Canelo Alvarez's dominant performance against John Ryder has been summed by the release of the judges' scorecards... leaving some fans annoyed.
Alvarez retained his undisputed super-middleweight crown by beating Brit, Ryder on points in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday night. The unanimous decision was fair, but some punters are not happy with Jeremy Hayes for judging the fight 120-107 in Alvarez's favour.
Those fans believe Ryder deserves more credit for his spirited display against Alvarez, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of his generation. The other two judges, Gerardo Martinez and Joe Pasquale, scored the bout 118-109.
Canadian Hayes didn't give a single round to Ryder, with the other two judges awarding the Londoner two rounds. Puerto Rican Martinez judged that Ryder was the winner in the 10th and 12th rounds, while American Pasquale gave him the 10th and 11th rounds.
Saturday night's fight was a big event for Alvarez, who was fighting in his native Mexico for the first time in 12 years. It was the 32-year-old's first bout since beating long-term rival Gennady Golovkin in their trilogy fight in Nevada eight months ago.
Alvarez was widely expected to win the fight due to Ryder's modest record. The 34-year-old has lost five of his previous 37 bouts, suffering defeats to Callum Smith, Rocky Fielding and Billy Joe Saunders - three fighters Alvarez dispatched earlier in his career.
What do you make of the judges' scorecards? Let us know in the comments below!
Yet Ryder was in Mexico on merit after beating Zach Parker to become Alvarez's mandatory challenger for the WBO belt. He also defied the odds to go the distance with Alvarez, with the Mexican calling the Brit a "warrior" after the fight.
Alvarez told reporters: "I'm happy with the fight. I won and I'm happy people had a great fight. He's a strong fighter. I knew that; I'm not surprised about it."
The Mexican added: "I hit him too much in the head and he did not go down. I've always said it, when they fight me, they give their 100 per cent. It gets complicated because they usually give me the fight of their lives."
Ryder admitted: "I've dared to do and I've come up short. The overriding thing is I'm gutted."
But promoter Eddie Hearn was full of praise for Ryder. He said: "John showed he was a world-class fighter but Canelo is one of the best ever. John deserves massive respect tonight... John came in to the fight when it looked like the fight was over. He stayed in the fight. The more John threw the more success he was having. What a gutsy performance."
Alvarez is now hoping to beat Dmitry Bivol to win the WBA (Super) light-heavyweight title. The undefeated Russian overcame Alvarez in their first meeting a year ago to become one of just two men to beat the Mexican. The other is the great Floyd Mayweather Jr.
