A huge boxing match just ended in controversy. Go figure.
Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin fought to a draw Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a reasonable outcome for a closely contested bout that amazingly lived up to its hype. But one judge’s scorecard certainly raised eyebrows, as it leaned heavily in favor of Canelo, who one could argue actually lost the fight.
Here are the scorecards that led to the draw:
Judge Dave Moretti: 115-113 in favor of GGG
Judge Adalaide Byrd: 118-110 for Canelo
Judge Don Trella: 114-114
See anything weird?
This was a very close fight, which is reflected in two of the three scorecards. But the third scorecard — Byrd’s apparent brain fart — is an absolute joke. There’s no way on this planet that Canelo won 10 of 12 rounds, even though he did outbox Golovkin in the early going and rallied late after GGG controlled most of the middle rounds.
It’s hard to kick up too much of a fuss, seeing as how the end result — a draw — is totally within reason. (We scored it a draw in our live blog.) Plus, there’s a very good chance we’ll get a rematch, and after the show these two fighters put on Saturday night, who doesn’t want to see that?
Yet there’s still something troubling about Byrd’s scorecard. It could have been 115-113 in favor of Canelo, and we’d still be looking at a draw, but at least that would have lined up with what most fans agree actually happened inside the ring: Two fighters battled from wire to wire, each having their moments, to the point where it was difficult to declare a winner.
Even those who thought GGG won the fight — and there are plenty of folks who feel that way — probably would agree the margin was slim. And those who thought Canelo was victorious almost certainly would agree that he didn’t completely overmatch his opponent, especially with GGG being the more aggressive fighter throughout almost the entire bout.
But then again, this is boxing, a sport in which controversy is to be expected nowadays.
Vote: Who really won Canelo vs. GGG? >>
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
