The day after, and the Twittersphere is still quite lively, with boxing fans buzzing and opining, declaring Canelo a dud with faux Mexican blood in his veins, GGG a grandpa and Adelaide Byrd fired, oughta be retired…
This sport does provide us material for conversations, doesn't it?
I know, that's looking on the brighter side of the picture, being that so much of the chatter is centered on NOT where you want it to be after such a mega fight. The name “Adelaide Byrd” should not be trending at 12:30 am Sunday morning after a big bout.
But this is boxing, where what should be and what is are very, very often on divergent paths.
Two hours after his guy threw maybe two hundred punches more and landed maybe fifty more, and pressed the action on a defensive-minded Canelo Alvarez, the trainer for Gennady Golovkin, Abel Sanchez, sat and muttered and pondered what he'd seen. My eyes weren't lying to me, he knew, but he also understands that we still use a most imperfect system, that is, allowing human beings with their own sets of criteria for scoring a prize fight to submit their scores and have them aggregated, and used to pick a winner. And, so, we get situations like we had last night, where our jaws drop and our mouths form that now signature phrase, which we spit balefully: “NOT AGAIN!”
But we aren't always right. Sometimes the truth is closer to the middle, or even on the other side of our station. I saw and heard of more than a few folks who used their criteria system and had the Mexican boxer winning 115-113.
Death, taxes, and arguing about judges' scorecards after high stakes boxing battles…These are certainties.
Sanchez, he was sure what he saw at T-Mobile: his guy being the aggressor, the other guy not throwing for too many minutes of too many rounds, a fight that, he told me, played out pretty much like he thought it would.
“Like I said before fight I thought the first four rounds would be difficult for both guys, but I also said that we would score a late KO or win a 3-4 point decision…the issue was that the two judges they brought from Australia were jet-lagged,” said Sanchez, admirably summoning a wry crack, referencing the recent Manny Pacquiao loss to Jeff Horn across the ponds.
Many folks are opining that Byrd should be fired or turn in her judging card. Does Sanchez agree?
“Maybe she can judge beauty pageants, keep her away from boxing,” he stated.
I told Sanchez his guy won on my card.
“I know, unfortunately that glory in victory is taken away by incompetency,” he stated. Sanchez thought my 116-112 card for GGG was spot on, he said.
Anyway, the decision won't be over-turned. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see Ms. Byrd on any more big bouts, at least for a spell, till other bizarro decisions are rendered, and her abortive outing is hazy in our memories. So, if the decision stands, maybe we turn our sights to the future. Rematch, anyone?
Check out this release from Team GGG, which talks sequel…
“BIG DRAMA SCORE.
GENNADY AND CANELO TREATED US
TO A GREAT EVENT.
IT’S A SHAME THEY DIDN’T GET
THE DEFINITIVE RESULT THEY DESERVED.”
– Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s Trainer
HBO Sports® World Championship Boxing®
Presents the Exclusive Replay of Canelo vs. Golovkin
This Saturday! Sept. 23 at 10 P.M. ET/PT
LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 17, 2017) — Boxing’s No. 1 superhero and undefeated WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN (37-0-1, 33 KOs) successfully defended his titles Saturday night, scoring a controversial draw against lineal and Ring magazine Middleweight World Champion and Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs). Golovkin, boxing’s longest-reigning world champion, who has been middleweight champion since 2010, made his 19th consecutive title defense – one short of the all-time record.
The fight took place in front of a crowd of 22,358 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. HBO Sports will present the exclusive replay of the exciting battle This Saturday! Sept. 23, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, on World Championship Boxing. The fight replay will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO®, HBO On Demand® and affiliate portals.
“Of course I want the rematch, said Golovkin. “Real Mexican style fighters do not run from best fight, from history fight.”
“To paraphrase Gennady, this was a big drama score,” said Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez. “Gennady and Canelo treated us to a great event. It’s a shame they didn’t get the definitive result they deserved. It was a close fight. I thought Gennady won. You don’t win fights backing up all night.”
“There is no question that Gennady won the fight,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter. “Because the world was watching and the media was covering, this time, what happens in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas. Saturday’s HBO replay will show that. There are no issues to doing a rematch. I just hope it takes Canelo and Golden Boy less time to do it than it did to make this fight. Enough drama, let’s get them back into the ring. Gennady is a true champion. He runs from no one.”
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Canelo vs. Golovkin was a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions and sponsored by Tecate “BORN BOLD”; Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle; O’Reilly Auto Parts. Better Parts, Better Prices…everyday!; Fred Loya Insurance; Interjet; Thor: Ragnarok; Fathom Events; Tsesnabank; and Capital Holdings. The event took place Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.
