The Saul Alvarez win not as impressive as they had hoped Continue reading on Examine
In Saturday night’s title fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. for the vacant WBC super welterweight crown (147-154 pounds), Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KOs) registered a one-sided unanimous decision victory over the European champion Matthew Hatton (41-5-2, 16 KOs). The 20 year-old phenom from Juanacatlán, Jalisco, Mexico power punched his way to becoming the youngest WBC Champion ever. Although he completely outgunned Hatton the entire fight, he could not stop the determined brother of Ricky Hatton. All three judges scored the bout 119-108 for Alvarez.
What did you miss? The Honda Center was packed from top to bottom. In house was of course the big boss man, Oscar De La Hoya, sitting next to Amir Khan. Local Riverside Heavyweight Chris Arreola was here. This is what they call the scary star power of Canelo with his many fans wearing head bands (Rambo style) and there were a number of Mexicanos who dyed their hair red. Both guys had classic intro songs. Hatton went with the Karate Kid’s "You're the Best" and Alvarez used the music from Rocky IV, "Burning Heart."
As, has been the case, the people at ringside were making sly remarks about the Mexican hero with the different hair and different skin. “He looks Irish, understands Spanish and fights like George Foreman,” said Roy Jones. “I believe God is with this kid called Cinnamon,” said another gent.
Alvarez weighed in two pounds heavier than the agreed catch-weight of 150 pounds, but remained four pounds below the light-middleweight division's limit of 154. At first Hatton agreed to let the fight go ahead, but later claimed the Alvarez's size counted against him. Of course it did. It always matters when it comes to the power a boxer has behind each punch. The diminutive Hatton weighed in at 149.6 pounds, while Hatton weighed 152.
According to what I’ve been told, you’re supposed to forfeit 20% of your purse when you come in overweight. That would mean Alvarez’s $350,000 purse would end up being docked $35,000 going to Hatton and another $35,000 going to the California State Athletic Commission.
The Hattons, who had earlier threatened to pull the plug on the match if Alvarez pulled such a stunt, reportedly reiterated that the match would be off if Alvarez could not make the check weight of 160 pounds at 3 p.m. Saturday. Some ringside observers claimed Alvarez had blown up to 165 pounds by that time.
Regarding the actually match, it was so one sided most observers thought it was only a matter of time before Hatton went down for the count. For instance, in Round #7, Canelo landed a fast five punch combo that caused Hatton to hold on and tie him up. To avoid trouble, Hatton then took a knee after the two boxers traded rabbit punches. The crowd booed, but it didn’t matter; Hatton got what he wanted a break in the action.
Hatton’s remarks after the fight: "He's a fantastic fighter, but he was just too big. He never really hurt me. It was just a size difference. I want to go back down to my natural weight at welterweight (140-147), and hopefully I'll get another shot there. When you get an opportunity to fight for a title, you can't turn it down."
Comments after the fight:
“He has the title now. If he wants to play the I'm still young card, he shouldn't have said I want to fight for the title which he now has. He simply didn't seem eager to fight the best. If he still wanted to mature, he could have kept fighting for the silver belt. Now if he defends the belt against some legit contenders then I won't have any complaints. He could end up like Berto, who has a belt but many people question whether he’s only fighting lackluster opponents.”
“I know he’s basically a kid at 20 years old, but if you want to sit at the big boy table you don't get to use that as an excuse. You build up to become a world champion. You don't win a questionable (by many) belt and then work your way to being a world champion.”
“This fight was all about using (Matthew) Hatton, who’s small and light, to put a belt around Canelo’s tummy.”
“Criticism was levied at Alvarez for hitting Hatton on the break and yet Hatton was a habitual holder and also hit Alvarez on the breaks.”
“Alvarez had absolutely no respect for Hatton’s punches.”
“Funny point in the match was when the boxers met for the first time in the center of the ring. They did their normal stare down and then Alvarez gave Hatton a belittling tap on the top of his bald head.”
“Hatton had won his last four fights (two by knockout) after going with his new trainer, Bob Shannon. Did they really think the new trainer was going to make that big of a difference?”
