SAUL ‘Canelo’ Alvarez proved that size does matter as he dropped 154lb kingpin Jermell Charlo en route to a lopsided points win at the T-Mobile Arena.
It came as a surprise to many when undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo opted to face the Texan light-middleweight here in Las Vegas.
Given the weight differential, the Mexican, who has also won a light-heavyweight title, was the overwhelming pre-fight favourite and there would be no upset in Sin City as he made this relatively easy work.
Charlo was down in the seventh and did well to recover and get himself back in the fight. He boxed well in spells but never really went through the gears with the required intensity to upset the rhythm of a fairly straightforward Canelo victory.
The searing heat at Friday’s outdoor weigh-in made way for a chilly, overcast day on The Strip, where street sellers flogging knock-off Canelo headbands and t-shirts were doing a steady trade.
This show had originally been earmarked for Mexican Independence weekend, Canelo’s customary date, which was two weeks ago. As such, it has been suggested that the move from that holiday had affected the buzz around this fight.
In truth, it has not been the usual mayhem of a Canelo fight week but the turn out on Friday showed that the Jalisco kid is still big business in this part of Nevada.
It was a heavily pro-Canelo crowd inside the T-Mobile but there was one particularly significant spectator there to support Charlo – his twin Jermall. The pair have fallen out recently and had no contact whatsoever during ‘Little Charlo’s’ training camp for this fight.
But the middleweight was in attendance at the weigh-in and then here at the arena and was filmed hugging his twin in the changing room as he warmed up. He also had a visit from Floyd Mayweather, one of only two men to have ever beaten Canelo.
Jermall was also part of his twin’s entourage as he made his way to the ring, before Canelo nearly took the roof off the place when he entered.
But there was booing and whistling from the crowd after 90 seconds of the first round as the pair had only thrown one punch each by that point, neither landed. Canelo was occupying centre ring while Charlo circled around the outside.
It was a similar pattern in the second but Canelo was beginning to up the output and landed a couple of body shots which Charlo seemed to feel. The Houston man, meanwhile, was struggling to put any dent in his opponent whatsoever.
Charlo, who was stepping up two weight classes, was noticeably smaller in stature round the waist, shoulders and back and Canelo seemed happy to walk through the attacks to land his own.
The fight came to life in the fourth, as Charlo began to try and land with more frequency, but that in turn gave Canelo more openings and he was a whisker away from landing flush with an overhand right that would have closed the show there and then.
Charlo had his most success in the fifth, but not without shipping some punishment of his own, but it was a sign that he was starting to grow in confidence. Canelo, by now, was stomping forward with his hands down in pursuit of Charlo.
And with a minute gone in the seventh, Canelo got his breakthrough when a right hand found the target which stunned Charlo. He did his best to stay standing but was forced to take a knee.
With so long left in the round, it was a good recovery from Charlo but it looked as though the writing was on the wall for Canelo who was controlling the tempo with excellent foot pressure which never abated.
Charlo, by now, looked in need of a home run and it was clear that he was trying to get one with a big left hook. But Canelo, either caught it on the glove or was always an inch away from trouble. In the ninth, however, he got through with a straight right hand which Canelo took well.
Charlo’s feet had slowed but, considering the crisis moment in the seventh, he was boxing well. However, it was hard to imagine the judges giving him the rounds due to Canelo’s constant pressure.
It was more of the same through the championship rounds as Charlo was simply unable to find a shot to prevent Canelo from running away with this one on the cards.
All three judges delivered wide cards in Canelo’s favour with Steve Weisfeld scoring it 119-108 while David Sutherland and Max DeLuca both saw it 118-109 and there were zero complaints from Charlo and his team.
“Nobody can beat this Canelo,” The Mexican said. “I love boxing so much. Boxing is my life.
“I’ll be back on Cinco de Mayo. Against who? I don’t fucking care.”