Better call for Saul
History shows judge’s score may favor Alvarez
LAS VEGAS — If Saturday’s middleweight championship fight between Gennady “Triple-G” Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez goes the distance, the judges will have the final say on who will be the victor. If that happens, Golovkin should be concerned.
Nevada judges Adalaide Byrd and Dave Moretti, along with Don Trella of Connecticut, were assigned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to work the payper-view main event at T-Mobile Arena. Kenny Bayless will be the referee.
There are several reasons why a decision would seem to favor Alvarez. This will be his ninth fight in Las Vegas, while it will be the first for Golovkin. Alvarez also has benefited from some questionable scoring in Las Vegas.
Moretti saw Alvarez a 115-113 winner three years ago when he earned a controversial split decision over Erislandy Lara. Moretti also scored Floyd Mayweather a 116-112 winner over Alvarez in 2013 when most found it hard to give Alvarez four rounds. In addition, Moretti saw Alvarez winning 119-109 over Miguel Cotto when most thought the 2015 fight was more competitive than that.
Byrd is known as one of the more unpredictable judges in Nevada. She was ringside for Alvarez’s one-side victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., which she scored 120-108. But she was the only judge who had Amir Khan ahead on points, 48-47, before Alvarez knocked him out in the sixth round.
The Golovkin camp is hoping the judges won’t play favorites.
“I respect the sport,” Golovkin said. “I believe all judges respect boxing. This is special. If the judges aren’t correct, it’s bad for boxing, bad for history. I believe everybody will be very correct.”
Lara, still bitter about his loss to Alvarez, had an odd prediction.
“I think Triple-G will win the fight, but lose the decision,” said Lara, who will defend his junior middleweight title against Terrell Gausha on Oct. 14 at Barclays Center. “Golovkin is going to have to get the knockout to ensure himself the victory. This will be a great fight for the fans, and I hope it lives up the hype.”
Former junior middleweight champion Austin Trout lost to Alvarez in 2013 and picks him to win Saturday.
“Canelo is an underdog, but I think he’s going to win this fight by decision,” said Trout, who also will fight on the Barclays card next month. “Triple-G has been knocking everybody out, but Daniel Jacobs exposed a lot of things that Canelo is going to take advantage of.”
Meanwhile, Golovkin remains the betting favorite. When the fight was first announced, the Kazakhstan native was a minus-350 favorite in some circles (betting $350 to win $100). After huge money came in on Alvarez, the odds dropped to -145, where it has stayed most of the week.