T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas - In a battle of undisputed vs. undisputed, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) dropped and dominated Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) over twelve rounds to secure a unanimous decision win. (photos by Esther Lin and Ryan Hafey)
The scores were 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109.
Charlo, holder of the undisputed crown at 154-pounds, moved up in weight by two full divisions to challenge Canelo for his four titles at 168-pounds.
In the first, a slow start by both. Charlo was mostly on the move with a pecking jab. Canelo was pressing and looking to land a big shot. In the second, Canelo was cutting off the ring and let his hands go more often. Canelo wasn't really landing anything clean, as Charlo was partially blocking the shots.
During the third, Charlo was jabbing more often and looking for his left to follow afterwards. Canelo was going to the body and letting go with the harder shots. Charlo was landing at times, but Canelo was walking through the shots. In the fourth, Canelo was outlanding Charlo and pressing the action.
The fifth round saw Charlo start to connect with several punches, with Canelo just walking through them and outworking his man. After a dominating sixth, Canelo dropped Charlo with a solid right hand in the seventh. Charlo beat the count, with Canelo pressing forward and looking for the finish. Charlo was able to connect with several shots and Canelo kept coming.
In the eight, Canelo was targeting the body often. Charlo would connect here and there, but his power shots were not denting Canelo. The ninth saw Charlo boxing and land well, but Canelo was connecting the heavier punches to the head and body.
Canelo was stalking and landing in the tenth round. Charlo was not being busy enough and allowed Canelo to do most of the work. In the eleventh, Canelo continued to pour on the pressure and unleash his punches. Charlo wasn't able to do much in return. Not much of a change in the twelfth and final round, with Canelo in full control to close out the contest.
