Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KO’s) added the IBF middleweight World title to his WBA/WBC and ‘Ring’ Magazine titles last night, producing a controlled, calculated performance to outpoint Daniel Jacobs (35-3, 29 KO’s) in their Cinco de Mayo showdown at The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
‘Canelo’ would make a razor sharp start to proceedings, settling nicely behind a snappy left jab that saw Jacobs pushed on to the back-foot immediately.
Jacobs, who caused controversy in missing the agreed upon 10lbs rehydration weight on the morning of the fight, looked the physically larger man – but size mattered for little, with Alvarez targeting the mid-section of the American with thudding hooks and well-placed straight right hands.
After failing to make an impression throughout much of the first half of the fight, Jacobs began to find success from the southpaw stance in the middle rounds, with the two men landing a series of heavy blows in an exciting, back-and-forth eighth session.
Jacobs would continue to grow into the fight, and enjoyed his best round of the fight in the ninth, uncorking a monstrous left hook that bounced off of the Alvarez’s granite chin.
Despite starting the bout at a canter, Alvarez began to show signs of slowing down as the fight reached the championship rounds. Jacobs, while behind in the fight, continued to find pockets of success size as he sought to wear ‘Canelo’ down with his own body attack.
However, the Mexican icon would keep his composure, winning the final round of the fight and safely navigating the remaining exchanges to add yet another World championship to his ever-growing collection.
Though the bout was competitive for large portions – with Jacobs enjoying a far more fruitful second half – scorecards of 115-113 (x2) and 116-112 seemed to represent a fair interpretation of the night’s action, with ‘Canelo’ controlling the fight and landing the crisper, more effective shots throughout.
Now in possession of three of the four recognised World titles at 160lbs, the attention quickly turned to who would be next in line to challenge the 28-year-old superstar. With a plethora of options to choose from at middleweight and above, Alvarez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya would name WBO champion Demetrius Andrade, former two-time Canelo-foe Gennady Golovkin, 168lbs ruler Callum Smith and WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev as potential future opponents.
With Andrade slated to face Maciej Sulecki, should Alvarez decide to stay at 160lbs, a trilogy bout with former divisional kingpin Gennady Golovkin looks the most likely option; with a September date mooted for a third instalment of their titanic rivalry.
Golovkin, who watched ringside, was left less-than-impressed with last night’s action, labelling it “a sparring match”.
Armed with his own multi-million dollar deal with DAZN, ‘GGG’ has been vocal in his campaign for another crack at ‘Canelo’ with many observers adjudging the Kazakh to have been harshly treated by judges in their previous two encounters.
Article by: Chandler Waller
Follow Chandler on Twitter here: @ChandlerWaller