Cinco de Mayo Redemption Victory for Canelo Alvarez
BoxingGlove Notes
Distinio Lois, Jr.
“Kill the body and the head dies”, that has always been the lifelong instructional offensive adage of every boxing trainer that I have ever met in my long years involved in boxing, including my 13 years in the school of hard knocks.
Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez in winning the W.B.O. Junior Middleweight Title from Londoner Liam Smith repeatedly applied it with vicious authority last night at the AT & T Arena Arlington, Texas. He knocked Smith out at 2:28 seconds of the 9th round becoming a world champ for the 4th time is his boxing career that began when he turned pro at a mere 15 years of age.
The mystery of who was the better fighter was solved almost from the very first round Saturday, September 17, 2016 when, a totally focused and determined Canelo attacked Smith with bad intentions as the first bell sounded throwing knockout intended punches in a variety of combinations.
Canelo would at first throw a left jab and then a right hand to Smith’s body, then 2 left hooks to the liver finishing up with an uppercut, forcing Smith to cover up defensively while he tried to figure out his own offense.
It is very painfully difficult to plan your own attack when you are getting hit and hurt in 2 different area codes of your body almost at the same time. This was the offensive pattern of attack for Canelo Alvarez throughout the entire fight until the end in the 9th round. After the 3rd knock down, Smith was groveling in paralyzing pain on the canvas unable to beat the mandatory 8 count obligating referee Julio Pabon to wave the fight over.
By the 3rd round the wear and tear of Alvarez’ punches on Smith were forcing him to retreat and lean on the ropes for support while futilely fighting back with his own set of punch combinations that sporadically stopped Alvarez’ offense and allowed Smith to survive another round, but you could sense that it was only a matter of time before Smith would be knocked out.
Alvarez brutally pummeled Smith even through his protective peek-a-boo defense round by round wearing him down although Smith fought back almost equal to Canelo Alvarez’ onslaught but not hurtful enough to stop his aggressiveness.
Courageously Smith would answer each succeeding bell although bleeding from several cuts around his right eye, bleeding from his nose, displaying several facial contusions, as his rib cage on both sides were severely reddened by Alvarez’ vicious body punishment.
Liam Smith suffered his first boxing career knockdown in the 7th round when Alvarez hit him with a left hook to the liver. Although Smith took the mandatory 8 count he was in pain but managed to avoid further damage by going backwards as the bell sounded. In the 8th round he again was knocked down from the same body punch.
Canelo Alvarez-my observation-has become very aggressive or changed his boxing style in the ring since his fight with Miguel Cotto and he repeated the same style in the Amir Khan fight. He fought the same way against Smith.
He seems to have adapted to or imitated Gennady Golovkin’s take no prisoners, search and destroy style of fighting. Alvarez stormed after Smith in the same aggressive fashion that 3G went after Kell Brook, on September 10, 2016 in London.
Was Canelo trying to prove he was as good or better than 3G, or maybe imitation is the best form of flattery even in the ring of possible future championship ring rivals.
When the fight with Smith was signed after the Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin contract talks failed, Alvarez was severely criticized by fans and was even called a coward by fellow Mexican, Abel Sanchez who trains 3G Golovkin.
Canelo seethed at those accusations during all of the press conferences and at his training camp stating, “I am not afraid of anybody much less 3G and I will fight him when I am ready, not when I am told.”
Perhaps that was the emotional motivation for Canelo Alvarez a very proud family man, to train very hard to be able to eradicate those remarks about his manhood in the ring, and restore his well-earned idolatry from all of his fans especially Mexicans and especially also during the Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Smith a very confident undefeated W.B.O. Champion visiting and fighting in the United States for the first time declared repeatedly that he was the bigger man, faster, and strong enough to knockout Canelo. Those statements were believable since Smith had also scored 8 straight knockouts, and his fighting style according to experts would give Canelo problems.
Smith also declared that since his fellow European Carl “The Jackal” Frampton defeated favorite Mexican champ Leo Santa Cruz he could do the same thing and return his title back home. Alas, that was not to be as the end for him painfully arrived in the 9th round.
After being declared the winner and a world champion once more a relieved and smiling Canelo Alvarez stated that he felt he had exorcised all of those negative and demonic comments about him and his manhood and, that yes, he would fight 3G Golovkin in due time.
“Gennady Golovkin doesn’t know what he is in for when he fights me so he better prepare well with his trainer Sanchez”, stated Alvarez. “Even if many don’t agree that I am the best, I am. I am not afraid of anyone because I was born for this”, Canelo Alvarez further declared with an impish de-meaner on his face.
Freckle-faced red haired baby faced Canelo Alvarez a mere 26 years of age now sports a fighting record of 48-1-1, 34 knockouts, while “Beefy” Smith’s record drops down to 24-1-1, 13 k.o.’s.
Canelo Alvarez according to Golden Boy Promotions President, Oscar De La Hoya, has a fight date pending December / 2016 and Gennady Golovkin also has a fight date but, late November / 2016.
President De La Hoya further stated that a $10 million purse offer was placed on the table to 3G Golovkin with pay-per-view incentives several weeks ago for a title fight late in 2017 with Alvarez but he has not responded.
It has been rumored that since Alvarez is the “Golden Boy” house fighter he will be paid more and Golovkin justifiably so, being the 4 belt world champ wants parity in purses, and pay-per-view but not less than Canelo.
Mr. Jerry Jones owner of AT & T Arena and the Dallas Cowboys, would like to see the Canelo vs. Golovkin mega fight held in his arena which has a capacity of 80, 000. The Alvarez vs. Smith championship fight despite all of the criticism attracted 52, 000 fans.
Black Star News will not hold its breath awaiting the outcome of this new boxing soap opera that has begun to take the posture of the “Fight of the Century”, Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather 6 years in the making.
In the meantime we have the Heavyweight Championship rematch between Champ Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko ex-champ, Saturday, October 29, 2016, in Manchester Arena, Manchester, England, the return of Manny Pacquiao vs. W.B.O. Champ Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, Saturday, November 5th, 2016, and the mega ring title war between Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “The Krusher” Kovalev and Andre “Son of God” Ward, Saturday, November 19, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Stay Tuned!
