IT was a big bang of a fight, all right. But the bigger, if not the biggest, story of the day was the way one judge judged the bout.
It was very well fine that Adelaide Byrd saw Canelo Alvarez the winner.
Like Byrd, not a few also chose Alvarez the victor in the 12-round fight.
It was the score that Byrd had given Alvarez which raised a howl resonating all the way from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
Was Byrd at ringside during the fight?
Or was she in the bleachers? If yes, then she could be forgiven. Easily.
One seated from afar could blur one’s eyes by the klieg lights trained at the ring.
But Byrd, being a judge, was at ringside like the other two judges.
For her to see the fight going Alvarez’s way via a horrendous 118-110 score is simply an abomination of inexplicable proportions.
That tally gave 10 rounds to Alvarez and only two rounds to Gennady Golovkin. As Digong would exclaim: “My Gad!”
Such ocean-wide disparity deserves not only condemnation but investigation by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Now, if you suspect Bryd to have watched a different fight, I can’t blame you.
She didn’t see Golovkin as being practically the aggressor virtually all the way, connecting more punches than Alvarez?
She didn’t see Golovkin score solid shots in most of the middle rounds after overcoming a shaky start that saw Alvarez almost dominate the first four rounds?
She didn’t see Golovkin land haymakers, almost, in the fifth, the defending champion continuing control of the fight from there through the ninth round?
In short, Golovkin, the unbeaten Kazakhstan, had piled up precious points huge enough to cushion Alvarez’s ferocious but late barrage.
Only in the last three rounds was Alvarez able to impose himself.
But although Alvarez landed several big shots of his own in the so-called championship rounds, none was powerful enough to even jolt Golovkin.
One judge gave Golovkin the fight at 115-113 (same as mine as I gave Alvarez the 12th round—grudgingly) to make it 1-1 after Byrd’s illogical 118-110 score. And with the third judge seeing the fight at 114-114, the bout ended in a split draw.
That means Golovkin, 35, did not only keep his record clean at 37-0-1 (33 KOs) but also retain his world middleweight crown, as well.
Blunted in his title shot, Alvarez, the 27-year-old Mexican owner of 34 knockouts, is now 49-1-1. His lone defeat was inflicted by Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision (against Mayweather, what can you expect?).
But Byrd belongs now to the Unexpected Kind. An alien lost in space? My Gad!
That’s it Ateneo appears championship ready in UAAP basketball and big credit goes to its American coach, Tab Baldwin. Tab has introduced new playing patterns that seem to baffle the opponents. Said one Ateneo buff, “Well, let’s see”…San Miguel Beer plays Phoenix today hoping for a win to keep its twice-to-win incentive alive. Its last game in the eliminations is against powerhouse league-leader Meralco on Sunday.