Golovkin, Alvarez fight to controversial split draw in 12-round thriller

A night that otherwise proved as advertised was tarnished by a trio of judges who couldn't get on the same page.

After a thrilling 12-round battle between middleweight giants Gennady Golovkin and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the judges ruled the long-awaited tilt a split draw (110-118, 115-113, 114-114) in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The stat sheet disagreed with the ringside judges in what should nonetheless go down as a classic. Golovkin out-landed Alvarez in all but two of 12 rounds for an edge of nearly 50 punches.

The Oscar De La Hoya-promoted matchup - two years in the making - saw both fighters rise to the occasion in an effort to cement themselves as the world's preeminent middleweight, if not its preeminent talent. The shocking verdict failed to deliver any closure, however, and Golovkin and Alvarez called for a rematch immediately after the scorecards were read.

Alvarez - who'd looked to give his home country something extra to celebrate on Mexico's independence day - remained the 160-pound division's lineal champ, while Golovkin retained his trio of world titles to remain undefeated.

To the surprise of no one, Golovkin got in the driver's seat early, walking Alvarez down to the ropes and flicking his jab incessantly as he's done to many a man. The Mexican native did his damnedest to counter Golovkin's pressure by circling into space and ripping his patented body shots through the opening few frames.

The 35-year-old Golovkin's suffocating ways earned him the reins as the contest wore on, with Alvarez struggling to keep his back off the ropes and provide any sustained response to his fellow luminary's combinations from in close through the middle rounds.

Alvarez made it a classic late, valiantly fighting through fatigue to trade power shots with the knockout artist from the pocket. Many of those shots connected flush to Golovkin's noggin - including a blistering right hook in Round 9.

When all was said and done, neither Golovkin's stalking nor Alvarez's late-round heroics were enough to bring the judges to a consensus - although fight fans may find a silver lining in the decision, as the stalwarts are all but destined to meet in the ring again.

Golovkin's record now sits at 37-0-1, Alvarez's at 49-1-2.