2022, Álvarez was 32 with a record of 57-2-2, and Golovkin was 40 at 42-1-1. Both weighed in at just under the 168-pound limit.

Álvarez Closes the Trilogy in 2022

The third fight was the least dramatic of the three. Álvarez controlled most of the rounds with harder, more accurate power punches, and the bout was widely described as the most tactical and one-sided of their meetings. CompuBox credited Álvarez with 130 punches landed from 487 thrown and Golovkin with 120 from 521, with a clear edge for Álvarez in power shots.

The judges scored it 116-112 and 115-113 twice for Álvarez, a unanimous decision that retained his WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring belts. Even then the cards drew comment, as several observers felt the 115-113 scores made the fight look closer than it had been. ESPN reported that Álvarez fought with a cartilage tear in his left wrist and was weighing surgery. Golovkin offered a brief, gracious assessment, quoted by ESPN as "Today, Canelo is better."

How the Rivalry Is Remembered

Over 36 rounds the official tally reads one draw and two Álvarez wins, yet the arguments about the first two fights have never fully settled. The 2017 card by Adalaide Byrd remains one of the most cited examples in debates about boxing judging, and the 2018 suspension remains part of any honest account of the rematch. In 2023 Golovkin gave up the IBF, WBA and IBO belts he still held, the first two after being ordered to face mandatory challengers. What the three nights in Las Vegas left behind was a rivalry decided on paper, still debated by many who watched it.

Sources

• Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin, Wikipedia, accessed 2026-11-14
• Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II, Wikipedia, accessed 2026-11-14
• Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin III, Wikipedia, accessed 2026-11-14
• Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin fight ends in draw, ESPN (Dan Rafael), 17 September 2017
• Canelo Alvarez to serve six-month suspension for failed drug tests, ESPN (Dan Rafael), 18 April 2018
• Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez defeats Gennady Golovkin on majority decision, Sky Sports, 16 September 2018
• Canelo Alvarez closes trilogy with Gennadiy Golovkin with unanimous decision win, ESPN (Mike Coppinger), 18 September 2022