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The scene was electric at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo faced off in an undisputed versus undisputed title fight that ended via unanimous decision in favor of Canelo (119-108, 118-109, 118-109). He defended his undisputed super middleweight title by defeating the undisputed super welterweight champion.
As the fighters were being announced, the crowd erupted as Canelo was announced, a fan favorite in a foreign land. The Mexican native showed why in a dominant fashion.
Canelo Alvarez and his gas tank
Much of the conversation leading into this fight was about Canelo Alvarez and his conditioning. Against Dmitrii Bivol, Gennadiy Golovkin, and John Ryder, Canelo struggled late in the fight. Those questions were laid to rest as he kept pressure on Jermell Charlo all night.
Canelo consistently worked the body of Charlo with that beautiful left hook. As he systematically broke down his foe, the forward pressure of Alvarez did the trick and Charlo could not keep Alvarez off of him. Canelo Alvarez continued to cut the ring off, not letting Charlo much room to come forward.
Midway through round seven, Canelo caught Jermell Charlo with a right hand and an uppercut that saw Charlo knocked down for only the second time in his career. Able to beat the eight count, Jermell Charlo survived the round and made it to the decision.
Canelo’s decision was a dominant one. While he may not have secured back his number one spot on the pound for pound list, he certainly silenced some deniers that he was on the way out and still was one of boxing’s very best.
Post fight celebrations
“Viva Mexicao, cabrones!” shouted Canelo in his post fight speech after being named the winner via unanimous decision.
“I’m a strong fighter all the time. I’m a strong man. This is Canelo,” said Alvarez in his post fight interview. “We worked on the body in the gym. We worked on that for three months. I love boxing so f****** much. Boxing is my life.” Canelo continued.
For what’s next, Canelo said we can expect him to be in the ring again in Cinco de Mayo and the opponent didn’t matter, though he didn’t commit when the announcer pressed for a fight with David Benavidez.
When he was interviewed, Jermell Charlo announced his intention to move back down to 154 and said he’s ready for anyone. Tim Tszyu was promoted to WBO World Champion at the commencement of his fight, taking Charlo’s undisputed status from him. But Charlo also brought up Terence Crawford as a possible next opponent. The two weight undisputed champion mentioned that he could move up to 154 to chase a third undisputed weight division.
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