Canelo is back!
[BoxingGlove Notes]
Okay so I picked the wrong horse.
On Saturday night at the MGM Grand Arena & Casino, in Las Vegas, Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez, 42-1-1, 31 knockouts, from the very first bell, in his pay-per-view Junior Middleweight comeback fight, physically pulverized Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo in a vicious and determined manner.
He finally obligated the referee Tony Weeks, to stop the one- sided fight at 47 seconds of the 10th round. From round #1, Alvarez, the former 3-time Junior Middleweight Champ, playing out the role of the neighborhood “bully boy” with glazed eyes, seemed to be in a trance perhaps trying to erase the doubts that many persons, myself included, had about his ability to come back from his first boxing defeat at the fists of Floyd Mayweather.
When the bell rang Alvarez who is a very slow starter began punishing Angulo with hard combination punches from head to body in such a rapid succession, in an almost 5 to 1 punch ratio, that Angulo almost defensively could barely launch his own offense, in an almost 5 to 1 punch ratio. Alvarez’ defense actually was his offense, almost like Manny Pacquiao, firing punches from all angles.
I suspected perhaps wrongly, that Alvarez launched this furious first round fistic attack on Angulo because he had just eye-witnessed his older brother, Ricardo Alvarez get beaten by Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson, a last minute substitute in a 10 round fight. Ricardo was knocked down twice, out-punched in every round and lost by a unanimous decision, 97-91, and on 2 equal counts of 95-93. He also lost the opportunity to win the W.B.C. International Lightweight Crown.
As for Angulo, I immediately began to wonder about what happened to the speed and defensive skills Virgil Hunter and Russian Track Coach Remi Kochemi was supposed to have taught him. The “new” “El Perro”, The Dog, Angulo, was missing; without a trace. He did not fight the same way he had fought in his other fights, earning him a 23-3, 18, knockouts, record; a fight style which was certainly better than Saturday’s.
Round after round, after the 3rd round, referee Weeks would visit Angulo’s corner with the Commission Doctor to examine his condition; to see if he could continue. Angulo, in desperation, would attack Alvarez furiously after those corner visits during the later rounds, hurting him, to the delight of the live audience in a toe-to-toe phone booth fashion; but Angulo was still taking more punishment than Alvarez.
Many thought that Alvarez may have tired badly from his early attacks on Angulo, but, he was only playing possum, launching attack after attack on an outclassed thoroughly beaten Angulo, who was severely cut over both eyes; his face began to swell, and he was bleeding from the mouth.
Throughout the earlier rounds I could hear Trainer Virgil Hunter pleading with Angulo to, “let your punches go; don’t hold back; fight this man the way we practiced in camp; cover up; don’t let him hit you so easily”.
I realized that it was only a matter of time before he would be knocked out; and by the 10th round the referee mercifully stopped the slaughter.
The stoppage created another “fight” because Angulo became irate at the referee and shoved him while at the same time screaming at him not to stop the fight, while the crowd actually booed the referee.
I must admit that when the fight was stopped, I thought it was unfair, since Angulo was fighting back, and Alvarez was tiring badly with only 2 rounds to go.
Then, like in a horrific flashback I remembered, the tragedy of the Russian heavyweight, Magomed Abdusalamov, who, badly hurt, was allowed to finish a fight. Today he is still trying to recover from the coma and vegetative state that he remains in while rehabbing in the Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Center, in Haverstraw, New York. It was recently revealed that Magomed still cannot walk, feed himself, nor recognize his wife and children.
Perhaps we have to realize that the referee stopping the fight was an act of mercy to prevent Alfredo Angulo from further possible career-ending injuries no matter how valiant he was in fighting a losing battle with Alvarez. It was better to stop the fight too soon than tragically too late.
At the time of the stoppage, all 3 Judges had Alvarez winning all the first 9 rounds. Judges Craig Metcalf and Dave Moretti both scored the same, 89-82 for Alvarez, while the other judge, Jerry Roth scored 88-83 also for Alvarez. It was obvious the Alfredo Angulo needed a knockout to win the fight.
During the post-fight interviews, Angulo complained about the referee and the “unfair” stoppage; claiming that he could’ve continued to fight. But his severely bruised face told a different story, and maybe when he is home with his family, wife and daughter, Rebecca, he’ll realized that Tony Weeks saved his life to perhaps allow him to fight another day. His purse was $750,000 plus a penalty bonus of $100,000 because Canelo Alvarez did not comply with the contractual weight agreement of 154 pounds, tipping the scales at 155 pounds.
Canelo Alvarez, whose purse was $ 1.25 million minus the penalty, said he was happy to be back on the winning side and that if the referee stopped the fight, it wasn’t his concern since he was determined to win, and that was why he started fighting so fast from the first bell.
“I am now free to concentrate on other opponents that I want to fight such as the winner of the Miguel Cotto versus Sergio Martinez fight in June, and anybody else like Arislandy Lara, or Gennady Triple-G Golovkin, or anybody else that my management, Golden Boy Promotions suggests,” he added. “At this time I am going home to my family, rest a little and especially spend quality time with my daughter, Emily.”
This fight was an eye-opener, because what you assume will happen, based on interviews, research, and commentary, and the past performances of the fighters, did not support your selection.
The supporting fight card of 3 fights showcased some talented champs and former champs.
Jorge Linares won the W.B.C. 135 Pound Title Eliminator defeating Nihito Arakawa, the Oriental Pacific Coast 135 pound Champ, by unanimous decision, 100-90 on 2 Judges cards, and 98-92 on the other.
In the semi-final, Leo Santa Cruz, 27-0-1, 15 knockouts, defeated veteran, Cristian Mijares, 49-7-2, 23 k.o.’s, retaining his W.B.C. Super Bantamweight Crown by a unanimous decision. Two judges voted the same, 120-108, and the other judge voted, 100-109.
In the first fight, as I mentioned, Canelo’s older brother Ricardo lost to Sergio Thompson.
Over all it was a good fight card featuring the “little guys” before the big guys took over.
Fight Schedule Notice:
1) Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez will visit the “Big Apple” on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 promoting their Middleweight Championship fight slated for June 7, 2014, in Madison Square Garden, Manhattan.
2) Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov will also be in town but on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 to promote their Light Heavyweight Championship unification fight on April 19, 2014.
Also on that same card W.B.O. Middleweight Champ Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, will defend his title against #1 contender, Lucas Konecay. These fights will take place at the D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C.
I’ll let you know what they have to say.
