- The WBC previously said that David Benavidez will be Canelo’s next fight
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Any indication that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is on the downside of his career was dashed on Saturday in Las Vegas when the face of boxing dismantled challenger Jermell Charlo to claim an easy unanimous decision victory.
To his credit, Charlo didn’t get knocked out and never looked overwhelmed, except in the seventh round when he was forced to his knees.
Charlo even had a few impressive moments in the fourth and fifth rounds, but was ultimately outclassed by Canelo, who had success with his jab throughout the night.
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Canelo pounded Charlo into the ropes for most of the fight on Saturday in Las Vegas
Alvarez applied pressure and kept Charlo on the ropes for much of the fight
Charlo was solid in the fourth and fifth rounds, but couldn’t keep up with Canelo in all twelve rounds
Alvarez has spent the last decade making Las Vegas his second home.
He came here to fight Jose Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 10, 2010, and Alvarez immediately felt the support of his fellow Mexicans.
Alvarez won that fight by technical knockout in the second round, the first of 17 trips to Las Vegas.
“I think it’s the capital of boxing,” Alvarez said of Las Vegas before the fight. “I just feel like I’m coming home because a lot of Mexicans go there and support me. “That’s why I like fighting in Vegas and there’s a lot of history there.”
The 33-year-old Alvarez was a big part of that story, whether it was beating Gennadiy Golovkin twice and another fight ended in a draw, or defeating Shane Mosley, Daniel Jacobs or Sergey Kovalev. His fondest memory is the one-sided unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto in November 2015.
“He’s a great champion,” Alvarez said in the ring after that fight, “but now it’s my era.”
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman previously stated that David Benavidez will be Canelo’s mandatory challenger for the super middleweight belt.
But Alvarez has not committed to facing Benavidez, a 26-year-old who is 27-0 and has defeated all but four by knockout. If Alvarez beats Charlo and Benavidez turns it down, the WBC would likely lose his championship.
“I’m going to win (against Charlo), but I don’t know what’s next,” Alvarez said. “I will sit down with my team and talk about it because I am 100% focused on this fight.”
As for his possible options after Charlo, Alvarez said his intention is to “make the best fights possible.” “We’ll see after this fight.”
Canelo lost by unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022, despite all three judges scoring the fight 115-113. Alvarez rebounded with a unanimous decision over Golovkin a year ago and easily beat John Ryder on the scorecards in May. But Triple G had seen his best boxing days and Ryder was simply outclassed.