“The issue about the catch weight of 150 pounds: Alvarez already had an advantage by getting to fight a smaller guy. Then he refused to make the weight, missing it by two pounds and then re-blemishing his body weight taking it all the way up to 165 pounds. How much of an advantage does one need?”
Bouts of interest on the Alvarez versus Hatton undercard
In Bout #1, James Kirkland wasted no time unleashing an avalanche of powerful blows on the unsuspecting Ashandi Gibbs who went to the canvas lickety-split, at just 0:34 of round one. Kirkland stood over Gibbs like he was daring him to get back up and face even more wrath. It was as if he had done pay-back for Gibbs saying something nasty about his Mom. With the win, Kirkland improved to 26-0-0, with 23 KOs while Gibbs fell to 10-3, 4 KOs.
In Bout #2, Daniel Jacobs tried to match Kirkland’s feat and immediately charged after Robert Kliewer. He soon landed a hard right hand that dropped Kliewer to the canvas. Kliewer got up but not for long. Referee Ray Corona wasted no time in waving off the bout. Since Jacobs’ stoppage took 1:44 of round one, Kirkland won their bet. Jacobs improved to 22-1-0 with 19KOs while Kliewer dropped to 11-13-2, 5 KOs.
In the co-main event, a ten-rounder for the vacant WBO intercontinental junior lightweight title, Adrien Broner won a very close unanimous decision victory over Daniel Ponce De Leon. Broner remains undefeated at 20-0-0 with 16 KOs, while De Leon drops to 41-3-0, 34 KOs.
In a scheduled 10 round heavyweight match, undefeated prospect Seth Mitchell had no problem using Charles Davis as his punching bag. Mitchell dropped Davis with a left hook in the first round and then dropped him three more times in the second round prompting the referee to wave off the bout. Mitchell improves to 21-0-1 (15 KOs) while Davis falls to 19-22-3 (4 KO
Continue reading on Examiner.com: The Saul Alvarez win not as impressive as they had hoped - San Diego boxing | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/boxing-in-s...as-impressive-as-they-had-hoped#ixzz1Fx9hiBOH
In Saturday night’s title fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. for the vacant WBC super welterweight crown (147-154 pounds), Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KOs) registered a one-sided unanimous decision victory over the European champion Matthew Hatton (41-5-2, 16 KOs). The 20 year-old phenom from Juanacatlán, Jalisco, Mexico power punched his way to becoming the youngest WBC Champion ever. Although he completely outgunned Hatton the entire fight, he could not stop the determined brother of Ricky Hatton. All three judges scored the bout 119-108 for Alvarez.
What did you miss? The Honda Center was packed from top to bottom. In house was of course the big boss man, Oscar De La Hoya, sitting next to Amir Khan. Local Riverside Heavyweight Chris Arreola was here. This is what they call the scary star power of Canelo with his many fans wearing head bands (Rambo style) and there were a number of Mexicanos who dyed their hair red. Both guys had classic intro songs. Hatton went with the Karate Kid’s "You're the Best" and Alvarez used the music from Rocky IV, "Burning Heart."
As, has been the case, the people at ringside were making sly remarks about the Mexican hero with the different hair and different skin. “He looks Irish, understands Spanish and fights like George Foreman,” said Roy Jones. “I believe God is with this kid called Cinnamon,” said another gent.
Alvarez weighed in two pounds heavier than the agreed catch-weight of 150 pounds, but remained four pounds below the light-middleweight division's limit of 154. At first Hatton agreed to let the fight go ahead, but later claimed the Alvarez's size counted against him. Of course it did. It always matters when it comes to the power a boxer has behind each punch. The diminutive Hatton weighed in at 149.6 pounds, while Hatton weighed 152.
According to what I’ve been told, you’re supposed to forfeit 20% of your purse when you come in overweight. That would mean Alvarez’s $350,000 purse would end up being docked $35,000 going to Hatton and another $35,000 going to the California State Athletic Commission.
The Hattons, who had earlier threatened to pull the plug on the match if Alvarez pulled such a stunt, reportedly reiterated that the match would be off if Alvarez could not make the check weight of 160 pounds at 3 p.m. Saturday. Some ringside observers claimed Alvarez had blown up to 165 pounds by that time.
