Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Jesse Rodríguez just successfully defended his WBC super flyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Israel González. It was a tougher than expected sledding for the 22-year-old southpaw from San Antonio, made even more difficult by a points deduction for a low blow in the middle rounds, but he dictated the pace throughout and got the job done. The judges’ scores were 118-109, 117-110 and 114-113. (The Guardian had it 116-111.) Rodríguez will have no shortage of challenges moving up to 115 pounds, a positively stacked division that includes names like Román González, Juan Francisco Estrada and Julio Cesar Martinez. Jesse Rodríguez, right, throws a right hand to Israel González during Saturday’s fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Photo: John Locher/AP Here’s a look at the odds for tonight’s main event at the MGM Grand sports book. Canelo has been held as a firm favorite of -450 (meaning a $450 bet would return $100), while Golovkin is a +340 underdog (meaning a $100 bet would return $340). This is a dramatic change from their first two meetings, where Golovkin was slightly favored both times. The full slate of bets for tonight’s game from the MGM Grand sportsbook. Photo: MGM Grand There’s one more undercard bout before tonight’s feature and it’s worth tuning in. Jesse Rodríguez, boxing’s youngest world champion today and one of America’s brightest rising stars, makes his second defense of his WBC super-flyweight title against Israel González in a fight set to start in the next few minutes. The 22-year-old Texan southpaw, who trains under the great Robert Garcia, has been widely tipped for Fighter of the Year honors and can effectively shut down the conversation with a good showing tonight. Donald McRae caught up with him earlier this week: For the first time this year, Rodriguez will enter the ring as the favorite when he defends his world title against Israel Gonzalez. If he wins again in dominant style, many boxing insiders believe he could seal his spot as the 2022 Fighter of the Year. “This is a huge fight for me,” Rodriguez says, “probably bigger than my last two fights because it’s on the biggest card in Vegas. So this is the perfect platform for me to get out there and show not only the die-hard boxing people but also the casual fans what I can do. I’m one of those fighters that you see very rarely, a once in a generation world champion, and the world will see that on Saturday night in Las Vegas. I’m going to go out there and be spectacular and show everyone that I really am the fighter of the year.” Rodriguez looks up and takes my hand with one last dazzling smile. “It’s crazy,” he says, “but it’s beautiful.” Updated at 03.35 BST
The story of the film
See how Canelo and Golovkin respond ahead of tonight’s main event. Golovkin still enjoys the slight advantage in height, if not in distance. The key difference from their first two bouts is the reduced weight they both met at yesterday’s weigh-in. The 40-year-old Kazakh moves up to super-middleweight for the first time in his career, a division where Álvarez has proven more than comfortable since they last met four years ago. The story of the film
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Las Vegas Strip for tonight’s third fight between Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin. We’re ringside at T-Mobile Arena for a three-way four years in the making as two of the most successful fighters of their generation look to bring a definitive conclusion to their bitterly heated rivalry after 24 rounds that left so little separating them . Their first meeting, in 2017, was one of the most anticipated summit meetings of the decade and the rare superfight that managed to not only meet but exceed the hype. Until, that is, the decision. Most at ringside, in the crowd and watching at home believed that the Kazakh knockout artist known as Triple G did enough to win on points. But the official verdict – including a shocking 118-110 score to Álvarez handed down by Adalaide Byrd – was a widely contested draw that denied Golovkin what should have been the defining moment of a career largely out of the limelight of publicity. Their second, in 2018, was closer but ended with Álvarez’s majority after another 12 rounds where many believed Golovkin had done no worse than a draw. The fact that Álvarez failed a pair of Wada-mandated urine tests for the banned substance clenbuterol, which the Mexican claimed was the result of contaminated meat he consumed during training in Guadalajara, managed to further raise the temperature on the grudge their. A third fight was always inevitable, but the fighters went their separate ways. Golovkin, who turned 40 in April, has fought just four times in four years since then, including wins over Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Ryōta Murata to win back some belts in the middleweight division he ruled for nearly a decade. Meanwhile, 32-year-old Álvarez continued his rise as boxing’s biggest superstar, adding titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight before returning to unify all four belts at 168lbs in the space of a year: the same undisputed championship that is on the line tonight. Of course, this is Golovkin’s first time fighting at 168 pounds after a career at middleweight, further tipping the odds in favor of the younger, upstart Mexican. But if Álvarez and Golovkin have proven nothing else in their two fights so far, they are born dance partners. And every time they share the prize it brings with it the promise of something very special. It’s all just over an hour and a half away. Álvarez is Golovkin expected to make their walks shortly after 8:00 PM local time, 11:00 PM ET and 4:00 AM ET. BST. Updated at 02.50 BST Brian will be here soon. In the meantime, here’s Donald McRae’s preview of tonight’s main event.
