Canelo Alvarez received his first career defeat from his anticipated match against the reigning champion Floyd Mayweather. It was practically no contest as Alvarez gave up nearly every round to the veteran fighter, whose slick moves and immense power proved too much for the young contender. Mayweather won the Saturday night match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas by a majority decision, though with the way he effortlessly handled the 12 rounds, it came as no surprise. Mayweather won the match with 45-0, leaving Alvarez at 42-1-1 in matches and leaving his own perfect record unscathed. Below is a round-by-round recap of the match:
Round 1: The crowd appeared to be overwhelmingly in favor of underdog Canelo, but Mayweather struck first and viciously upon the start of the match. Canelo managed to avoid some swipes early on, but Mayweather quickly ensnared him with a right and a handful of jabs, with Canelo still fresh and vibrant enough to return some punches. Still, Canelo was unable to get the upperhand right off the bat and the first round belonged to Mayweather.
Round 2: Mayweather clearly dominated this round, defending and avoiding almost every shot Canelo dealt him. He managed to nail him in the jaw a few times, though Canelo's speed was clearly shining here as he managed to get away from the path of a mean right uppercut dealt by Mayweather. Still, Canelo's fast footing couldn't get him the round and this was clearly another win for Mayweather.
Round 3: Canelo began really ripping into Mayweather this round, getting in some nice jabs and a powerful three-hit combo. He got Mayweather up against the ropes and landed a few jabs. When Mayweather managed to get out of that squeeze, he made Canelo eat his words -- the young Mexican had something to say to the reigning champ when he was pegged along the sides -- by delivering some nasty jabs right back and stealing the round right from under him.
Round 4: Canelo fired off with a left hook at the start of the round, picking up momentum as time went on. He tried to go low to the chagrin of Mayweather, then refused to touch gloves as the round got nasty. He got Mayweather in the core a few times before taking a swipe at his jaw, at which point Mayweather smiled in near-disbelief. Mayweather knocks Canelo back with a left, which Canelo subsequently answered. Canelo easily took this round, but unfortunately it would be the only round he got the entire match.
Round 5: Mayweather answered Canelo's opening shots with a counter left as Canelo began attacking the body. Mayweather began tearing in to Canelo, who was on the outskirts before working his was back to close the distance between them. The crowd was fierce this round was boos and "USA! USA!" chants filled the arena. It seems Mayweather had an answer for all of Canelo's hits, giving him the victory in this round as well.
Round 6: Mayweather came back even stronger this round, but Canelo was just getting started. He attacked up high for the majority of the round, though his furtiveness got the best of him and he received a few warnings from the referee for shoulder checking. Mayweather punished the young fighter for his misbehaving with a series of harsh blows, including a mean three-punch combo that sent the crowd into raucous cheering.
Round 7: Canelo barely landed a hit this round as the match went into its last legs. Mayweather hit Canelo up high a couple of times before backing him into the ropes, which Canelo managed to work his way out of fairly quickly. In spite of his quick moves, Mayweather continues to demolish the Mexican fighter, double jabbing him in spite of his defenses. He also got a swift blow to the mouth as Mayweather completely tossed him around and steal the upperhand.
Round 8: Mayweather's jabs proved lethal once again as Canelo stayed focus on the core of his body. Mayweather whipped Canelo's head back with a swift jab, as Canelo tried to retaliate, but couldn't get a hit in. Mayweather defended against Canelo's first assault, but wound up against the ropes for the second. He came right back with an effortless jab.
Round 9: Mayweather once again started off strong, jabbing Canelo. Canelo just couldn't seem to connect anymore as he lunged for Mayweather to no avail. The two jabbed until Canelo finally got through and popped Mayweather in the mouth and landed a few more light hits. Mayweather came back in with his right, blasting Canelo. Canelo tried to answer, but couldn't land. Mayweather came right back with the right again and knocked it out of the park.
Round 10: Canelo tried to take back the match, but once again couldn't connect. His attempts to unload on Mayweather derailed when the veteran champ fired off some swings and put Canelo up against the ropes. Canelo got his chance to unleash, but the skilled Mayweather pulled out of the onslaught and pulled out a jab before getting in a couple of solid hits to his body.
Round 11: Canelo managed to get Mayweather into the ropes, but failed to capitalize and instead was struck by a crushing jab. Mayweather cut through Canelo's guard, taunting him as he went along. Canelo tried to do the same, but Mayweather's evasiveness was on point as he manuevered away from what could have been a nice flurry of punches. After briskly moving along out of the way of the attack, he gave Canelo a hard jab.
Round 12: It was Canelo's last chance to pull out something incredible, but Mayweather proved his time-tested experience was no match for a young pup. He landed some nice jabs, avoiding Canelo's last gasp attempts to at least wrangle a round win. After a handful of hits failed to connect, Mayweather dropped his fists and moved around the ring and Canelo appeared to accept his defeat. Mayweather won by majority vote: 114-114, 116-112, 117-111.
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