The upcoming middleweight showdown between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin is just days away. In the meantime before September 16th, enjoy some of Canelo’s best knockouts.
10. Canelo defeats Luciano Cuello
A young Canelo showed tremendous skill when he defeated Luciano Cuello in 2010. Cuello was known as a gritty journeyman who at the time had a record of 26-1 and had 12 knockouts to his name. Alvarez managed to capture the vacant WBC silver light middleweight belt by stopping Cuello in the sixth with a nice body shot.
9. Ryan Rhodes Gets Stopped in the Final Round
Here a 20-year old Saul Alvarez faced yet another vastly experienced fighter in Ryan Rhodes. The fight lasted all the way to the final round until Canelo took control and started landing vicious punches one after another. Eventually, the referee stepped in and Rhodes’s corner threw in the towel.
8. Alvarez puts away Euri Gonzales in the 11th
Before this fight, Euri Gonzales was an unbeaten fighter with tons of experience. Never to be confused with a skilled superstar, but the Dominican was still considered to be a stiff challenge for the 19-year old Mexican prospect. Violent uppercuts and countless right hands made quick work of Gonzales in the eleventh round.
7. Canelo Stops the Older Cotto
In his first ever fight in Las Vegas, then 19-year old Alvarez made a clear statement when he defeated Jose Cotto, the older brother. Canelo went up to welterweight and faced a veteran fighter in Cotto with a 31-1-1 record. Somewhat similar to the Gonzales stoppage, in the ninth round Alvarez pressured Cotto into the corner and kept delivering devastating right hands one after another until the referee had seen enough.
6. Canelo Puts a Beating on Josesito Lopez
Hats off to Josesito Lopez for having the courage to take this fight in the first place. Lopez was stepping up big time in competition and faced a much larger and dangerously equipped Saul Alvarez. The Mexican superstar taught his opponent a lesson in violence and Lopez fought fire with fire, but the bout was stopped in the fifth.
5. Alfonso Gomez Falls Prey to Canelo
Alfonso Gomez gave plenty of problems to Alvarez in this one. Some even expected Gomez to win the fight against the younger foe. Gomez was in control for most of the fight, but eventually, Canelo fought through the adversity and showed why he was the real deal. The final combination landed by Alvarez was a slick one and even though Gomez immediately protested the stoppage it was clear Canelo was in total control and could have made things worse for Gomez.
4. Down Goes Liam Smith
Liam Smith suffered his first defeat at the hands of Saul Alvarez in 2016. The Mexican was simply too much for the Brit and Alvarez managed to drop him a couple of times before landing this final vicious body shot that ended the fight.
3. Canelo Knocks Out Carlos Herrera
Carlos Herrera was a decade older than 19-year old Canelo Alvarez. Herrera truly had experience on his side, but this meant nothing to Alvarez. Herrera got destroyed and dropped inside the first round.
2. Goodnight, Carlos Baldomir
This is one the best pure knockout victories of Canelo’s career. It must be mentioned that Baldomir was 39 when he faced Alvarez and on the back nine of his career. Nonetheless, Canelo provided us with a devastating knockout that sent poor Baldomir face down on the ground.
1. The Annihilation of Amir Khan
This is the KO to show when discussing Saul Alvarez. It shows speed, pure power mixed with precision and relentless aggression in just one punch. Certainly, a knockout highlight clip for the ages.
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