Eleider Alvarez disposes of Michael Seales brutally

For six rounds it was tactical and not very exciting.

For one second it was brutal.

Eleider Alvarez (25-1, 13 KOs) returned to the ring after a lengthy layoff to knockout Michael Seales at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY Saturday night.

Alvarez applied the coupe de gras with the same hand that won the light heavyweight title from Sergey Kovalev in 2018, the right. Seales must not have got the email. Alvarez can punch, even though his record (12 KOs coming in) doesn’t suggest it.

Just ask Kovalev and Lucian Bute.

The first two rounds were more about respect than fighting—though Alvarez was able to foreshadow the end by catching Seales with right hands over his opponents low left.

Boos cascaded around the arena as the action remained slow. Alvarez was winning, but not impressively.

The taller Seales, who entered the bout with 13 first rounds knockouts, was trying to catch Alvarez with one shot. It wasn’t to be. He followed but didn’t punch much. Alvarez drew first blood from Seales (24-3, 18 KOs) nose in round six. Seales was trying to keep his chin tucked, but Alvarez was zeroing in.

Alvarez was scoring points with his stinging jab in round seven before emphatically ending things. After his counter right connected perfectly off the jaw, he let out a scream. Seales didn’t hear it. He was on his back, his head resting on the lower rope, valiantly trying to get up.

He didn’t make it.

“During training camp, we practiced the right hand over and over,” said Alvarez. “I was out of the ring for 11 months. I wanted to come back as the fighter that beat Kovalev, and this is what we practiced for.”

He did it.