On
November 21st the focus of the Boxing world centered on the Mandalay Bay Events
Center in Las Vegas, NV for the much-anticipated battle between multi-division
world champion Miguel Cotto and former WBC Jr. Middleweight world champion Saul
“Canelo” Alvarez. Much of the focus in the week leading up to the fight
centered on the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) decision to withdraw its
recognition of Miguel Cotto as its Middleweight world champion for Cotto’s
failure to comply with the WBC’s rules and regulations and ruling that the
championship would be on the line for Alvarez only.
Despite
much of the attention being focused on the subject of the WBC Middleweight
world championship prior to the fight, the sport of Boxing was treated to a
fight that lived up to expectations when Cotto and Alvarez squared off in the
ring. For twelve rounds two of Boxing’s biggest stars engaged in a closely
fought tactical battle.
Many
of the rounds in this fight were extremely close and difficult to score. In
many ways, the bout was the definition of what most associate with a close
fight. Both fighters having their share of moments in almost every round and
neither really taking a backward step. When it comes to close fights where both
fighters are able to have their moments however, the challenge for the three
official judges scoring the fight as well as fans watching the fight is to see
and determine which fighter is able to be more effective with their offense.
Cotto
was the more active of the two fighters and was effective in his use of lateral
movement as a way to both set up his offense and defend himself from Alvarez’ punches.
Alvarez however, was the more accurate of the two fighters and seemed to land
the more effective punches. Although Cotto was more active throughout much of
this fight and landed his share of offense, he was not really able to hurt Alvarez,
back him up, or discourage Alvarez from coming forward.
As
the fight progressed, Alvarez’ naturally bigger size, ability to absorb Cotto’s
offense, ability to continue to apply pressure on Cotto and land the more
effective punches of the two gradually became the difference in the fight. In
the eyes of this observer, Alvarez was able to win several close rounds simply
by landing punches that did more damage even though Cotto was more active.
A
tactical Boxing match from the opening bell until the final bell where each
fighter is able to have periods of effectiveness is bound to create a
difference of opinion not only in terms of who won the fight, but particularly in
how the fight is scored. Unofficially, I scored this fight eight rounds to four
or 116-112 in points for Saul Alvarez.
Although
the score may appear lopsided and not accurate in terms of what is considered a
close fight, it is important to remember that fights are scored on a round by
round basis. Even though many of the rounds in this fight were very close,
Alvarez seemed to be more effective than Cotto in executing his offense. This
ultimately was the basis for my scorecard and how I arrived with an 8-4 margin
in favor of Alvarez.
The
three official Judges Burt Clements, John McKaie, and Dave Moretti turned in
slightly wider scores at the end of the twelve round championship bout. John
McKaie scored the fight 117-111 or 9-3 in rounds, Burt Clements turned in a
score of 118-110, or 10-2 in rounds, and Dave Moretti scored the bout 119-109,
or 11-1 in rounds all in favor of Alvarez. Even though there have been some in
the days following the fight that have called the scoring controversial and/or
believe that Cotto did enough to win the fight based on outworking Alvarez over
the course of twelve rounds, this observer believes the decision was accurate
although I believe the bout was closer than how judges Clements and Moretti scored
it.
With
the victory, Alvarez won the WBC Middleweight world championship in what should
be viewed as the biggest win of his career thus far. As for what is next for
Alvarez, it is logical to assume that a battle against unified WBA/IBO
Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin may be in the near future.
Golovkin also holds interim championship status in the WBC’s Middleweight
ratings per his victory in a defense of his unified world championship over
previously top rated WBC contender Marco Antonio Rubio in October of last year.
Whether
or not the WBC will mandate a unification bout between Alvarez and Golovkin to
take place sometime in 2016 remains to be seen. It will also be interesting to
see whether the WBA or IBO will mandate Golovkin to face a mandatory contender
in either sanctioning organization’s respective ratings before a bout with
Alvarez can take place.
It
will also be interesting to see how the upcoming Middleweight bout between top
contender Daniel Jacobs and former undefeated WBO Middleweight world champion
Peter Quillin on December 5th may factor into potential plans for a
Golovkin-Alvarez unification clash. Jacobs currently holds interim/regular
champion status in the WBA’s Middleweight ratings and one might argue that the
winner of that fight could be mandated by the WBA to face Golovkin at some
point in the future.
If
a bout between Golovkin and Alvarez does not take place in the near future, it
may be possible that a potential rematch between Alvarez and Cotto could take
place regardless of whether Alvarez’ world championship is on the line. The
fight between Cotto and Alvarez was very competitive and this observer believes
a rematch between the two would be embraced by Boxing fans and experts alike.
Although
it remains unclear as of this writing as to how successful the fight did in
terms of pay-per-view buys, it was successful in providing an entertaining
close battle between two of the sport’s biggest stars. A claim that cannot be
made for some of the sport’s recent major pay-per-view attractions. Why not
entertain the possibility of a chapter two between Alvarez and Cotto?
“And
That’s the Boxing Truth.”
The
Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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