Canelo Alvarez routs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.,will fight Gennady Golovkin in September

Sub Lead07-May-17by John J. Raspanti

By John J. Raspanti

H1_Saul-Canelo-Alvarez-VD-22.jpg

Canelo Alvarez dominated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over 12 rounds to win an anticlimactic unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, NV. Saturday night.

All three judges scored the fight 120-108 for Alvarez.

Maxboxing also had Alvarez winning every round.

The announcement after the fight that Alvarez would meet middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in September drew a bigger roar than the bout itself.

Alvarez set the pattern in the opening stanza. He got off first, connecting to the head and body. Chavez fired a punch or two and backed away. His strategy, which defies reality, was to try and outbox Alvarez.

The sharper Alvarez popped his jab with authority in the next few rounds. A double left hook landed. Chavez ducked into an uppercut.

Alvarez stepped forward and fired away. Chavez wasn’t punching back. He was eating punches. Maybe he figured that Alvarez would get tired of hitting him.

Chavez missed with a lazy right and paid for it. Alvarez landed a vicious hook to the belly in round four. Chavez was showing he could take a good punch, but little else. It was target practice for Alvarez. A powerful right hand knocked Chavez into the ropes.

H1_Saul-Canelo-Alvarez-VD-22.jpg

Alvarez connected with some whipping shots to the head and body in the next few rounds. He languished on the ropes and invited Chavez to punch.

Chavez tried, but appeared hesitant. Alvarez drove Chavez back with a four-punch combo in round seven. Alvarez punished Chavez with hard shots in the next few rounds.

Chavez couldn’t or wouldn’t fight back. He was fighting like a boxer who didn’t believe in himself.

Alvarez banged home hooks to the body and head. Chavez did what he had done the entire fight—backed up and took it. Alvarez connected with a wicked uppercut seconds later.

Chavez’s corner pleaded with him to punch back. For a few seconds, late in the fight, he tried. Alvarez connected with two hard body punches in round 11. The fans booed as Chavez again backed away.

Alvarez battered Chavez in the last round. Chavez had proven one thing, he could take a beating and keep on standing.

“I showed that I can move against a fighter that was bigger and stronger,” said Alvarez. “I wanted to give the Mexican public a great fight. He wouldn’t fight me.”

“He beat me. He beat me at distance,” Chavez said. “He’s a very good fighter.”