Golovkin was watching at ringside, and had to like what he heard. “Miguel’s defense was unbelievable”.
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The fight was one of the more anticipated in recent years (and added the storied Mexico-Puerto Rico boxing rivalry). He already shared this desire to have another shot at “The Money” after the unbeaten boxer announced his retirement in May and was still picking his opponent for his 49th and farewell fight, Boxing News 24 noted. Alvarez, who normally fights at junior middleweight and weighed 155 pounds for his catch-weight fight with Cotto on Saturday, said that Golovkin would have to fight him on Alvarez’s terms. “I respect he’s a great champion”.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez lands a left uppercut on Miguel Cotto.
Alvarez can afford to be picky, but not for long. Canelo would be the only one to fight for the title, if Cotto won he would not defend or win the belt since it was stripped. But if you want me to fight him right now, Ill fight him right now..
You’re only interim, the WBC says, so if you don’t fight whomsoever we want, we’ll take the title away from you.
But they know each other well and have sparred together several times. And the home crowd really responded to Canelo even when his punches were blocked.
Alvarez won the WBC version of the title that Cotto vacated days earlier for not paying sanctioning fees.
Whether Golovkin would be willing to drop to the 155 range to fight Alvarez is uncertain, but Golovkin has previously said he would go to 155 pounds for a matchup with Floyd Mayweather. The two biggest exchanges in the fight, in the eighth and 12th rounds, both went Alvarez’s way as he answered Cotto’s combinations with significant punches.
ESPN boxing expert Dan Rafael claims that while Alvarez got the better of Cotto, the fight was closer than the scorecards suggested.
Whether that’s an effect of Alvarez bringing a new approach as De La Hoya preaches or just a one-off phenomenon remains to be seen. And while Cotto was bitterly disappointed, the outcome was nearly surely good for a sport thirsting for good young talent.
Cotto’s trainer Freddie Roach, by the middle rounds, was asking for Cotto to come forward.
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Both Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez gave their best and continued to push for better and better performance in nearly every round. Some speculate Gennady “Triple-G” Golovkin might be the next fight for him but De la Hoya wouldn’t confirm who would be the next competitor. But Alvarez’s heavier blows seemed to inflict more damage. He landed 40 percent of power punches against Cotto (118-of-298).
