A year after their gripping first battle ended in a draw, Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin did battle once again in a quest for a decisive winner this time around.
Though the bout was another thriller, the result once again caused tons of debate amongst boxing fans. Canelo on this occasion claimed a majority decision on the scorecards.
So, what would happen if three boxing experts rewatched the fight with fresh eyes and gave their own scores?
Well, let's find out!
(NOTE: Our team of unofficial judges have also rewatched and rescored the first fight between these two greats. You can check that out here.)
Judge 1: Chris Walker
Round 1
It’s a much more positive start from Canelo this time around. He’s taking more risks and he’s refusing not to be walked down like in the first fight. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 2
Canelo is still piling into Golovkin, and he refuses to be intimidated. This has been a brilliant start from the Mexican. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 3
The brilliant jab from Golovkin in the first fight is back. He’s relying on his skills rather than his power and it gets him back in the fight. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 4
All four rounds have been close so far, but Golovkin does just enough here. His jab is fine, but Canelo is also having moments of success. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 5
Golovkin shades another close round. Canelo looks like he has more to give, but Golovkin, although working harder, is the man getting the better shots off. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 6
Canelo gets back into it. Excellent body work, the right tactic with Golovkin’s output slowing, is the correct strategy and it gives Canelo the session. Canelo 10-9.
Round 7
Golovkin again. He’s relying on workrate, but is he putting too much into it? It could be a costly gamble, but it’s definitely the Kazakh forcing the fight and landing better shots. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 8
A strange round as Golovkin ups the pace and Canelo doesn’t match it. Golovkin might have a second wind and that could be crucial heading into the last third. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 9
Canelo is back attacking the body. He needed a change in tactics, and this is it. Canelo is relying on finishing strong and slowing Golovkin down is vital. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 10
A close round that could go either way. Golovkin responds well but Canelo is still there matching him. There’s no argument for who takes this round, but Golovkin just looks more aggressive. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 11
Golovkin takes the penultimate round, and he looks to have the fight won. He’ll have bad memories from the first fight and will be eager to finish this fight strong. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 12
Canelo needs a big round, and he gets it. His grand finish in the first fight allowed him to escape with a draw, but has he done enough here? Not on this unofficial scorecard. 10-9 Canelo
Final score: Golovkin 115-113 Canelo
Judge 2: Matt Astbury
Round 1
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is immediately on the front foot and takes control of the centre of the ring, a clear change in strategy from the first fight. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 2
Canelo looks a different man, his speed and power is resulting in success, after probing Golovkin with jabs in the early stages, the Mexican manages to land a thumping left hook on his Kazakh rival. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 3
Golovkin is struggling to get any shots away, Canelo meanwhile has got real menace behind his punches and they are already taking their toll on his opponent. 10-9 Canelo
Round 4
The first round to go Golovkin’s way, a right uppercut midway through the round rocked Canelo briefly, GGG needs to increase the pace if he wants to stop Canelo taking control. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 5
Golovkin is struggling to find any kind of rhythm, whenever he tries to assert some control, Canelo’s aggressive style is forcing GGG back towards the ropes. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 6
A tight round, Golovkin looking busier, he’s realised he needs to step it up in the second half of this contest. 10-9 Golovkin
Round 7
The strategy is clear for Canelo, target the body and then take advantage of any openings upstairs and it’s working as he looks to wear Golovkin down. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 8
A slow start for Golovkin, but he manages to make a mark on Canelo damaging a cut near his right eye causing blood to trickle down the Mexican’s face. GGG is also trying to slip and move in an attempt to attack Canelo from different angles. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 9
Not much to separate both men in that round who are now swinging hell for leather in Las Vegas. 10-9 Golovkin
Round 10
Golovkin is throwing everything he can at Canelo, but the Mexican is able to make his opponent miss and land a few power shots of his own. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 11
Golovkin has a new lease of life, this was probably the best round from Golovkin who didn’t let Canelo settle and managed to produce some hard-hitting combinations. 10-9 Golovkin.
Round 12
Just like the final round of the first fight, both men exchanged countless punches in the ring, bringing an exciting end to what was a thrilling fight. 10-9 Canelo.