Regarding the actually match, it was so one sided most observers thought it was only a matter of time before Hatton went down for the count. For instance, in Round #7, Canelo landed a fast five punch combo that caused Hatton to hold on and tie him up. To avoid trouble, Hatton then took a knee after the two boxers traded rabbit punches. The crowd booed, but it didn’t matter; Hatton got what he wanted a break in the action.
Hatton’s remarks after the fight: "He's a fantastic fighter, but he was just too big. He never really hurt me. It was just a size difference. I want to go back down to my natural weight at welterweight (140-147), and hopefully I'll get another shot there. When you get an opportunity to fight for a title, you can't turn it down."
Comments after the fight:
“He has the title now. If he wants to play the I'm still young card, he shouldn't have said I want to fight for the title which he now has. He simply didn't seem eager to fight the best. If he still wanted to mature, he could have kept fighting for the silver belt. Now if he defends the belt against some legit contenders then I won't have any complaints. He could end up like Berto, who has a belt but many people question whether he’s only fighting lackluster opponents.”
“I know he’s basically a kid at 20 years old, but if you want to sit at the big boy table you don't get to use that as an excuse. You build up to become a world champion. You don't win a questionable (by many) belt and then work your way to being a world champion.”
“This fight was all about using (Matthew) Hatton, who’s small and light, to put a belt around Canelo’s tummy.”
“Criticism was levied at Alvarez for hitting Hatton on the break and yet Hatton was a habitual holder and also hit Alvarez on the breaks.”
“Alvarez had absolutely no respect for Hatton’s punches.”
“Funny point in the match was when the boxers met for the first time in the center of the ring. They did their normal stare down and then Alvarez gave Hatton a belittling tap on the top of his bald head.”
“Hatton had won his last four fights (two by knockout) after going with his new trainer, Bob Shannon. Did they really think the new trainer was going to make that big of a difference?”
“The issue about the catch weight of 150 pounds: Alvarez already had an advantage by getting to fight a smaller guy. Then he refused to make the weight, missing it by two pounds and then re-blemishing his body weight taking it all the way up to 165 pounds. How much of an advantage does one need?”
Bouts of interest on the Alvarez versus Hatton undercard
In Bout #1, James Kirkland wasted no time unleashing an avalanche of powerful blows on the unsuspecting Ashandi Gibbs who went to the canvas lickety-split, at just 0:34 of round one. Kirkland stood over Gibbs like he was daring him to get back up and face even more wrath. It was as if he had done pay-back for Gibbs saying something nasty about his Mom. With the win, Kirkland improved to 26-0-0, with 23 KOs while Gibbs fell to 10-3, 4 KOs.
In Bout #2, Daniel Jacobs tried to match Kirkland’s feat and immediately charged after Robert Kliewer. He soon landed a hard right hand that dropped Kliewer to the canvas. Kliewer got up but not for long. Referee Ray Corona wasted no time in waving off the bout. Since Jacobs’ stoppage took 1:44 of round one, Kirkland won their bet. Jacobs improved to 22-1-0 with 19KOs while Kliewer dropped to 11-13-2, 5 KOs.
In the co-main event, a ten-rounder for the vacant WBO intercontinental junior lightweight title, Adrien Broner won a very close unanimous decision victory over Daniel Ponce De Leon. Broner remains undefeated at 20-0-0 with 16 KOs, while De Leon drops to 41-3-0, 34 KOs.
In a scheduled 10 round heavyweight match, undefeated prospect Seth Mitchell had no problem using Charles Davis as his punching bag. Mitchell dropped Davis with a left hook in the first round and then dropped him three more times in the second round prompting the referee to wave off the bout. Mitchell improves to 21-0-1 (15 KOs) while Davis falls to 19-22-3 (4 KO
Continue reading on Examiner.com: The Saul Alvarez win not as impressive as they had hoped - San Diego boxing | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/boxing-in-s...as-impressive-as-they-had-hoped#ixzz1Fx9hiBOH
