Canelo shines in a unanimous decision win against Charlo

Saturday marked another historic night for Santos Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez who was victorious in a unanimous decision Saturday at T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas against Jermell Charlo.

In the first-ever undisputed four-belt championship fight, judges’ scorecards were 119-108 and 118-109 (twice).

Álvarez made a statement in his 60th career win by outclassing a hesitant Charlo every second of the fight. Álvarez is known for having slow starts and taking time to figure out his opponents in the early rounds, but that was not the case for this fight. He set the tone early by walking down Charlo and cutting off the ring, never allowing him to get comfortable in the fight.

“I’m a strong man,” Alvarez said in a post-fight interview. “Nobody can beat this Canelo.”

Charlo, who retains his four belts at the 154-pound weight class, had successful moments during the fight, especially doubling up on the jab to begin combinations. He caught Álvarez with some counterpunches to disrupt offensive advances. Nevertheless, Charlo failed to generate consistent offensive output against Álvarez, never posing a threat to the Mexican fighter.

“You could feel the difference in weight because I came up 12 pounds,” Charlo said. “I was daring to be great today. I took the shots and just kept pushing.”

The climax of the night came when Álvarez scored a delayed knockdown against Charlo with a straight right in the seventh round. Álvarez had been setting up the punch the whole fight by throwing a wide right hook to the outside of Charlo’s guard. Canelo waited for his moment and when Charlo anticipated the wide right, Canelo slipped the punch within his guard. Charlo was defenseless,taking a knee soon after.

According to Álvarez, this was his first outing in which he was able to fight at full strength, blaming the criticisms from his last three fights on a left wrist injury that impacted his training.

“We trained for three months in the mountains without my family or anything because I just love boxing so f---ing much,’’ Álvarez said. “Boxing is my life and boxing has made me the best in the game today.”

In his post-fight interview, Álvarez was vocal about his satisfaction with a 12-round win as opposed to a knockout, and voiced his aspirations to get back into the ring as soon as possible.

When asked about a potential matchup against the young knockout machine David Benavidez, Álvarez said; “I don’t know, but I don’t f–ing care.”

Charlo made it clear that he will be going back down to 154 division to fight and even called out the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, Terrence Crawford.

My takeaways:

Álvarez heard the noise. At the ripe age of 33, he is aging fine like a Napa Valley red and continues to display why he is the face of boxing. He has natural power that cannot be taught and has stood the test of time dating back to his debut at age 15. If you pair his strength with his ring intellect, he can continue at this level for another 3-4 years.

Alvarez departed his longtime training location and residence in San Diego to relocate to Truckee, Calif. at an altitude of 5,817 feet above sea level. The endurance he gained from this training allowed him to not fatigue in this 12 round fight as opposed to previous fights.

He did not load on his punches during this fight. He used the jab and punched other parts of the body: the shoulders, biceps, hips. All of these efforts combined slowly whittled Charlo down.

A fight against Benavidez is likely next. We can pray for a superfight on Cinco De Mayo. This would be a huge treat for fans to watch, two great Mexican fighters in the ring — one an established legend whose longevity seems endless and another a young lion who dares to foil Canelo’s crowning years.

Charlo, you made the money man, now go back down to your middleweight division to get back in the win column. The reality is that when you fight at a lower weight for most of your career, then decide to move up, you will be affected. The body needs time to adjust to new weight, making the speed Charlo is known for a non-factor in this fight.  The bold move up two weight classes was not executed efficiently.

It was obvious that he was slower and lacked power, but his timidity within the ring was the most surprising. Granted, Álvarez is a stone-cold warrior that injects fear into most opponents. Charlo is known for being a hothead in and out the ring. I thought he would let loose, implementing his “wild” but calculated striking.

Álvarez was never in danger throughout the fight and it made me question whether Charlo was there for the purse rather than actually winning. Calling out Terrence Crawford after a lackluster performance seemed like yet another calculated money grab.

In the words of Lavar Ball, “Stay in yo lane.”