By Victor Garcia, Real Combat Media Head Boxing Rankings Panelist-Ringside
Las Vegas, NV (November 22, 2015)– Canelo Alvarez captured the middleweight world championship with a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
In a full arena at the Mandalay Bay, the fans witness an incredible rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico. Which in this case, Mexico came out victorious and wins the bragging rights of a new champion. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), defeats the Puerto Rican superstar, Miguel Angel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs), in a highly anticipated bout, and is named the new lineal WBC Middleweight Champion.
Many fans were disappointed with the so called “Mega Fight”, that happened earlier this year between, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, and hoped for this fight to get everyone back into the boxing spirit.
As Canelo walks into the ring to the song of “Mexico Lindo y Querido” by Vicente Fernandez, the crowd goes wild, sending chilling goosebumps to the Mexican fans.
Cotto walks in calm and focused, ready for one of the biggest matches of his career, along with the Puerto Rican fans cheering him on.
The two fighters met face to face once again, but this time was not to answer questions with words, but to answer questions with their fist. The man in charge of the night was the veteran referee, Robert Byrd, and ordered the two boxers to the center of the ring. At the sound of the bell, all the talking was set aside and the fighters approached each other to start the war that everyone had been waiting for.
In the first round, Cotto used the ring well, fighting from a distance using the jab, to keep the red headed Mexican away, while Canelo began the fight as expected, with pressure. Canelo and Cotto did not throw many punches as they were studying one another. The small amount of punches thrown by the fighters did look promising as Canelo worked the body and Cotto used the jab. The round was pretty equal for both fighters.
Cotto continued to box Canelo from a distance, but Canelo connected well to the body using some nice left hooks to try and slow down Cotto. Cotto used the right hand nicely, which it did land a few times, but lacked in power. Despite of Cotto throwing the most punches, Canelo clearly landed the bigger and harder punches in the second and third round. Canelo also showed good head movement, dodging a lot of the punches Cotto threw at him.
Cotto connected with a nice straight right in the third round, then moves away nicely. The jab was clearly the favorite punch for Cotto, which he continued to throw and landed in some occasions.
In rounds four through six, Canelo continue to punish the body of Cotto. Cotto threw the left hook numerous times and landed a few, which didn’t seem to bother Canelo. Canelo’s best punches in the first half of the fight was a straight right counter, which came after avoiding a left hook from Cotto, and a mean counter left uppercut. Canelo showed how much of an improved fighter he has become. Cotto did respond with a nice furry of punches, which he needed to keep Canelo from throwing and kill his momentum. Although Canelo didn’t seem to get bothered by the punches, Cotto showed tremendous heart and refused to let the young Mexican warrior feel he was going to have this easy.
In the eight round, Canelo connected an impressive right uppercut. Cotto threw less punches in this round, which showed Canelo overwhelmed him with his size, speed, defense, and power. Canelo showed world class counter punching. Cotto finally went toe to toe with Canelo which made this round become the highlight round of the fight. Cotto connected well on Canelo with great combos, but the lack of power had no affect on Canelo and responded very well with great combos that definitely hurt Cotto. Cotto definitely showed he has a good chin, while Canelo connected beautifully down the pipe with his straight rights and well connected uppercuts.
The crowd began to sing Cielito Lindo as they seen how dominating Canelo has been throughout the fight.
In between rounds, Freddy Roach asked Cotto if he was feeling okay, as if he was noticing something wrong with Miguel. Cotto kept responding that he was feeling fine and even asked Roach if he was okay.
In the final rounds, the fighters did not want to leave the ring without giving the fans what they wanted. Both Cotto and Canelo had their moments which electrified the arena, and made the fight exciting as everyone hoped for. Cotto exchanged with Canelo, but the Mexican fighter’s power was the clear factor in the match. When the fight was coming to an end, the crowd stood up to what it seemed like Cotto was ready to go down after a few combinations landed to the head of the Puerto Rican star.
The battle between Mexico and Puerto Rico, came to an end and both fighters showed great sportsmanship to one another. Cotto and Canelo raised their arms and gave each other a big hug, congratulating one another after a great classic battle.
The fight went to the scorecards, and the clear winner of the night, Saul Alvarez was awarded the WBC Middleweight Title, after a unanimous decision by the judges.
The judges scored the bout, 117-111, 119-109, and 118-110.
During an emotional moment, Canelo Alvarez stated,
“I have a lot of respect for Miguel. He is a great champion and a great fighter. We knew going into this fight that it would be a difficult journey, but I felt that I was the faster stronger fighter tonight. I wasn’t hurt by his punches. I want to thank my trainers, they are like my family and the best people I know and I couldn’t have done this without them.’
“ I was fully prepared for what Cotto was going to do in the ring, whether that was to take a defense stance or be the aggressor.”
“I am not afraid of any fighter. GGG is a great fighter, and he is my friend. I have respect for him, but if we do fight, it’s going to be at my weight class. I’m the champion. I don’t have to do what he wants.”
Miura vs Vargas
In the co-main event, a new champion was crowned. Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) defeated Takashi Miura (29-3-2, 22 KOs), after the ref ended the fight in the ninth round.
The two fighters dropped one another in the fight, but after being hurt in the eighth round, Vargas drops Miura for the second time, in the ninth round. It was moments later when the ref decides to stop the fight, after not seeing much from the former Japanese champion.
“I’m the champ, I’m the champ! This is a dream come true for me. Something I have been fighting for my whole life. I knew Takashi was going to be a tough opponent. That is why he is a champion, so I had to make sure I was prepared to face a fighter like him. I feel my preparation paid off for this fight. I knew I had to be very aggressive, and I showed that in the first round so he knew that I would not be bullied. When I was knocked down in the fourth round, I felt even more motivated to win the fight. I made sure to fight the way I wanted, how I wanted and my style and now I’m the champion of the world! I hope the fans enjoyed themselves tonight with my performance.”
Rigondeaux vs Francisco
The former world champion, Guillermo Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KOs) defeated Drian Francisco (28-4-1, 22 KOs), after ten rounds of boxing.
Rigondeaux returned to the ring after almost a year of being absent. The Cuban sensation just signed to Jay-Z Roc Nation Sports and is very happy to be back in the ring. He did it tonight against a Filipino veteran.
Although showing great defensive skills and counter-punching, Rigondeaux’s performance was not to appealing to the crowd and began to show their disappointment with boos.
“I felt terrific after the fight. He threw heavy, but his style has nothing on mine. My style outmatched his. It’s been 11 months since I’ve been in the ring and I definitely felt some cobwebs, but I’d like to see some fighters be out 11 months and come back with a win. I definitely wanted to give the fans a better fight so I need to get back into the gym, get more active to give a better performance. I promise that with the tools I have now after signing with Roc Nation Sports, that next time I will be more explosive. Thank you to my team for helping me get this win.”
“Rigondeaux is not a fighter, he is a runner.’ Said Drian Francisco. “He is afraid of getting hurt and doesn’t want to fight. I felt pressured into being the aggressor during this fight because he wasn’t fighting. He was running away. He is not a power puncher and won by points. I trained really hard for this fight and I feel like it was a waste of time because I didn’t encounter a fighter tonight.”
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