Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez made an emphatic return to the ring last Saturday following his defeat to pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather last time out.
Canelo aged just 23 was lauded as the brightest spark in boxing and touted as the man to takeover from Mayweather. Mayweather was to prove too good on the night and put on an absolute master-class. Canelo was determined to return against a good fighter and in fellow Mexican Alfredo Angulo he had one.
Angulo was also heading into the fight off the back of a loss against a hugely avoided fighter in Erislandy Lara. Angulo floored the classy Cuban twice in the fight and was making a real impression before being caught on the eye. Angulo’s eye immediately began to swell and Angulo turned his back on the action. The referee had little choice but to step-in and bring an end to proceedings.
This fight was expected to be a real war with the fight being billed as toe to toe but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to expectation. Canelo was absolutely dominant and looked a class above his fellow countrymen.
Canelo started very quickly landing shots at will and he was overpowering the tough and rugged Angulo. Canelo looked to be the star that everyone had made him out to be before the defeat to Mayweather.
There are those who will question just how good Canelo was by saying that Angulo wasn’t at his best. Yes Angulo didn’t perform well but that was because Canelo didn’t allow him to perform. Canelo completely out-classed him and there was nothing that Angulo could do to turn the tide.
The fight was stopped in the 10th round by referee Tony Weeks after Canelo landed a big uppercut. The shot was so signalled by Canelo and Angulo still couldn’t do anything about it. Angulo was wide open and had been on the receiving end of a beating round after round.
Before the start of the 10th round Angulo’s trainer and father-figure Virgil Hunter warned his fighter that he needed to do something or that he would pull him out. Hunter didn’t get the chance to withdraw his man as Weeks rightly stepped in. Angulo is too brave to give in and his style only leads to coming forward. His come forward style just meant that he kept on taking punches.
Canelo has to a large extent proved his doubters wrong with this performance. Angulo is a good boxer and Canelo completely dominated him. He really has the potential to be one of the best fighters in the world over the years.
Yes Angulo’s style is made for a slick boxer like Alvarez who also possess good power but even still the performance was highly impressive. He was on another level to his opponent and looked to be the boss for the entirety of the fight.
In terms of what’s next for Canelo perhaps a shot at the winner of Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez. Canelo was mentioned as being a likely opponent for Cotto but instead Cotto decided to face the Argentine Martinez up at middleweight.
A potential Canelo v Cotto fight would be huge. Both men have great fan-bases and a Mexican v Puerto Rican match is surely appealing to promoters and fight fans alike.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has returned for defeat and appears to be a better boxer for that defeat. It is often said that you learn from your mistakes and that boxer actually improve more from a defeat that than a loss.
