By Jake Donovan
Let the hard sell begin.
Undefeated teenaged welterweight Saul Alvarez has become the darling of both Golden Boy Promotions and HBO, which means we’ll be seeing a lot of the red-headed Mexican in the near future, whether or not his skills and potential justify the coverage.
For the moment, the potential is evident but the overwhelming praise and ambitious projections might be a bit premature. Alvarez handled himself well against a seasoned veteran, ending the fight strong after a rocky start to stop Jose Miguel Cotto in the ninth round of their over-the-limit welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The fight served as the chief support to the pay-per-view headliner between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley.
A collective gasp could be heard at ringside when Alvarez was briefly stunned in the opening round, as Cotto had the Mexican pinned on the ropes and went for broke. The moment came and went, remaining competitive throughout the bout but never suggestive that he would pull off the upset.
The critic can argue that Alvarez had no business ever being in trouble against a fleshy former lightweight contender, but where the kid deserves major credit in his composure, settling down and taking over the fight from round two onward.
Confusion came towards the end of the second. Alvarez connected with a head shot that left Cotto unsteady and forced to touch the canvas with his glove. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in and called time, first issuing a count but later indicating that no knockdown occurred.
It hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things. As the rounds went on, Alvarez took control of the fight, fending off a determined Cotto to pile up rounds and eventually wear down the Puerto Rican.
The hard work paid off late in the ninth, when Alvarez landed an alarming number of unanswered right hands. Cotto was game and referee Tony Weeks gave him every chance to fight back, but after several rights snapped Cotto’s head back while pinned against the ropes was enough reason to step in and intervene.
The official time was 2:51 of the ninth round.
Alvarez improves to 32-0-1 (24KO) with the win in a bout that marked just his third appearance in the United States and first on a major pay-per-view telecast. The majority of his career has been spent in his native Mexico, having turned pro at just age 15 back in 2005.
On the other end of the scale, the 32-year old Cotto heads home to Puerto Rico with a mark of 31-2-1 (23KO).
Having turned pro in 1996, his peak appeared to have come four years ago in a competitive but decisive loss to then lightweight titlist Juan Diaz – interestingly on an undercard headlined by Floyd Mayweather’s win over Zab Judah.
The rest of Cotto’s career has been spent living in the shadow of his younger but far more established brother Miguel.
If the hype comes anywhere close to being true, then Saul Alvarez will be casting his own shadow over the rest of the welterweight and junior middleweight division for years to come.
Until then, all we can do is ignore the hard sell and enjoy watching the kid grow in front of our very eyes.
PONCE DE LEON DECISIONS LOCK
Former super bantamweight titlist Daniel Ponce de Leon managed to stay afloat in the featherweight mix after boxing his way to a closer-than-expected ten-round decision win over divisional spoiler Cornelius Lock.
The televised prelim offered the perfect blueprint for the transformation in both fighters’ careers. Once upon a time, Ponce de Leon was nothing more than a crude puncher with concussive one-punch power, while Lock was on the verge of journeyman status.
In recent years, Ponce de Leon has become more accustomed to boxing his way to victory, with four of his past six wins coming by way of decision. Lock, on the other hand, has learned how to win regardless of who is in the other corner, having scored three upset stoppage wins among his previous four fights.
No such luck for the Detroit native, who took too long to get going in this fight. A late rally helped make the fight closer on the scores than the overall action truly suggested as there was never any doubt that Ponce de Leon was well on his way to victory.
A brief scare came for Ponce de Leon when he suffered a cut over his left eye in the fourth round. His corner did well in keeping the damage to a bare minimum, disallowing the facial injury to have an impact on the fight in any way.
Scores were a surprisingly close 96-94 (2x) and 97-93 for Ponce de Leon, who wins his fifth straight as he improves to 39-2 (32KO). Both of his losses have come against two of the very best in his weight class, Celestino Caballero and Juan Manuel Lopez.
Lock falls to 19-5-1 (12KO), having now lost two of his last three bouts after winning three straight following his return to the ring in 2007.
OUALI CLIMBS OFF CANVAS TO SHOCK SALDIVIA
The opening bout provided the best example of why fair-weather Vegas boxing crowds shouldn’t wait until the main event to file into the arena.
Said Ouali and Hector David Saldivia scored three knockdowns between them in a span of just 107 seconds, with Ouali climbing off of the canvas to score a shocking first-round upset in the televised pay-per-view opener.
Saldivia appeared to be well on his way to justify the 4-1 odds in his favor, dropping the Moroccan-born, Vegas-based trialhorse less than 20 seconds into the fight on the strength of consecutive right hands.
It would prove to be the Argentinean’s only moment of the fight. Ouali shook it off, and came back to score a knockdown of his own, courtesy of a left hand that left Saldivia on shaky legs.
Ouali ended the fight moments later, landing a right hook to floor Saldivia and leaving him too shook for referee Russell Mora’s liking, calling off the fight midway through his count.
The official time was 1:47 of round one.
Ouali improves to 27-3 (19KO) with the upset win, one that puts him in line for a future title shot against Shane Mosley. Saldivia falls to 33-2 (26KO) with the loss in just his third fight outside of his native Argentina.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
