It was one of the closest rivalries in boxing, one marked by discord and controversial judging decisions because, over two fights and 24 rounds, there was little that separated Saúl Álvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.
Was, that is, because in their third fight at T-Mobile Arena in five years Saturday night, the Mexican fighter Álvarez, known widely as Canelo, definitively outclassed Golovkin in front of an adoring crowd to retain his super welterweight titles and regain a bit of menace after suffering just the second loss of his professional career in May.
“I have shown that defeats are great, because they allow you to come back and show humility,” Álvarez said, while wearing a crown on his head, after the fight.