Canelo Alvarez Stops Alfredo Angulo in 10 For MGM Grand Main Event In Vegas

For all of those that questioned how Alvarez would look following his first defeat against unbeaten champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr, this past September can be rest assured that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1) is back and better than ever. The former unified junior middleweight title holder took on tough as nails, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-3) as the headliner for the first Showtime boxing PPV of 2014. The two Mexico-born stars locked horns inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena setting a hard pace from the get go. One that Angulo is normally used to but also one disguised as action but more of a technique by Alvarez to impose his will and break his man down.

From round to round Alvarez unleashed fast and hard combinations on his foe, snapping Angulo’s head back or stopping him dead in his tracks as he came forward. Alvarez quickly earned a big lead on the score cards thus Angulo hoped to rally back from the relatively one-sided bout by upping his punch output but just when it seemed like he was finding an opening, Alvarez unloaded a wicked left hook or right cross that created swelling around his foe’s face past the halfway mark. Tony Weeks who was the referee tonight, started looking at Angulo allot closer in the late rounds even having words with Virgil Hunter, trainer of Angulo, that he might stop it if the punishment continued.

Sure enough Alfredo Angulo had no answer and in the 10th round following another clean, hard punch from Canelo Alvarez, the referee stepped in to protect Angulo from any further punishment at 47 seconds of the round waiving it off. Canelo’s victory was instantly met with a chorus of boos that rained down on the parade but the right call was made to protect the fighter. With the win, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez improves to (43-1-1) while Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo drops to (22-4 ).

At the post fight press conference Angulo was not available for comments since he was taken to the local hospital as a precaution to the TKO loss. Alvarez and Richard Schaefer on the other hand made it clear that “Canelo” plans to come back to action this July against a top opponent be it at 154 lbs or at 160 lbs and it could be again in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand or even Dallas Cowboys Stadium or possibly an arena in Ireland.

Santa Cruz Still Unbeaten With Points Verdict Over Mijares In WBC Title Defence

Undefeated title holder Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (26-0-1 w/15 KOs) successfully defended his WBC Super Bantamweight crown by way of unanimous decision over seasoned veteran, Cristian Mijares (48-7-2 w/22 KOs ). Many thought going into the bout that Mijares’ technical craft along with his experience would pose a problem to the still developing raw talent of Leo. Well, that could not have been further from the truth for those 36 minutes as the unbeaten champion Santa Cruz cruised through each round by out working and out hustling his opponent using angles and sleek combinations.

In the 4th round a clash of heads started a cut over Leo’s right eye which might have concerned his corner had it been anything serious but luckily a slight trickle of blood was all that came following the cut. Leo shook it off and continued his masterful display of punching in varied combinations, connecting on the inside and keeping his foe at the end of his punches. Whenever Mijares thought turning up the pace and pushing forward might have thrown his man off of his game, Leo doubled that work ethic putting together arrays of uppercuts at close range and 1-2 combinations that were spot on.

Once the judge’s cards were read it was academic, a unanimous decision of 119-109, 120-108, 120-108 for Leo Santa Cruz in a successful defence of his WBC world title upping his record to (27-0). The loss dropped Cristian Mijares to (48-8-2) as he came up short on capturing WBC gold.

Linares Easily Out Points Arakawa

Former champion, Jorge Linares (35-3 w/23 KOs), continued his quest to reach the upper echelon of the lightweight division as he collided with boxing action star, Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1 w/16 KOs) in a 10-round WBC Final Lightweight Eliminator. One of Japan’s favourite sons, Arakawa usually brings countless thrills as the blood and guts warrior that he is but tonight it would not be the case. Linares brilliantly disarmed him by circling, moving and popping his jab amidst sharp combinations. If the action ever got too heated, Linares instinctively wrapped his man up in a fast clinch or slipped any Arakawa offence by rolling with the punches away from danger.

The masterful footwork of Linares enabled him to land without problem, whether it was a quick combination or straight right hand and left hook he was visibly in great shape firing on all cylinders. Both men threw caution to the wind in the final two rounds and traded heavy leather to the fans delight but it was clear that Linares took this bout on points with ease.

The judges saw it a unanimous decision of 98-92, 100-90 and 100-90 for Jorge Linares who improves to (36-3) while Nihito Arakawa drops to (24-4-1) . The victory sets Linares up as a mandatory challenger to the WBC lightweight title.

Thompson Levels Alvarez Twice To Grab Unanimous Verdict And WBC Belt

The first bout of the night to kick off the Showtime “Toe To Toe” PPV main card featured
KO artist, Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson (28-3 w/26 KOs), taking on Canelo Alvarez sibling, Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez (23-2-3 w/13 KOs) in a match for the vacant WBC International Lightweight Title. The bout immediately turned into an action packed slug fest as both men traded monstrous shots for the first two rounds in the form of looping shots and over hand punches. True to his reputation of being a heavy handed fighter, Thompson sent his man to the canvas by landing a hard combination that staggered Alvarez making him stumble backwards into the ropes in the 3rd round. The standing count followed but “Dinamita Alvarez” managed to beat it and survive the round without absorbing any further damage. Alvarez was game landing some solid punches on the inside as well as a couple looping shots but Thompson gave as good as he got and never looked seriously hurt from the assault.

Early in the 8th round a perfect right-hand counter from Thompson sent Alvarez to the canvas one more time. Again he beat the count, this time springing right back up to his feet and trudging on but the connectivity of his foe had caught up to him as his left eye swell up. Heading into the final rounds the fresher and stronger of the two was clearly Thompson, who held his ground to end the fight on a high note following a great match-up to bring the fans to their feet as they applauded the fighter’s efforts.
Once we went to the score cards the judges saw it a unanimous decision for Sergio Thompson with scores of 95-93, 95-93 and 97-91 as he improves to (29-3) capturing the vacant WBC International Lightweight Title. The loss drops Ricardo Alvarez to (23-3-3) as he comes up short on his title bid.

By: armando romo jr

For more post fight commentary check out Hustleboss.com and Chris Robinson’s post fight commentary at http://hustleboss.com/was-the-canelo-vs-angulo-fight-stopped-too-soon-post-fight-coverage/#more-19982