Final score: Canelo 115-113 Golovkin
Judge 3: Steven Muehlhausen
Round 1
A tactical opening round. Alvarez came out firing and looking to press the action, while Golovkin was content to stay on the outside and fire the jab to the body and head. Alvarez settled down and started utilizing the jab, but too little, too late to secure the round. 10-9 GGG.
Round 2
More aggressiveness from Alvarez. He landed the harder shots, as the left hook was starting to find a home, and also began throwing short hooks and uppercuts. Those punches caused some small swelling under Golovkin's right eye. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 3
Golovkin is throwing more punches, but Alvarez is the more active fighter. He's landing the harder shots, making them count. Golovkin needs to press a bit more. He cannot stay on the outside and expect to win. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 4
Alvarez is bringing the fight to GGG and not the other way round from what we saw in the first fight. Golovkin needs to keep ripping the body. He did one time in the middle of the round and never went back to it. Alvarez is bringing the aggression and willing to let it fly. Time for Golovkin to do the same. Watch for a small cut above Alvarez's left eye. Let's see if Golovkin does something about it. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 5
Alvarez is quicker to the draw and is the fresher guy up to this point. He has been more successful with the power punches and is making Golovkin fight tentatively instead of dictating the pace which has caused Golovkin to tire. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 6
Alvarez continues to come forward and let Golovkin know he's in charge. The body shots are starting to take their toll on the unified middleweight champion. A bright spot for Golovkin in the last 30 seconds, as he began to come forward and connected on a combination. 10-9 Canelo.
Round 7
A good bounce back and much-needed round for Golovkin. He's following up the jab with power shots upstairs which is making Alvarez start to miss and swing wildly. Golovkin needs to continue to do that if he's going to make a comeback. 10-9 GGG.
Round 8
Golovkin's head trainer Abel Sanchez told him before he got up from his stool to begin the eighth round that he was losing. It was an even round until the final 30 seconds when Golovkin connected on a jab followed by a short right hand. 10-9 GGG.
Round 9
Golovkin is in a rhythm. He is finally using the jab effectively to allow him to land power shots. He decided to take a risk and go power for power with Alvarez, and it's paying, as he has now seized control of the fight. 10-9 GGG.
Round 10
The best round of the night for Golovkin. It didn't start that way as Alvarez began the round very well, connecting on a combination to the body and then a three-punch combo upstairs. The rest of the stanza belonged to Golovkin, though. He rocked Alvarez with a thunderous right hand and tried to finish him off and then unloaded a barrage of shots. Alvarez showed he's got a chin made of granite by eating some of the most massive shots from one of boxing's most lethal punchers. 10-9 GGG.
Round 11
Golovkin came out a man on a mission, as he kept pressuring Alvarez with the jab and landed heavy power shots. With 21 seconds left, Golovkin sent Alvarez back with a left hook. All that did was wake Alvarez up as he blasted Golovkin with a straight right hand followed by a left hook. It all comes down to the 12th and final round. 10-9 GGG.
Round 12
Golovkin did the one thing he didn't in the first fight — went after it in the final round. He fought like a man possessed and kept his foot on the gas pedal. To the testament of Alvarez and Golovkin, they left it all on the line in the center of the ring. They were dead tired and exhausted, but they went toe-to-toe In the final seconds and traded power shots to the closing bell. 10-9 GGG.
Final score: Golovkin 115-113 Canelo
Official scorecards vs. 2022 scorecards
So, DAZN score it a split decision for Golovkin with cards all reading 115-113, but two for GGG and one for Canelo. The official score four years ago was Canelo winning 115-113 on 2 cards while one judge had it 114-114.
On analytics, Golovkin outlanded Canelo in general while Alvarez had the edge in power shots and body shots while also looking much sharper overall than his showing in their first fight. Of course, analytics rarely function harmoniously with the round-by-round scoring system, but it's interesting that between three official judges and three DAZN 'judges', all six had the rematch as having less than one round between the two (as in, if you won a fight on a scorecard by two rounds, one round going the opponent's way would make it a draw).
Will the trilogy fight be as close as this? Tune in Saturday to find out...
How did you have the fight scored? Re-watch it for yourself on fight day, courtesy of the official DAZN Boxing YouTube who will upload the entire rematch on the 17th of September as a taster for the third battle later that day.
And be sure to tune in for the trilogy encounter, live on DAZN PPV in USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and on the DAZN subscription everywhere else except Mexico, Kazakhstan and Latin America.