September 30th was a big night at the fight capital of the world in Las Vegas, Nevada as we witnessed a battle between two undisputed champions take place at the T-Mobile Arena. Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was taking on the undisputed light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo.
Canelo was originally supposed to take on Jermell Charlo’s twin brother and WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. The proposed fight between Canelo and Jermall Charlo did not go through and it opened up the opportunity for Jermell Charlo to get in the ring.. After the matchup shakeup, Canelo mentioned that he did not care which twin he was going to end up fighting.
With Jermell Charlo being the one that signed to fight Canelo, this meant it became a battle of undisputed champions as Charlo holds that status at 154 lbs. This meant that Charlo was going up two weight classes from 154 lbs to 168 lbs to take on the Mexican superstar in Canelo Alvarez.
The fight began and as expected, Canelo received a loud pop inside the T-Mobile Arena. After receiving a warm welcome from the fans and providing an electric walkout with Mexican artist Santa Fe Klan, Canelo Alvarez started off the fight on the front foot.
Canelo’s forward pressure was proving to be too much for Charlo. Charlo was being forced against the ropes in many sequences throughout the fight. Canelo was applying some relentless pressure on the undisputed light middleweight champion. Everywhere Charlo would go, he was met by a youthful looking Canelo Alvarez.
Round after round went by and Canelo would continue to rack up points on the judges’ scorecards. He continued to chip away at Charlo.
During the seventh round, Canelo had Charlo against the ropes once again and landed a hard overhand right which ended up putting Charlo down. A dejected looking Charlo made it to the end of the round.
Canelo would go on to show the way throughout the final rounds. Charlo simply could not find his rhythm and flow inside the ring as he continued to receive punishment from Canelo. The trend remained the same and the fight went to the scorecards. Similarly to how the oddsmakers suggested with Canelo being placed as a -420 favorite going into the fight, the Mexican champion ultimately received the nod from the judges.
Charlo showed his respect to Canelo post-fight and expressed his desire to fight the undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who recently captured the undisputed status at 147 lbs with a dominant performance over Errol Spence Jr. back in July. He also believed that he did not feel as himself in there giving the jump up in weight classes.
“I wish I could have gained a little bit more weight from the weigh-in to that time but I can’t control my body,” Charlo said after the fight. “I love boxing so I’m not going anywhere.”
Canelo on the other hand declared his wish to fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend once again and stated that he does not care who the man is standing across from him that night.
“This is Canelo, I’m back,” Canelo said.
Result: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (59-2) def. Jermell Charlo (35-1) via UD (118-109, 118-109, 119-108)
