Classic fights revisit edition 2: Canelo Alvarez vs GGG 2

i will post my scorecard in a few hours.

 

Before i give my score card, i want to clear up some definitions on scoring

A close round - a close round is a highly competitive round where i felt one guy did just enough to win. While i personally think the guy who won this round, won it in a convincing manner, i can also kind of see other people seeing this as a swing round.

A swing round - a close highly competitive round which i struggle to score. I have zero issue with anyone scoring it for either guy

A clear round - there are two types of clear rounds. One is when one guy thoroughly dominates without scoring a knockdown. The second one is where the round was fairly competitive but Fighter A did 10% more. Competitive and not one sided but the guy who did 10% more clearly won the round. I don't think these rounds are debatable at all.

For me, the difference between a close round and a swing round is that in a close round, i think one guy did just about enough in a very close encounter. Whereas swing rounds are genuinely confusing to score.

 

Round 1 - GGG 10-9 close

Canelo was the aggressor but apart from one body shot and a couple of decent lefts, he didn't land much. GGG threw and landed a decent number of jabs. I am giving it to GGG due to his jab.

Round 2 - Canelo 10-9 clear

Canelo starts by landing some flashy though not very powerful left hooks, GGG is working off his jab and lands a decent right uppercut. About a minute in, we see Canelo landing a HARD left hook to GGG's head though the latter absorbs it well. Alvarez lands a hard jab and backs GGG up with a 3 punch combo and even though the combo itself didn't land super clean, these are scoring shots. Canelo then uses his head movement to dodge a punch and lands 2 beautiful counters. In the last minute, GGG picks it up and lands a couple of good left hooks but Canelo also lands a hard left hook to the body. Despite GGG picking it up in the last minute and the round being competitive, i don't think there is any question Canelo won this round.

Round 3 - Canelo 10-9 swing round

Both guys spend some time focusing on the jab. GGG lands a solid uppercut and Canelo fires back with some quick shots. My impression is that Canelo is landing harder punches and GGG is landing a bit more. Its a close round and i am leaning Canelo due to him being the aggressor but if anyone wants to score it for GGG, i don't have an issue. Close swing round.

Round 4 - GGG 10-9 close

GGG comes out firing but Canelo stays defensively smart. Then Canelo starts firing and GGG stays defensively smart. Not much damage done by either man as their defense is both on point. GGG then lands a hard left hook and then a good uppercut a few seconds later. Canelo's shots are quite flashy in the middle portion of the round but GGG is landing the harder punches. GGG then lands a hard body shot, a rarity for him. Canelo lands a couple of body shots and a few flashy shots on top to make the round competitive. However, i gave this round to GGG. Competitive and close but also not something i would regard as a swing round.

Round 5 - Canelo 10-9 swing round

GGG lands a nice body jab, Canelo responds with a hook on top. Both guys are making each other miss by a mere inch. GGG lands another nice jab and a sneaky uppercut. Canelo responds with 2 good body shots. Canelo misses with a left hook but lands a HARD right hand on a retreating Golovkin. GGG then lands a sneaky left uppercut on an incoming Canelo. Canelo lands a couple of good body shots and GGG picks it up a bit with his jab in the last 15 seconds. Close swing round where i am leaning Canelo as i felt the right hand he landed was the best punch of the round and he was the agressor. But i have zero issue with this going to GGG.


Round 6 - Canelo 10-9 clear

Canelo lands a solid left hook about 11 seconds in, both guys are landing some grazing shots. Canelo lands a good left uppercut to the body about 23 seconds in. Some nice jabs from both guys and then Canelo lands a hard left hook. GGG responds with a power jab. In the final minute, both guys are landing solidly but Canelo appears to be doing slightly better. Competitive round but still clear for Canelo as i felt majority of the best punches were landed by him.


Round 7 - Canelo 10-9 clear

Canelo lands a good hook and a strong uppercut about 20 seconds in. Canelo is backing up GGG and GGG is primarily relying on his jab to stay competitive. Canelo is landing some solid body shots. Most of the round is Canelo backing up GGG and landing decent shots. Even though these aren't devastating shots, they are scoring. GGG picks it up in the final 30 seconds and lands some solid hooks and uppercuts to make the round competitive but i think its still a pretty clear round for Canelo. I can't give it to GGG just because he picked it up for 30 seconds.

Round 8 - Canelo 10-9 close

GGG comes out more agressive but Canelo is staying defensively smart and landing the cleaner shots. Canelo is landing some solid uppercuts and crosses about 30 seconds in. GGG lands some solid crosses and jabs for the rest of the round, Canelo is landing some solid shots of his own. Highly competitive and GGG lands a good right near the end of the round. I am leaning Canelo here as i think he did more work in the first 40 seconds than GGG did in the last 40 but close round.

Round 9 - Canelo 10-9 close

GGG is more agressive but he is trying to set everything off the jab which is making things slighly predictable. Canelo is landing the better shots for me. GGG starts having success later in the round due to his jab but Canelo is hanging with him. Close Canelo round for me.


Round 10- 10-9 GGG clear

Very competitive first minute with both guys landing good shots though GGG appearrs to be doing slightly better. Near the middle of the round GGG lands a HARD right hand that forces Canelo to move his head to avoid more incoming fire. Best punch of the round. Canelo fires back with hard body shots but GGG lands a hard body shot of his own. GGG picks it up again near the end of the round and gets the better of Canelo in the closing stages. Competitive round but since GGG landed the hardest punch and closed strong, i will call it a competitive but clear GGG round.


Round 11 - GGG 10-9 clear

GGG is being the aggressor now. He lands a solid uppercut early in the round. GGG starts landed HARD crosses, uppercuts and combos in the middle of the round. Canelo then starts backing up GGG and lands some solid body shots but GGG is staying with him. Competitive round as Canelo had a good last minute but GGG having that great period in the middle makes it a clear GGG round for me.

Round 12 - GGG 10-9 close

Both guys firing but GGG is the aggressor now and he lands a HARD uppercut about 23 seconds in. Both guys are slugging it out and landing well. GGG lands another hard uppercut about midway through the round. Canelo starts to come on strong with some body shots but GGG is staying with him. GGG lands a bit more in the last 10 seconds. Both guys did well here but i feel the 2 hard uppercuts landed by GGG gave him the edge.

Final score: 7-5 Canelo with 2 swing rounds. 115-113 Canelo.

 

Conclusion

What a fight. Has there ever been a fight between two champions who both had tremendous experience, iron chins, excellent boxing fundementals, top power and so much punching variety? No wonder the fight was so competitive. Neither guy had any notable weaknesses and both understood the other well as they had fought each other before.

Extremely difficult to score. I had it to Canelo 7-5 but two rounds were close enough to be swing rounds. If i scored even one of them as being for GGG, it is a draw. If i score one a draw and the other for GGG, then he wins 6-5-1.

I am mystified by people like Teddy Atlas saying it was a robbery. The first fight was a robbery. Not this one. This was extremely close and hard to score.

 

Good card but i am wondering about round 5. Did you see that as a close round? I thought that was a swing round that could go either way.

 

good video but the stats are confusing to me. High impact? I don't see how GGG landed so many more high impact shots than Canelo. I don't think this AI judge is great.

 

Yes we have very similar scorecards. I turned the volume off at times to avoid listening to the commentators but you summed it up well. GGG should have landed more power punches in the middle rounds. I have no problem people giving the fight to GGG but it was close.

The polls reflect this too. Dead even poll above. Either people have Canelo winning by 2 or GGG winning by 2 or a draw being scored.