Canelo Alvarez Dominates Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to Win Via Unanimous Decision
Canelo Alvarez showed off his considerable skill on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, turning a prime-time, highly touted bout against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-3-1, 32 KOs) into a glorified but ultimately dreary exhibition.
Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) cruised to a shutout, unanimous decision on the cards, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:
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The pay-per-view fight between two popular Mexican fighters, taking place on Cinco de Mayo weekend, was nothing in the way of a spectacle save for the Las Vegas setting. With all the action coming from Canelo, the rounds bled together, the steady swelling in Chavez's left eye doing more than anything else to mark the passage of time.
While the bout itself didn't offer fans much, the post-match announcement likely made up for it. Gennady Golovkin came into the ring, and the two boxers made a blockbuster event in September official, per Rafael:
Alvarez imposed his will on Chavez right from the start, operating with surgical precision behind a sharp, accurate jab and incisive combinations.
Chavez, who some felt could prove a tricky opponent for Alvarez due to his size and comfort fighting at the middleweight and light heavyweight ranks, did next to nothing to take advantage of his physical gifts. He might've been drained making the 164.5-pound catchweight, as he had nothing coming forward.
The 26-year-old Alvarez gave a reason for the fight's lack of action, per ESPN Boxing:
""He just wouldn't throw punches" - Canelo on Chavez #CaneloChavez
— ESPN Boxing (@ESPNBoxing) May 7, 2017"
Alvarez stated his case early with the jab, snapping Chavez's head back and using it to set up power shots to the body. His well-established jab allowed him to control the ring and tempo, making Chavez look slow and neutralizing his physical advantages.
Rappler's Ryan Songalia noted Chavez couldn't hide the fact he was feeling the effects of Alvarez's constant pressure:
The obvious size difference between the two fighters did little to deter Alvarez from coming forward and unleashing quick two-punch combinations. Chavez had trouble finding openings to unleash his offense, and he looked tentative and unsure for long stretches of the bout.
As the beatdown progressed into the middle rounds, Saturday Night Boxing's Adam Abramowitz pointed out just how much pain Chavez was absorbing:
There were a few moments in the first six rounds where Chavez backed Alvarez into the ropes, spots where he could've used his size and power to rough up his opponent, but for whatever reason, he didn't bear down and curiously opted to box his opponent straight up.
Those brief opportunities slipped away as quickly as they came, and journalist Mike Coppinger felt Chavez already had his mind turned toward self-preservation:
The fight fell into a lull in the late rounds, as Alvarez practically turned the contest into an extended practice session. He pounded on Chavez with steady-as-a-drumbeat regularity, and UCNLive.com's Steve Kim commented on the talent gap between the two boxers:
Boxing writer Daniel Roberts took a different angle, wondering why the fight was dragging on to the final bell:
Alvarez vs. Chavez will quickly become an afterthought, as the boxing world now has Alvarez vs. Golovkin to look forward to.
It pits two of the sport's best and most popular fighters against each other, with Golovkin's reputation as a stone-cold knockout king put to the test against Alvarez's sterling technique and excellent counterpunching.
Alvarez used this fight against Chavez to show he can carry himself well above 160 pounds, setting him up nicely for this tantalizing contest against perhaps the most dangerous fighter in the sport.
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