I was talking to my dad before the match. He said Canelo
looked “fat.” That’s what I’ve been
saying since his last fight. I
haven’t even seen very many commercials with him lately. It’s affecting his endorsements. Both fighters were going to be at max weight
for the fight. Regardless, the experts
have repeatedly assured us that this was going to be a real fight, not like
that carnival sideshow last month. No, you simpletons, you were not smart enough to fully appreciate Floyd Mayweather’s technical fighting
style in his prime, and instead thought that seeing him actually fighting was
entertaining. Conor McGregor, a mere ruffian, had no place in that ring as a
boxer. He only won several rounds and
only lasted ten rounds and was never actually knocked down.
Actually, this fight would be between two boxers in their
prime. Glovokin was undefeated, which says all you need to know. For his part, Canelo was popular and
respected for his ability and willingness to move up in weight to find a
challenge to fight. I was looking
forward to it. This fight was big enough
that Laiza, the Canelo-loving girlfriend of my co-worker, Mike, was not given
free tickets to it. She has
“connections,” but tickets were too expensive this time. (Mike said he would have sold his if he’d
gotten one.) They were cautiously
optimistic about a Canelo victory.
Certainly, Mike was hoping to not receive a beating after a loss. (I was amused after their dismissive attitude
towards the Mayweather/McGregor fight that they ended up watching it on
Periscope.)
Some guy in a bathrobe came out and sang the anthem for a
‘Stan country for Glovokin. A chesty
woman with her goods on display did the Mexican anthem for Canelo. She looked familiar. Was it Lucero? I completely didn’t recognize the woman doing
the US Anthem. I was busy at the time
listening to the Chihuahuas’ game and flipping back and forth to the NM State
football game. There was a great new
Mexican Sylvester Stalone commercial
where he was reviewing the previous guys he’s scolded for not being manly
enough. Then he gets scolded by himself
for sitting around watching this. Oscar de la Hoya, the fight’s promoter,
whispered a quick word to Canelo before the fight, “Thank you for making me so
much money.” And we were off.
Round 1
Sort of. I was
watching the end of the football game and missed half of the round. They seemed to be feeling each other
out. Then, Canelo got in a good shot at
G’s side and it was on from that point.
From here, they were throwing heavy punches and just missing on
haymakers. I’m not sure who won the
round. I didn’t see the whole round and
it seemed pretty even.
Round 2
I was watching the football highlights and again missed the
beginning of the round. The guys were
wrapping up with each other, but were still hitting hard. I could hear women in the crowd screaming
with each hit. (Could I have been
hearing Laiza from across town too?)
Again, I can’t pick a winner for the round.
Round 3
One thing’s for sure by this point: these guys can take a
punch. They were using each others’
bodies as punching bags and their heads as speed bags. The crowd started chanting, “Canelo!” He got in a good uppercut. G wrapped him up. Canelo danced away as G tried to engage
him. I gave this one to Canelo.
Round 4
The “Canelo” chant starts up again. The TV
Azteca announcers have given him every round so far in scoring. G drove Canelo into the ropes, forcing him to
cover. The crowd roared. Canelo was not looking pretty after a couple
of shots to the head. Golovkin took this
round.
Round 5
They started off in a wrapup. Canelo got in a jab to G’s gut, but Glovokin
got in a hard right to Canelo’s jaw.
Canelo shook his head at him afterward.
The crowd and the announcers started going insane. Canelo charged out the corner and drove G
into the middle of the ring. Fans there
were jumping to their feet. I had
Golovkin taking this round. Maybe?
Round 6
Starting with this round, a couple of TV Azteca hosts would
come on before the round. One was a
sharp dressed young man and the other was a glamorous blonde with piles of
curls in a shiny gold dress. During a
wrap up, Canelo got in a cheapshot to G’s head.
The ref gave Canelo a warning.
The crowd might have been chanting for G. I had G as the winner. The TV Azteca guys had Canelo.
