WBC super welterweight title fight
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (c) vs. Shane Mosley
Round 1
People can criticize boxing for failing to create new stars all they want but the way Golden Boy has brought Alvarez along has been inspired with this being the Mexican super welterweight's second appearance in the featured match spot on a Mayweather Mexican Holiday supershow. And in Mosley he's clearly being fed an opponent more name than fighter in 2012 with "Sugar" having looked decidedly ropey in his past three fights. This should be his coming=out party.
Mosley pushes the action at the start of the round, pumping the jab out as Alvarez falls back with his hands up high. Alvarez purely on defense for the first minute as he feels out the veteran. Alvarez is not working enough which is surprising as when he lets his hands fly he easily connects due to Mosley's slow reactions. Makes it a difficult round to score as Mosley fought more but Alvarez fought better in spurts. I'd just give it to Mosley.
10-9 Mosley
Round 2
The first half of the round is much like the first with Alvarez feeling Mosley out while staying on the defense with his hands up high. However midway through he connects with a couple of uppercuts that signal him stepping his offense up a gear. Alvarez lends several hard punches to the head of Mosley that clearly give the veteran a big jolt. Mosley's slow handspeed means that he just cannot defend against the Alvarez power punches.
Alvarez's round. 19-19
Round 3
Really good round for Alvarez marred only by the champion suffering a cut above the right eye by a clash of heads. Alvarez picked up where he left off in the previous round, with the younger fighter mixing hooks and uppercuts well to constantly keep his veteran opponent off balance and uncomfortable. While he never he got the opportunity to open up and put Mosley under sustained pressure as towards the end of the second, he was always first to the punch and did the most damage.
29-28 Alvarez
Round 4
Mosley standing his ground better in the fourth round, trying to pump the jab and land the odd right hand. Mosley targeting the cut above the eyebrow. However Alvarez again showing the better hands, tagging Mosley on multiple occasions with punches such as the left hook, right hand and uppercut. He hasn't however had Mosley reeling like he seemed to towards the end of the second.
39-37 Alvarez
Round 5
Another round for Alvarez who looked really good as he worked the body of Mosley with hook shots and connected with several right hands. He also with the best punch of the round snapped Mosley's head back with a strong jab. Mosley hanging in there and is certainly putting in a more active, entertaining performance than he has since the Margarito fight. But he just looks too old against the speed of Canelo.
49-46 Alvarez
Round 6
Strong round from Alvarez as Mosley is guilty of fighting directly in front of him and so leaving himself directly in the line of fire. Alvarez puts together offense much as the previous rounds but he was able to do more of it, particularly putting together combinations to the head on the inside. Mosley still doing well even if his lack of speed is sadly apparent. This is proving a far more entertaining and dare I say it competitive fight than expected.
59-55 Alvarez
Round 7
This felt like the key round as Alvarez put Mosley under sustained pressure and seemed to have the older fighter hurt as Mosley became less sure on his legs and having a beaten look on his face. But under sustained pressure Mosley refused to fold, looking to grab old of the champion and deny Canelo the space he needs to continue the onslaught of power punches. This is a really fun fight with both men playing their roles perfectly — Alvarez the young prospect and Mosley the gritty veteran who won't quit.
69-64 Alvarez
Round 8
The highlight of the round visually was Mosley backing up Alvarez on the ropes and just unloading on rapid fire punches. Unfortunately almost all the punches landed on the gloves on the champion. While Mosley looked better through the round I still cannot deny Alvarez the points as he landed the better, harded punches throughout.
79-73 Alvarez
Round 9
My god what is in Mosley's chin? Alvarez connects with a nasty body shot after stunning the veteran with a strong jab, and then poured forward in the final minute of the round with numerous power punches as he tries to blast Mosley out of the fight. But as beaten and battered as "Sugar" is, he just won't go down. Great fight!
89-82 Alvarez
Round 10
Another round for Alvarez as he continues to impose himself on a Mosley who just will not accept defeat. Absolutely incredible performance from the veteran who's been very gutsy to stand up to this punishment from the young heavy handed phenom.
99-91 Alvarez
Round 11
The pace of this fight is incredible considering Alvarez having been criticized in the past for wanting to only want to fight in spurts while Mosley looked to have no stamina left in his fights aganist Mayweather, Mora and Pacquiao. These two have just gone at it for 10 of the 11 rounds, setting a brisk pace for men of their size and just throwing leather. The way Alvarez has been able to consistently connect with power punches and Mosley stand up to such punishment is impressive.
This round is more of the same and its 109-100 Alvarez going into the last round.
Round 12
The crowd comes unglue as the fight ends with a round where both fighters gave everything after a furious 36 minutes, with Mosley still desperately fighting against the Canelo onslaught of big power shots. Mosley just overwhelmed by the superior speed and power of his opponent while Alvarez looked very impressive as he stood up to Mosley's power, fought at a fast pace for the full fight and just connected with a scary number of nasty power punches. Great, great fight. I have it 119-109 to Alvarez but tremendous credit to Mosley.
Official decision: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez beats Shane Mosley by unanimous decision (119-109, 118-110, 119-10) to retain his title
