Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez retained his undisputed super-middleweight title over 12 rounds against Jermell Charlo.
The Mexican tried to his best to force America’s Charlo to engage, but it was an overall negative and uninspired performance from the man jumping in two weight classes.
CANELO DROPS CHARLO! 😳
WATCH #CaneloCharlo in the UK & Ireland only as part of your regular DAZN subscription. pic.twitter.com/CNH8dQS1mV
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 1, 2023
Add in the knockdown in round seven, and Charlo was comprehensively beaten in an affair to forget. 119-108, 118-109, 118-109 on the scorecards for Álvarez and a third successful defence of his four 160lbs titles.
It was the first in a three-fight deal with PBC for Canelo, who tried his best to entertain the crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the aftermath, he thanked his fans.
“I love you guys. I love my family, my friends who come to support me. Thank you so much. I’m a strong fighter all the time. This Canelo, nobody can beat this Canelo. He’s a great fighter, he knows how to move in the ring. We worked on [going to the body.] For three months without my family, without everything. But I still love boxing. I love boxing so f***ing much. Boxing is my life. Boxing makes me the person I am today.”
Asked if he was disappointed to not score a knockout – for the fourth fight in a row – he said. no.
“No, I feel great. That’s why we fight 12 rounds, right? I don’t get the knockout, I get 12 rounds to show I’m the best, right? I’m the better fighter. These rounds show who’s better.”
The Mexican then revealed when he would next be in the ring, but stopped short at naming an ideal opponent – even when asked about mandatory challenger, David Benavidez.
“Cinco De Mayo. Whoever, I don’t care. I don’t f***ing care.”
As for Charlo, he was gracious in defeat.
“I just felt like I wasn’t me in there. I don’t make excuses so it is what it is. This boxing – sometimes you win sometimes you lose. Truthfully you could feel the difference in the weight. I jumped up 14 pounds. I’m undisputed in my weight division, so I was daring to be great right now.”
Charlo said he would ‘absolutely’ return to 154lbs, and then called out Terence Crawford.
Unfortunately for him, ‘Bud’ Crawford – undisputed at 147lbs – was in attendance, but he has his eyes on Canelo instead. Asked by reporters on his arrival if he still wanted the winner of the fight in an unprecedented three-weight jump, the Omaha native said ‘definitely.’
As for Charlo, Crawford took to social media to insult his performance.
“You went out sad. Didn’t even try to win, all you did was try to survive. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
@TwinCharlo you went out sad. Didn’t even try to win, all you did was try to survive. You should be ashamed of yourself.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) October 1, 2023
The undisputed welterweight champion went on to say that Charlo was no longer on his ‘hit list’ due to his ‘no resistance’ performance.
Ok y’all I’m over @TwinCharlo he’s no longer on my hit list. He went out there and laid down and let Canelo spank him like he was his daddy with no type of resistance.😂
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) October 1, 2023
Congratulations @Canelo you made the so called lion look like a baby cub.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) October 1, 2023
Crawford has the matter of a rematch with Errol Spence Jr to attend to, and Canelo will have Benavidez as WBC mandatory called by March of next year. Whether the pair can or try to reach an agreement regardless remains to be seen.