Round 7
The host couple were showing Twitter pictures from fans and
giving away merchandise. After all these
rounds of frenetic punching, the guys looked tired finally. I couldn’t pick a winner here. (The announcers had Canelo.)
Round 8
The host couple was hanging out in the arena’s concourse
with Canelo fans. For a few seconds in
this round, the guys stopped hitting each other. They feinted and flinched facing each other. You could almost read their minds, I don’t know what to do next. I’ve tried everything! They reengaged. Canelo got in an uppercut to G’s jaw while he
was again knocked into the ropes. I had
Canelo. The announcers had
Glovokin. It’s a tossup.
Round 9
The host couple was now interviewing some fans dressed as
masked wrestlers. G hit the top of
Canelo’s head, stunning him. Canelo then
immediately got hit right in the face.
It just made him mad. The crowd
got back into it. Canelo got in a
powerful left to G’s head. Round to
Canelo.
Round 10
They started the round wrapped up. Canelo got in several hard, close shots, and
G was staggered. (This was the only time
in the match I saw anybody wobble.) The
crowd screamed, chanted, and was standing again. They wrapped up a couple more times, clearly
exhausted. G got in a good shot, and
both appeared to get a second wind as they tore into each other. I had Canelo.
The announcers had Glovokin. Are
we sensing a pattern here? These rounds
are too close to call and can go either way.
Round 11
G got in a rabbit punch to Canelo’s kidneys. The ref missed it. Canelo put another left into G’s jaw. G put a double shot into Canelo’s face. I can’t call it.
Round 12
Neither of the guys were bloodied coming out. There was a bit of mouse under one of G’s
eyes. Canelo was hitting G pretty hard
and there were more wrap-ups. The blows
became hard and fast from both. The
crowd was standing and cheering. The
last ten seconds, they both went all out.
Again, I can’t call a round winner.
Oh, this is going to
be bad, I thought to myself. They
hugged and exchanged a couple of words afterward and both proclaimed victory in
their corners. Then the judges’ decision:
one for Canelo, one for Glolovkin, one (pause for dramatic effect) for a draw. The commentators on the Stadium Network nightly show right after the fight were incensed. Other forms of sports media piled on
afterwards. Most of the controversy from
the fight has been with the judge who had Canelo winning 10 of the 12 rounds. Whatever.
Here’s the part where I’m supposed to fly into indignant
righteous rage. I can’t do it. I agree with the decision. They were totally evenly matched. They were even matched in stamina and neither
could take advantage of the other being tired.
It was so close, I couldn’t figure out who to award rounds to. Neither were holding back either. You tuned in for a fight; you got a
fight. You just didn’t get a
winner. (It’s like soccer.) I’m a bit surprised Golovkin wasn’t given the
win. Usually if the challenger doesn’t definitely
win, the champion gets the victory, whether they really deserved it or not.
The ring interviewer played the two off each other during
the post-fight interviews. Glolovkin
saluted the Mexican fans. Canelo said G
wasn’t that powerful. The crowd
boo’d. G wanted a re-match and accused
Canelo of running. The crowd
cheered. Canelo also wanted a
re-math. The crowd boo’d. I feel like I need my ears checked, or I
seriously underestimated Canelo’s support there at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. I
assumed he was popular one. Was the
crowd angry at Canelo? I just don’t
know.
I called Mike to make sure he was still alive. It turned out that my free over-the-air
Mexican broadcast wasn’t lying, it was indeed live. Amazingly, Mike and Laiza both agreed with
the decision too, and they thought it was a pretty good show. They didn’t feel too bad about buying the
fight. This is quite a shock for me too;
I’ve actually seen two entertaining fights in a row. Surely this streak can’t last. I want the rematch, but I do not want a
repeat of this fight. One of these guys
needs to figure out how to beat the other and finish this. Tonight’s fight didn’t feel like a waste of
time to set up a more lucrative re-match, but if somebody doesn’t get a legit
win next time, fans will not be satisfied.
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