In what was supposed to be a captivating and competitive fight, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KOs) dominated an out-gunned Canelo Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) en route to a 12-round majority decision victory.
One judge–CJ Ross–inexplicably saw the fight a draw, scoring the bout 114-114.
As a reminder, CJ Ross gave Timothy Bradley the fight against Manny Pacquiao.
Apparently, Ross forgot to take her blindfold off before the fight started. Or she took a nice payment to “turn the other cheek.”
But that’s just boxing, so we’ll shrug our shoulders and move on, simply because the right guy was given the decision.
In terms of actual fighting, Mayweather was, well, Mayweather. He moved like a fighter 10 years younger and schooled the young Mexican “star” over 12 rounds.
#ShoStats: Percentage of Total Punches Landed/Thrown thru 12 Mayweather 45.941% Canelo 22.243%
— SHO Stats (@SHOStats) September 15, 2013
Alvarez and his corner talked a great game throughout the buildup to the fight, promising a great performance.
But when it came down to getting busy in the ring, Alvarez had no answer and was simply outclassed.
Many folks thought that an aggressive attack to the body early on in the fight would lay the groundwork for Alvarez in the later rounds. But that simply wasn’t the case because Alvarez never let his hands go.
Instead, Alvarez tried to match wits with Mayweather and outbox one of the greatest boxers of this or any era.
After the final bell sounded, two points stuck out as especially frustrating to me.
The first was the fact that Alvarez’s corner offered nothing in the form of resistance or game plan before sending their man out for Round 12.
As the Showtime cameras beamed in for a dramatic “Wake up!” moment before the final round, Alvarez’s corner simply said, “Last round.”
As a die-hard fan of the sport, it was embarrassing to watch Alvarez try to work his futile plan. And what’s more, it was irritating hearing Showtime commentator Al Bernstein say, “Canelo may still be the fighter of the future.”
On what planet is that fighter the “future of the sport?”
We will here a lot of justification from different people about why Alvarez still can be the future of boxing. This guy will not be one of them.
Stay tuned to Round By Round Boxing for more post-fight coverage on “The One”: Mayweather vs. Canelo
