CANELO ALVAREZ said beating Gennady Golovkin in their Las Vegas rematch has made it one of the happiest days of his life. The victory comes one year after their highly contentious draw and seven months after the Mexican’s name was almost ruined when he failed a drug test. Despite being cast as the villain beforehand, two scores of 115-113 made him a hero to his country.
“It is one of the happiest days of my life,” said Canelo, dressed in bright green suit. “Viva Mexico!”
The new WBC and WBA middleweight champion surprised many observers by standing in the pocket and forcing Golovkin back in the early rounds. Canelo promised beforehand he would stop the champion but few expected him to fight so aggressively.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the knockout but thank God we walked away with the victory,” he said. “I did everything I could to complete my objective. We worked so hard for that. It was my plan to stand and trade from the beginning. I wanted the knockout.”
Golovkin believed the wrong man won. Canelo believes otherwise.
“I pushed him back, it was me who was aggressive. That was me. I thank my team, who else has a team like that?
I am satisfied with how we got the victory. This is a very important victory to me and my country, and my country will be proud.”
And the future?
“The only thing in my mind right now is the victory.”
