by David P. Greisman - Canelo Alvarez knew he had won the fight long before it was over, when there were still four rounds remaining, when any moment of those 12 minutes could have seen him suffering a cut, an injury or a dramatic knockout loss.
But his fight with Austin Trout was being contested under the rules of open scoring.
Alvarez knew he was in the lead after the first four rounds.
He knew he was even farther ahead after eight.
He knew he could hurt Trout, given that he had floored him with a single right hand in the seventh.
And Alvarez had not often been hit in return, nor had he ever been hurt.
It was not at all a dominant performance, not even close to the victories he had scored in recent years over smaller opponents or faded foes.
Alvarez would actually be credited with hitting Trout less often than Trout had hit him. CompuBox saw Alvarez landing just 124 of 431 punches — about 10 punches per round out of only 36 thrown. (His recent average, meanwhile, had been 24 of 52.) In terms of power punches, he landed just 96 in total, or 8 per round for every 19 thrown, a far cry from his usual 17 of 32.
Trout’s statistics showed him to be busier but not much better: While he landed 30 more punches on the night, that meant just two and a half more landed shots per round. Trout was 154 of 769 — about 13 punches per round out of 64 thrown, or about one punch hitting its target for every five sent out. As for power punches, Trout went 95 of 353, or 8 of 29 per round.
The fight was close enough that journalists watching the bout from ringside and from the comfort of their own homes had scores ranging from Trout winning nine rounds to Alvarez winning eight. [Click Here To Read More]
But his fight with Austin Trout was being contested under the rules of open scoring.
Alvarez knew he was in the lead after the first four rounds.
He knew he was even farther ahead after eight.
He knew he could hurt Trout, given that he had floored him with a single right hand in the seventh.
And Alvarez had not often been hit in return, nor had he ever been hurt.
It was not at all a dominant performance, not even close to the victories he had scored in recent years over smaller opponents or faded foes.
Alvarez would actually be credited with hitting Trout less often than Trout had hit him. CompuBox saw Alvarez landing just 124 of 431 punches — about 10 punches per round out of only 36 thrown. (His recent average, meanwhile, had been 24 of 52.) In terms of power punches, he landed just 96 in total, or 8 per round for every 19 thrown, a far cry from his usual 17 of 32.
Trout’s statistics showed him to be busier but not much better: While he landed 30 more punches on the night, that meant just two and a half more landed shots per round. Trout was 154 of 769 — about 13 punches per round out of 64 thrown, or about one punch hitting its target for every five sent out. As for power punches, Trout went 95 of 353, or 8 of 29 per round.
The fight was close enough that journalists watching the bout from ringside and from the comfort of their own homes had scores ranging from Trout winning nine rounds to Alvarez winning eight. [Click Here To Read More]
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