Erislandy Lara vs. Saúl Alvarez: 'Canelo' Triumphs In Tense Boxing Match Up

Saul Alvarez defeated Erislandy Lara in Las Vegas last night. Throught the 12 thrilling rounds, Erislandy Lara showed great technical ability, however, 'Canelo' Alvarez took advantage of the Cuban's flaws to rescue a win by a split decision. The Guadalajara fighter won his 44th professional victory with scores of 115-113 and 117-111, beating Lara's 115-113. 'Canelo' seemed to struggle to keep up with Lara's impressive footwork, but in the end managed to land some great hits.

Canelod hardly seemed satisfied with the victory, however. "The day he learns to fight, I'll give him a rematch," he said. "I wanted to fight for the people, to give them a good fight. But he came here to run and here you win by fighting not running. If Lara wants a marathon then he should get running." Canelo seemed furious: the Mexican could not believe that none of his blows managed to knock down his fierce opponent.

At the end of the fight, Lara said he felt like the victor: his consolation was in the fact that he managed to make the Mexican look bad. In the match prior to the main event, Abner Mares also managed to nab victory by adding cards 96-94, 98-92, 98-92 against the Puerto Rican Jonathan Oquendo. Juan Manuel Lopez was also defeated by TKO on Saturday night in Las Vegas. "I did not agree with the decision to stop the fight, I wanted to keep fighting," said Lopez, who dismissed talk of retirement.