WBA and IBO light middleweight champion Erislandy Lara believes politics was the reason Gennady Golovkin did not emerge victorious against Canelo Alvarez.

Golovkin defended his IBF, WBA, WBC, IBO middleweight titles via a split-decision draw against Canelo on 16 September with the main talking point being the controversial 118-110 scorecard given by Adelaide Byrd, which many felt was unwarranted.

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"GGG" was left frustrated by the verdict and Lara, who himself was on the wrong end of a questionable decision from the judges following his split-decision loss to Canelo in 2014, believes the Kazakh "definitely" won the fight.

However, he claims he had warned Golovkin on how it would be hard to win a decision against Canelo, who is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

"I had a conversation with Triple G," Lara told Thaboxingvoice, as quoted on BoxingNews24. "I let him know it could be difficult to win a decision against Canelo, but I definitely saw Golovkin win the fight that night."

"Boxing has changed quite a bit. It's more of a business."

The Mexican had a good start against Golovkin but seemed to have faded in the later rounds where his opponent took control, resulting in him moving around a lot more, similar to Lara's style.

"We saw what happened," Lara explained. "He [Canelo] talks about my style of boxing. I stick and move. He did the same thing in their fight."

As for the decision in Las Vegas, many boxing fans believe Oscar Del La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, played a role in Byrd's scorecard, despite the former boxer himself being shocked at the 118-100 decision.

Lara added he sensed foul play going on, hinting that De La Hoya had a hand in Canelo not receiving just the second loss of his professional career.

"Oscar De La Hoya controls the sport right now, and that's what's going on with that."

Golovkin and Canelo
Golovkin and Canelo celebrate after the 12th round of their boxing classic Getty