LAS VEGAS — 154-pound [formerly] undisputed champion Jermell Charlo bypassed the 160-pound division to move up to 168 in an attempt to become undisputed champion in two divisions. The task was one of Mexico’s greatest, Saul Canelo Alvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion. The stage was set for the T-Mobil Arena in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, Neveda. An electric crowd showed up for the traditional weigh-ins that carried over into fight night.
The pro Canelo crowd started their “Canelo” chants early and often. Depending upon what your expectations were heading into the fight, would determine your level of contention or disappointment. Canelo proved to be too much for Charlo who at times seemed to have a difficult time figuring out Canelo’s next move. Canelo applied constant pressure not allowing Charlo out of the backdoor during several exchanges as he pinned him against the ropes and threw hard shots. The ageless Alvarez remains one of the top dogs in the sport.
Zenger News scored the fight 118-109 for Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo Alvarez was successful in defending his title as undisputed super middleweight champion at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night in front of a packed house. The pride of Guadalajara stymied Jermell Charlo’s quest for greatness, as the younger twin brother moved up two divisions in an attempt to become undisputed in his second division. The move proved to be too much as Canelo dominated the fight winning a lopsided unanimous decision. Scorecards read Max DeLuca 118-109, David Sutherland 118-109, and Steve Weisfeld 119-108. Canelo scored a 7th round knockdown with a straight right hand on the chin, followed by a partially landed uppercut.
The combination floored an already reeling Charlo, who was able to beat the 8-count given by referee, Harvey Dock, however Charlo was unable to sustain any type of offensive attack. Early on, it was apparent that Charlo was showing the Mexican legend too much respect as he was reluctant to punch, while absorbing several hard body shots and looping right hands. Canelo’s relentless pressure, steady footwork, and calmness allowed him to gain a huge early lead, that Charlo was never able to penetrate. The leap in weight seemed to be too much and it was clear that Jermell bit off more than he can chew. To add salt to the wound for Charlo, he was stripped of his WBO junior middleweight title prior to the fight, technically removing the title of “undisputed” from his name.
Following the fight, Canelo proclaimed that this version of himself is unbeatable stating, “I’m a strong fighter all the time, against all fighters. I’m a strong man. Nobody can beat this Canelo,” said a confident Canelo in media reports. While Canelo sounded sure of himself, his opponent was left searching for answers, “I just felt like I wasn’t me in there. I don’t make excuses for myself, so it is what it is. I take my punches and roll with it. It’s boxing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” stated a dejected Jermell Charlo. As for what’s next for the two combatants, Canelo looks to return on his usual coveted Cinco De Mayo date. There doesn’t appear to be a frontrunner for who his next opponent will be, although one has to take a serious look at the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade winner as leading candidates, with those two appearing to be crossing paths later this year. “I’ll face whoever,” said Canelo during his post-fight interview with Jim Gray.
While a more animated Jermell Charlo says he plans to move back down to 154 pounds, and called out boxing’s Pound for Pound best, Terence Crawford. “Truthfully, you can feel the difference in the weight. I jumped up 14 pounds. I’m undisputed in my division. I was daring to be great right now. You fall short sometimes, but you gotta keep on pushing. My road don’t stop right here… I’m down to fight whoever. I wanna fight Terence Crawford. I can fight Terence Crawford at my weight division. I know he’s somewhere around this joint.” A potential silver lining for Charlo last night was, his on again and off again relationship with his twin brother Jermall seems to at least for the moment could be back on again, as the elder brother showed up to support and was even spotted in the locker room prior to the fight embracing his younger brother.
While boxing’s biggest events of the year [Spence-Crawford], [Alvarez-Charlo], and [Davis-Garcia] didn’t live up to the in-ring expectations, these events promotions and fanfare were just what the doctor ordered for the sport of boxing. Fighter’s willing to take risks, face the best, while daring to be great. The sport seems to be trending in the right direction. Canelo-Charlo proved that there are weight classes for a reason, as the fight fell in line with a list of guys who skipped weight classes only to provide a subpar performance come fight time. Mikey Garcia against Errol Spence Jr. comes to mind as well as Guillermo Rigondeaux’s lackluster performance against Vasyl Lomachenko. Canelo also proved that despite being 33 years of age and having 64 fights, he’s still one of the top guys in the sport and that there is no stage too big for the Mexican legend!
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
