Canelo Alvarez brands Gennady Golovkin his ‘FRIEND’ as duo end five-year war of words

Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin seemingly ended their long-running bitter war of words last night after the Mexican’s unanimous victory in their trilogy bout.

Alverez won 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 to end the five-year rivalry which saw 36 rounds of boxing in three fights, with the Mexican finally clearly coming out on top after a draw and a dubious victory.

After the fight, the two rivals embraced before sharing words of praise and encouragement for the other, with Canelo branding Golovkin his ‘friend’.

Canelo (right) won by unanimous decision against Golovkin (left) in Las Vegas last night

‘Thank you so much my friend. Thank you for everything,’ said the 32-year-old.

‘We gave the fans three good fights and thank you for everything.’

Previous exchanges of words have included accusations of drug taking, references to home countries and comments on fighters’ reputations as a champion.

But that now seems squashed, and Golovkin echoed his rival’s words, before refusing to retire despite now being 40 years of age.

Canelo branded Golovkin ‘his friend’ after the fight before the Kazakhstani showed his respect

The two had previously exchanged bitter words on several occasions throughout their rivalry

‘I want to shake hands with Canelo,’ he said. ‘Congrats. The guy is a real warrior and if you don’t understand, you don’t understand nothing.  

‘I still have this fire burning within me. I have the passion for boxing. Don’t forget I have three belts at 160lbs. I feel great.

‘I did not allow any serious shots. I’m tired, I’m fresh. I feel the strength and power within me.

‘Of course if opportunity presents I will be looking to return in the ring. I can come back guys. I’m still a champion.’

Canelo retained his full collection of super-middleweight belts and returned to winning ways

It’s likely Canelo will now push for a rematch with WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who defeated the Mexican in May.

Canelo vowed to push forward following victory last night, having previously made his intentions clear to fight Bivol again. 

‘I’ve gone through some difficult things in my life and the only thing you can do is continue to move forward,’ he said.

‘I’ve gone through difficult times recently with my defeats and I’ve actually shown that defeats are great because it enables you to come back and show humility.’