Canelo vs GGG A Draw – Quotes From Post Fight Presser
LAS VEGAS (Sept. 16, 2017) Lineal and *Ring *Magazine Middleweight World
Champion *Canelo Alvarez (*49-1-2, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight
World Champion *Gennady “GGG” Golovkin* (37-0-1, 33 KOs) retained their
respective titles in a back-in-forth war that was ruled a draw on Mexican
Independence Day in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,358 raucous fans
at *T-Mobile
Arena* in Las Vegas presented live by HBO Pay-Per-View and before 17,931
Closed Circuit attendees.
The action-packed fight featured everything a boxing fan would hope for in
a battle that not only featured the two best middleweights in the world,
but the two of the best pound-for-pound fighters. Canelo took an early
lead, outboxing Golovkin from the outside with lateral movement, a quick
jab and hard counterpunches to the body. As the rounds progressed, Golovkin
returned fire, tapping through the middle of Canelo’s guard before ripping
left and right hands around it. The action reached its peak in the
championship rounds, where both men went back and forth, exchanging bomb
after bomb in an explosive attempt to avoid scorecards. Adalaide Byrd
scored the fight 118-110 for Canelo. Dave Moretti scored the fight 115-113
for Golovkin, and Don Trella scored the fight a 114-114 draw.
Celebrities in attendance for this sold-out event included *LL Cool
J**,** George
Lopez, Randy Orton, Chris Brown, Mario Lopez, Micheal Strahan, Jamie Foxx,
Dave Chapelle, Chris Walhberg, Victor Espinoza, *and former world
champions* Oscar
De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins *and* Miguel Cotto.*
“I thought I won the fight,” said *Canelo Alvarez.* “I think I was superior
inside the ring. I won at least seven or eight rounds. I was able to
counterpunch, and even make Gennady wobble a couple times. It’s up to the
people if we fight again. I feel frustrated over this draw.” When asked if
he felt Golovkin’s power, Canelo said, “No, truthfully, not really. There
wasn’t any power that surprised me. In the first rounds, I came out to see
what he had. Then I was building from there. Yes, of course I want the
rematch. Obviously, if the people want it, then yes.”
“It’s a big drama show,” said *Gennady Golovkin.* “I want to thank all my
fans. I want to thank all my Kazakhstan fans for supporting me, for coming
out. Of course I want a rematch. This was a real fight. Look, I still have
all the belts. I’m still the champion.”
*Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz, Jr. *(25-0, 13 KOs) scored a dominant 12-round
unanimous decision victory against *Rafael “Big Bang” Rivera* (25-1-2, 16
KOs) to earn a shot at the WBC Featherweight title. Diaz, a native of South
El Monte, California, boxed comfortably from his southpaw stance throughout
the fight, pawing with his right hand before unleashing powerful right
hooks and straight left hands on Rivera, a native of Tijuana, Mexico. Diaz
won with two scores of 119-109 and one score of 120-108.
“I feel like I had a good performance overall,” said *Joseph Diaz. *”I was
able to put pressure and dictate the pace of the fight, and be able to
enter into a lot of exchanges. Rivera is strong, has good body shots, and
had good speed. I think we gave them a good show tonight.”
“I feel that trying to make weight in time for the fight really drained
me,” said *Rafael Rivera.* “I wasn’t able to perform at my tiptop best.
Other than that, I believe we did good despite the circumstances.”
*Diego De La Hoya* (20-0, 9 KOs) outclassed *Randy “El Matador”
Caballero* (24-1,
14 KOs) over 10 rounds to win the NABF and NABO Super Bantamweight titles
by unanimous decision. De La Hoya, of Mexicali, Mexico, started off
explosively by landing a fusillade of punches that caused Caballero’s left
eye to swell by the third round. Caballero, who fights out of Coachella,
California, was the aggressor for much of the fight, but De La Hoya’s speed
and size advantage nullified Caballero’s offense. De La Hoya won with
scores of 90-100, 92-98, and 92-98.
*Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin* (20-0, 11 KOs) opened the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast
with a 10-round split decision victory against *Francisco Rojo *(19-3, 12
KOs) to unify his WBC Continental Americas and the vacant WBA
Intercontinental Lightweight titles. Martin, of Chattanooga, Tennessee,
used his footwork and high-guard defense to box from the outside, while
Rojo cut off the ring to land hooks to the body and head of the Mexico,
City, Mexico native. As the rounds progressed, Martin and Rojo exchanged
more and more explosively, though Martin was deducted a point in the ninth
round for excessive low-blows. By the end of the fight, Rojo was coming on
stronger, though it was not enough to win on all the judge scorecards.
Martin won with scores of 95-94 and 96-93, while one judge scored it 98-91
for Rojo.
“I didn’t feel 100% tonight, even though I got the split decision,” said *Ryan
“Blue Chip” Martin.* “I know I fought a good fight despite the adversity in
the ring. I know the judge that scored in favor of Rojo recognized good
boxing in him. I’m glad I have this new belt and it’s on to the next.”
*Serhii Bohachuk* (5-0, 5 KOs), the rising Ukrainian super welterweight
prospect trained by Abel Sanchez, defeated* Joan Valenzuela *(5-9-1, 5 KOs)
via second-round technical knockout in a fight scheduled for four rounds.
Bohachuk overwhelmed Valenzuela with hard shots to the body and head before
stopping him at 1:58 of the second round.
“He was a good opponent, I’m happy I won,” said *Serhii Bohachuk*. It was a
tough fight, but I kept working at it and came out on top.”
Super lightweight prospect *Vergil Ortiz, Jr.* (7-0, 7 KOs) of Dallas,
Texas scored an impressive second-round technical knockout victory
against *Cesar
Valenzuela *(7-2, 2 KOs) in a scheduled six-round fight. Ortiz unleashed a
vicious body attack on the body of Valenzuela, forcing the Mexican-born
resident of Phoenix, Arizona to drop to his knees twice before the referee
called the fight at 1:22 of the second round.
“I just do what my coaches tell me to do,” said *Vergil Ortiz Jr.* “They
knew how this fight was going to end, and kept reminding me to go towards
the body. I’m super happy to get the win, and this is just another fight on
the way.”
In the first bout of the evening, *Marlen Esparza* (3-0)*,* the 2012
Olympic Bronze Medalist of Houston, Texas, scored a six-round unanimous
decision victory against *Aracely Palacios* (8-8, 1 KO) in the flyweight
division. Esparza showed the influence of her world-renowned trainer,
Virgil Hunter, as she intelligently used her left hand to jab and gauge
distance before landing combinations from the outside on Palacios, a native
of Durango, Mexico. Esparza cruised to her win with three scores of 60-54.
*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. *Diaz, Jr. vs. Rivera* was a 12-round WBC
Featherweight Title Eliminator bout presented by Golden Boy
Promotions. *Caballero
vs. De La Hoya* was a 10-round fight for the NABF and vacant NABO Super
Bantamweight Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions. *Martin vs.
Rojo* was a 10-round lightweight fight for the WBC Continental Americas and
vacant WBA Intercontinental Championships presented by Golden Boy
Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event
took place Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena and was produced and
distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.
