adminLAS VEGAS. — Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez unified boxing’s 160-pound division on Saturday night, earning a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs in a fight that pitted two of the world’s top middleweights with three world titles on the line.
Alvarez kept his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles and seized Jacobs’ International Boxing Federation belt in a bout that marked the Mexican’s return to the middleweight division.
Alvarez said his hard work in the gym paid off and there was very little Jacobs did that came as a surprise.
“It is just what we thought it would be,” said Alvarez, who became the first Mexican champ to hold three major titles in a single division.
“We did our job. We showed a lot of diversity, in terms of punches and combinations. It was a beautiful fight.”
Alvarez won on all three judges’ scorecards, with two having it 115-113 and the other 116-112. This was Alvarez’s first fight of 2019 but the second fight of his five-year 11-fight $365 million deal with the boxing streaming service DAZN.
Since losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2013 Alvarez has gone 10-0 with one draw including five knock-outs. At the age of 28, he is still in his prime, having improved his record to 56-1-2 with 35 knockouts.
Alvarez’s penchant for taking on all comers and his exciting style has elevated him to become one of the biggest stars in boxing, but it was his boxing skills and especially sound defence that stood out against Jacobs on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena.
He dominated the early rounds, landing power jabs and slipping head shots by Jacobs in a manner that would have made Mayweather proud. — AFP.
Online Reporter