Mayweather vs. Canelo 2013: Title Bout Lived Up to Expectations

Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez battled in "The One" in Las Vegas, and the title bout lived up to expectations.

Very few expected Canelo to come out on top, so when the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world won, nobody was surprised. 

Although it wasn't a unanimous decision, the outcome wasn't in doubt. Money pounded Canelo all night, especially in the later rounds. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Mayweather landed at least 50 percent of his power punches in each round from the fifth to the 11th. 

He physically dominated his bigger opponent. Mayweather is 5'8" and came into the fight at 150 pounds. Alvarez—5'9", 165 pounds—tried to use his size to his advantage. Canelo has 30 knockouts in his career, and using his strength was the only way he was going to win.

Unfortunately for him, he was too slow against arguably the quickest fighter in boxing.

Mayweather did exactly what he was expected to do. He came out aggressive to set the tone, and he moved so much that it was nearly impossible for Canelo to land any punches. He never landed more than eight jabs in any round, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

"The One" may not have been highly competitive, but it met expectations. 

Money May is the better fighter, and he showed that in the ring. The 36-year-old used a combination of quick offense and strong defense to outlast his younger opponent. At 23 years old, Alvarez hung with Money about as long as possible before he finally wore down.

Canelo isn't the first opponent Mayweather has defeated by outlasting him. Money is now 45-0, but he has only 26 knockouts in his career. He routinely goes the distance in his matches, so he has the experience, especially against top competitors, of staying strong for 12 rounds.

Alvarez suffered the first loss of his career as he fell to 42-1-1. Mayweather remains unbeaten, which is even more impressive given his recent competition. 

Money came away with the victory via majority decision. His performance solidified him as the best fighter of his generation, and it doesn't look like anyone can stop his undefeated run.

It would have taken an absolutely great game plan along with perfect execution by Canelo to beat Mayweather. He wasn't able to do so, and this title bout went as expected.