LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez regained his dominant form Saturday night against a reluctant challenger who competed two weight classes above where he’s at his best.
The Mexican superstar stalked Jermell Charlo throughout their 12-round, 168-pound title fight at T-Mobile Arena and easily won a unanimous decision. Alvarez dropped Charlo in the seventh round of their one-sided bout and beat the 154-pound champion by huge margins on the scorecards of judges Max De Luca (118-109), David Sutherland (118-109) and Steve Weisfeld (119-108).
Guadalajara’s Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) retained his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles.
“I’m a strong fighter all the time, against all the fighters,” Alvarez told Showtime’s Jim Gray in the ring. “I’m a strong man. Nobody can beat this Canelo.”
Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) got off to a very slow start, tried to tie up Alvarez whenever possible and seemed unwilling to engage with the heavy-handed Alvarez for much of their fight. An aggressive Alvarez kept his taller, rangier opponent on his back foot for most of their 12 rounds and landed a right hand that made Charlo take a knee early in the seventh round.
According to CompuBox’s unofficial statistics, Charlo landed only 71-of-398 punches, just six punches per round. Alvarez was much more accurate, as he landed 134-of-385 overall attempts.
Alvarez went off as a 5-1 favorite, according to MGM Grand’s sportsbook, against an opponent who moved up 14 pounds for their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event. Charlo also ended a 16-month layoff largely caused by two broken bones in his left hand sustained during a sparring session a few days before last Christmas.
Charlo offered “no excuses” during his post-fight interview, but he acknowledged that he felt the difference in Alvarez’s power while fighting at a higher weight.
“I just felt like I wasn’t me in there,” Charlo told Gray. “I don’t make excuses for myself, so it is what it is. I take my punches and roll with it. It’s boxing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
Alvarez, 33, denied Charlo in the Houston native’s bid to become just the second two-division male undisputed champion of boxing’s four-belt era. Undefeated, undisputed welterweight champ Terence Crawford has fully unified the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles in the 140-pound and 147-pound divisions.
“Truthfully, I could feel the difference in the weight,” Charlo said. “I jumped up 14 pounds. I am undisputed in my weight division. I was daring to be great, but you fall short sometimes. You just have to keep on pushing. My road don’t stop right here.”
Charlo, also 33, entered the ring as boxing’s fully unified 154-pound champion. The WBO stripped him of its junior middleweight title, though, as soon as their bout began and elevated interim champion Tim Tszyu to full champion.
Charlo still owns the IBF, WBA and WBC championships and can return to the 154-pound division to defend those titles. If Australia’s Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) beats WBC interim champ Brian Mendoza (22-2, 16 KOs) on October 14 in Broadbeach, Australia, Charlo could try to fully unify the 154-pound titles again by boxing Tszyu next.
Charlo mostly kept his distance again for most of the unremarkable 11th and 12th rounds, when he seemed content to go the distance with Alvarez.
Another Alvarez right hand made Charlo spin out of a neutral corner and attempt to tie him up a little less than a minute into the 10th round.
Alvarez blasted Charlo with a right uppercut as a vulnerable Charlo was backed against the ropes in the ninth round.
Charlo landed two right hands a few seconds apart and got out of Alvarez’s punching range with just over one minute to go in the eighth round. Charlo’s left hook landed about 40 seconds into the eighth round.
Alvarez caught Charlo with a left hook with about 15 seconds remaining in the seventh round.
Charlo connected with a left hook about 40 seconds into the seventh round.
Alvarez landed a right hand a few seconds before the sixth round ended, but Charlo took that shot well.
Charlo tied up Alvarez as Alvarez moved him into the ropes with under 1:20 on the clock in the sixth round. Dock warned Alvarez again for pushing Charlo’s head down about a minute into the sixth round.
Charlo landed two right hands and a left in a combination he threw late in the fifth round. Alvarez’s left hook landed flush a little less than 30 seconds into the fifth round.
A right hand by Alvarez landed when Charlo was backed into the ropes with about 1:10 to go in the fourth round. Charlo connected with a right hand around Alvarez’s guard about 45 seconds into the fourth round.
Alvarez caught Charlo with a left hook when there was just over 30 seconds to go in the third round.
Alvarez previously landed a thudding right to Charlo’s body with a little more than two minutes to go in the third round. Charlo complained that Alvarez hit him on his hip, which caused Dock to warn Alvarez.
Dock warned Alvarez for pushing Charlo out of a clinch with just under 1:40 on the clock in the second round. Alvarez connected with his right hand as Charlo was backed against the ropes about 30 seconds into the second round.
Charlo partially blocked Alvarez’s right hand that he tried to sneak around Charlo’s guard with just under a minute to go in the first round. Fans booed loudly at the midway mark of the first round because Charlo kept his distance from Alvarez.
By Keith Idec