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Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has earned a unanimous decision over Austin Trout to unify the WBC and WBA titles at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
You couldn’t read about the Alvarez-Trout fight without being swamped by a wave of Canelo criticism regarding his record.
The unbeaten 22-year-old had racked up an impressive 41 wins (30 by way of knockout) and a draw against over-matched or undersized opponents, the critics said.
Touted as the next Oscar De La Hoya, everyone was out to take the red-headed Mexican down.
That’s why he decided to take on 27-year-old southpaw Austin Trout – the fighter Anthony Mundine was said to have ducked last year.
Undefeated in 26 fights (14 KOs), Trout really made a name for himself when he managed a surprise defeat of Miguel Cotto late last year.
A solidly built, patient fighter, Canelo carries himself with a maturity well beyond his 22 years but was tested throughout by the busier, taller and faster Trout.
Sometimes contrasting styles such as these just don’t gel in the ring and merely serve to offer a turgid bore of a bout that pleases no one.
This was no such fight.
Canelo won a unanimous decision (115-112, 116-111, 118-109 – most had the fight a lot closer than that) but it was a fascinating strategic contest between a hitter and a jabber in which each man put it all on the line.
The opening rounds were cagey affairs, with Trout’s footwork and long jab keeping the bobbing and weaving shorter fighter at bay before the pace slowed a little in the third and fourth as each fighter found their range.
Alvarez’s task was to get inside the long right jab of his taller opponent without getting caught, while Trout continued to pepper the Mexican whenever he dared step forward.
Canelo caught Trout with a solid short jab at the very end of the fourth round and made it his mission to box his way into power-punching range in the fifth.
That continued into the sixth when Canelo began catching Trout with more regularity in close and both fighters started to clinch.
Perhaps wanting to make his opponent think twice about his tactics, Trout traded punches with Canelo in the sixth rather than stepping out of range with his superior footwork.
It worked once, and Canelo was repelled, but if Trout kept it up, it was just a matter of time before he’d catch a big upper-cut – which the 22-year-old was already connecting with – square on the chin.
Alvarez came out firing in the seventh and landed a big right hand which sent Trout stumbling to the canvas for the only knock down of the fight and the first of his career. Trout jumped back to his feet quickly – too quickly – and resumed the fight with rubbery legs.
Another 22-year-old fighter would likely see red if he knocked his opponent down in the opening seconds of a round, but the composed Alvarez determinedly stuck to his guns, wearing Trout down and slowly turning the screws on his 42nd victory.
Gaining some confidence from his ability recover from the knockdown, Trout went back to work on the outside, getting his jab back even if his footwork wasn’t what it was at the start of the bout.
After taking the eighth round off, Canelo was back to work in the ninth, crowding Trout who had regained some bounce in his legs and was able to step out of trouble.
Knowing he was in front and had the match won if he just stayed out of trouble, Alvarez coasted the final three rounds and although Trout was busier, his punches were glancing blows at best and the Mexican was able to duck and roll out of trouble to the end of the 12th.
It wasn’t the high excitement, big punching knockout bout that part-time fight fans want to see, but it was an intriguing clash of styles that did both their reputations a world of good.
Alvarez says he wants his next opponent to be Floyd Mayweather Jr – who fights Robert Guerrero in Las Vegas on May fourth – but at the very least, he’s been able to silence all the doubters.
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