Canelo Alvarez punishes Jermell Charlo for 12 rounds to secure lopsided decision win 

01/10/2023 06:09

Canelo Alvarez didn't get a knockout but he spent the better part of 12 rounds showing Jermell Charlo that weight classes exist for a reason.

Moving up two divisions for the chance to pull off a massive upset, Charlo struggled to make Canelo respect him while also constantly trying to duck and dodge a constant offensive onslaught. While Canelo actually did display a slick jab at times, he mostly loaded up and unleashed ferocious shots at Charlo's head and body round after round.

Outside of a few exchanges, Canelo seemingly won every moment that truly mattered as he dominated the fight from start to finish. The result reflected that with Canelo securing the win with scorecards reading 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109 in his favor.

"I'm a strong fighter. I'm a strong man," Canelo said afterwards. "Nobody can beat this Canelo.

"I love boxing so f****** much. Boxing is my life. Boxing make me the person I am today. That's why I love so much boxing."

While he's been a bit of a slow starter in the past, Canelo wasted no time cutting off the ring and stalking Charlo across the ring. With a power and strength advantage, Alvarez showed little respect to Charlo's punches as he kept launching huge power shots from every angle.

Canelo's body punches were constantly finding a home with Charlo still largely inactive and failing to really engage with much volume threw the early rounds. Even when Charlo did try to establish his jab, Canelo just marched through him as he measured bomb after both just chipping away at his smaller opponent.

Despite Charlo's strategy to dance on the outside with side-to-side motion, Canelo just continued to predict his every move when unleashing his combinations. Canelo started falling into a rhythm as he punished Charlo to the body and then went back up top to the head with vicious hooks.

"We worked for that," Canelo said about his strategy to hurt Charlo to the body. "We worked to the body, we know he's a great fighter. We worked that in the gym for three months."

As time started running out in the sixth round, Canelo just bulled Charlo towards the ropes as he rattled off a number of punches in succession. Charlo did his best to duck, dodge and absorb as little damage as possible but Canlo was really teeing off with little fear of reprisal.

That led to the first knockdown moments later with Canelo putting Charlo on the canvas in the seventh with a vicious straight right hand. Charlo took a knee followed by a standing eight count with Canelo really starting to seize control in the fight.

While he recovered well, Charlo just wasn't able to truly scare Canelo away with any of his punches as he stayed planted on with his back against the ropes. Alvarez kept displaying nasty power with no signs of slowing down whatsoever.

With time ticking away in the final round, Charlo survived but he didn't do much else and Canelo was just in cruise control awaiting the last bell. It was a dominant showcase for Canelo, who didn't mind winning a decision versus an emphatic finish.

"I think that's why we fight 12 rounds," Canelo said. "I don't get that knockout, I get 12 rounds to show I'm the best. I'm the better fighter."

With this victory under his belt, Canelo will have plenty of options awaiting him in the future, although he's already targeting the Cince de Mayo holiday in May for his return to the ring. As far as ideal opponent, Canelo only said "I don't f****** care" while welcoming all challenges as he looks to build on his latest performance.