Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin have argued afterward about who won their much-anticipated middleweight world title showdown in Las Vegas.
No one could argue it wasn't a great fight.
Golovkin retained his middleweight titles Saturday night, fighting to a controversial 12-round draw with Alvarez in a brutal battle that ended with both fighters holding their hands aloft in victory.
It was a fight neither deserved to lose and, when the scores were tallied, neither did.
Two scorecards were close, with Golovkin ahead 115-113 on one and a 114-114 draw on the other.
Veteran judge Adalaide Byrd had Alvarez winning 118-110, giving him all but two rounds.
The Associated Press scored it 114-114.
The fight, years in the making, lived up to the hype as the two fighters traded huge punches and went after each other for 12 rounds.
Neither was down or seriously hurt but both landed big punches that had the frenzied sold-out crowd of 22,358 at the T-Mobile Arena screaming in excitement.
Alvarez rallied late to win the last three rounds on each scorecard and pull out the draw, though both fighters claimed victory.
"I won 7-8 rounds easily," Alvarez said. "I was superior inside the ring."
Golovkin was the aggressor throughout and landed punches that had put other fighters to the canvas.
"Today people give me draw. I focus on boxing," Golovkin said.
"Look my belts, I'm still champion. I've not lost."
Alvarez was leading after the first three rounds, then Golovkin dominated the middle rounds.
Golovkin landed more punches over the 12 rounds and was ahead 218 to 169 overall by an unofficial count.
Both boxers said they were keen to fight again.
"Of course I want a rematch," he said. "I want a fight. A true fight. I have my belts. I want a championship fight."
Alvarez said he was more than willing to do it again.
"Obviously yes, if the people want it," Alvarez said.
"He didn't win, it was a draw. I always said I was going to be a step ahead of him."
The draw was the first mark on Golovkin's record, which now stands at 37-0-1.
Alvarez is now 49-1-2, his only loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Mexican was guaranteed $A6.25 million, while Golovkin had a $A3.75 million guarantee. Both were expected to make much more on a share of the pay-per-view revenue.
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