It was a passive ending to one of modern-day boxing’s greatest rivalries, as the rubber match between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin was jeered to a close in Vegas.

Let’s face it, we can all be forgiven for thinking Saturday night’s dance was going to make it a hat-trick of classics between these two legends.

The hatred burnt deeper than before, Canelo had a point to prove after last time out, Golovkin wanted to right a wrong that cut like no other… it just had to deliver.

But as the bell sounded to close round seven, a frustrated Triple G shook his head, knowing that an uneventful first half of the fight meant he had to do something he couldn’t in his prime - knockout Canelo Alvarez.

The fight started with one of the typical feeling-out rounds, Canelo did let a few go early but missed, and there was an argument to edge the opener to Triple G. In the second Canelo hit the front foot, with his ramrod jab sending Golovkin retreating.

Round three and four followed suit, and a visibly slower Golovkin struggled to assert any authority. The fifth round saw Canelo land a bodyshot that backed up Golovkin and for the first time in the fight he looked hurt. As we ran into the sixth, Canelo (to the sensible eye) was up 5-0, or being generous to Golovkin, 4-1.

The second half of the fight seemed to flick a switch in Golovkin, and he upped his work rate. Canelo was still in charge and was putting together the cleaner combinations. Then we hit round nine…

Canelo landed a beautifully timed uppercut early, but with his corner now waving him forward, Golovkin landed a right hook that shook Canelo. He replied with thudding shots of his own and we finally had what we wanted, a fight!

Golovkin continued the good work in round ten but Canelo, despite pushing the pace since the opening bell, looked evidently quicker on his feet which allowed him to work around GGG’s late assault.

Round eleven saw a lot of work up close and Golovkin looked to close the gap. He had success, but it felt at times as if we were watching a fighter whose body couldn’t do what it had been able to previously.

The final round saw an embrace between the two, and the chapter closed as it started on the night, with a tame round as Canelo cruised to career victory number 58.

The scorecards favoured Canelo, but perhaps not in the way we all thought. 115-113 was bizarre, but the right man had his hand raised and as we know in boxing, even that can be a hard conclusion to reach at times.

So, there we have it, the end of a rivalry that has in some ways defined an era. Perhaps it rolled on for a bit too long, but it had the lot; controversy, resentment, brutality and, in the end, respect.

Both men’s names will forever be intertwined and especially after those post-fight scenes, you hope that maybe one day we will see them sit down together in front of the cameras to reflect on their fantastic rivalry.

It is of course a shame that Golovkin has nothing to show for two fantastic performances, and Canelo emerges from fight number three the same as he did before the first in 2017, holding all the cards.

Canelo now has his eyes set on Dmitry Bivol, with his defence against Zurdo Ramirez just under six weeks away.

Triple G is still insistent the fire burns, but whether it burns for the legacy defining matchups still out there, or for the financial reward that would come with a ‘world tour’, remains to be seen.

Either way, what a trilogy.

Oscar Bevis

Official reporter for iFL TV