By: William Holmes
Canelo Alvarez (43-1-1), the number one ranked junior middleweight boxer, met the second ranked junior middleweight Erislandy Lara (19-1-2) in the main event of tonight’s pay per view telecast.
The venue looked close to capacity by the time the national anthems of Cuba, Mexico, and United States were sung. Erislandy Lara was the first man to walk into the ring and was met with a chorus of boos. Canelo, of course, was met with a chorus of cheers by a raucous crowd inside the MGM Grand as he walked towards the ring.
The following is a round by round recap of tonight’s main event.
Round 1:
Lara, a southpaw, has a five inch read advantage over Canelo and he also had a visible height advantage. Lara lands an early jab from the outside. Lara steps out of the way of a jab from Canelo. Lara is bouncing in and out of Canel’s range in the first thirty seconds. Lara with a quick combinations. Lara with another jab. Lara showing good motion and movement early on. Another good jab from Lara and Canelo is short with a hook to the body. Lara with a right cross to the body. Canelo bounces a right hook off the guard of Lara. Lara seems content on fighting on the outside and moving out of the range of Canelo. Lara lands a straight right to the body. Canelo lands a hard hook to the body of Lara. Lara with a good left cross right jab combination. Lara with another nice combination upstairs and stays on the outside as the first round comes to an end. 10-9 Lara
Round 2:
Lara starts off the second by pawing his jab in the face of Canelo. Canelo short with a right hook to the body and lara responds with a jab to the face and then a cross to the body. Canelo lands a right cross and Lara loses his balance but holds on the rope to stay up. Canelo lands another right cross, but Lara splits the guard of Canelo with a left cross. Canelo digs a hook into the body of Lara and Lara answers with a three punch combination. Canelo is more active with his jab in the second round than the first. A clinch occurs in the center of the ring and both boxers are warned to watch their feet. Lara bounces a three punch combo off of Canelo’s guard. Canelo digs a good right hand to the body of Lara and hits his body again. Good two punch combination from Lara and Canelo dips down and lifts Lara up in the air. Lara moving well and ducks under a left hook from Canelo. Lara with two more good jabs. Lara lands another jab and a hard left cross. Canelo lands a left hook to the body and Lara complains to the referee that it hit him in the back. Close round, 10-9 Lara; 20-18 Lara.
Round 3:
Canelo takes the center of the ring at the start of the third and Lara pumps his jab at the face of Canelo. Canelo misses with a wild right uppercut but follows it with a right hook to the body. Lara lands a straight left hand down the pike. Lara is constantly circling and moving. The crowd can be heard chanting Spanish derogatory term in response to Lara’s style. Lara connects with a good jab. Canelo misses again with a wild right hook. Lara looks light on his feet and is making Canelo move. Lara is popping Canelo at ease. Good straight left from Lara. Canelo again misses with a wild right hook. Lara lands another two punch combination. Clear 10-9 round for Lara; 30-27 Lara.
Round 4:
Lara again stays on his horse and moves away from the power of Canelo. Canelo finally lands a good left hook to the body and chases Lara to land another hard right hook to the body. Canelo lands another hard right hook to the body of Lara. Lara lands a combination upstairs. Canelo lands a heavy right hook to the body of Lara. Canelo has landed sixteen total body shots so far. Canelo ducks under a hook from Lara. Canelo is the more aggressive fighter. Lara lands a clean left cross. Canelo is staying consistent with his body attack. Canelo is developing a mouse underneath his right eye. Lara connects with a good counter left hand. Canelo misses with a wild right hook. 10-9 Canelo; 39-37 Lara.
Round 5:
Canelo again takes the center of the ring and misses with another looping right hook. Lara lands a good check right hook. Canelo lunges in with a lead right hook, but Lara later responds with a two punch combination and moves out of the way. Canelo with a three punch combination to the body of Lara. Canelo with two more vicious body shots on Lara. Lara connects with a lead left hand. Canelo sticks two more left hooks to the body of Lara. Canelo lands a straight right to the head of Lara. Lara looks to be slowing down a little bit with his movement. Canelo with a three punch combination to the body of Lara. Lara is not active enough with his punches this round. Canelo stalks Lara as the round comes to an end. 10-9 Canelo; 48-47 Lara.
Round 6:
Canelo starts of the sixth round in the center of the ring again while Lara stays on the outside. Lara with a good jab in the center of the ring and then lands a counter left hand. Both boxers get their feet tangled up. Lara moving away in a circular motion. Lara barely misses with a counter left hand. Canelo misses with a wild left hook. The crowd is booing Lara’s fighting style. Lara may be moving away too much and not throwing enough to win the round. Canelo with a three punch combination to the body of Lara. Lara moving and Canelo rushes forward and lands several shots to the body as the round comes to an end. 10-9 Canelo; 57-57.
Round 7:
Lara sticking the jab in the face of Canelo at the opening moments of the seventh round. Lara lands a two punch combination. Lara connects with a lead left hand. Lara ducks under a hook from Canelo. Lara lands another lead left hand. Canelo connects with two hooks to the body of Lara. Lara lands a jab to the head of Canelo. Lara lands a two punch combination and then moves out of the range of Canelo. Canelo with three hooks to the body of Lara. Lara lands a good right hook to the head of Canelo. Lara lands a straight left hand and Canelo responds with a hook to the body. Lara has a bad cut over his right eye. Canelo digs another hard left hook to the body of Lara. Canelo with two more uppercuts to the body of Lara. Lara with a two punch combo and then moves out of the way. 10-9 Lara; 67-66 Lara.
Round 8:
Lara’s cut appears to have been handled well by his corner. Canelo eats two early jabs from Lara. Lara lands a good left cross and moves out of the way. Canelo with a good right cross to the body. Lara again dances out of the way of Canelo’s power. Lara lands two left hooks to the head of Canelo. The crowd is starting to boo the action in the ring. Lara lands a short jab on Canelo. Canelo with a lead left hook to the body of Lara. Good three punch combination that ends with a right cross upstairs. Canelo lands a rare jab and a right cross to the body of Lara. Lara’s cut has opened back up. Lara lands another lead left cross. 10-9 Canelo; 76-76.
Round 9:
The cut over Lara’s right eye is very deep. Canelo continues to stalk Lara and lands a left hook to the body. Lara with a left jab and Canelo lands a left hook to the body. Lara lands a combination and then tags Canelo with a left cross. Canelo is workgint the body of Lara when he gets in tight. Canelo stalking Lara, but Lara lands a two punch combo and move sout of the way. Canelo opens up a combination with a jab and hooks to the body. Canelo lands another jab to the face of Lara. Good right jab from Lara. Lara slips to the floor and can be seeing pawing at his cut. 10-9 Canelo; 86-85 Canelo
Round 10:
Lara is staying on the outside again and lands quick combination early on in the start of the ninth round. Lara with a short quick jab on Canelo and moving side to side. Canelo with a left hook to the body and a short right uppercut on the inside. Canelo eats a hard two punch combination from Lara. Canelo digs more hooks to the body of Lara. Lara with a lead left cross on Canelo. Lara is light on his feet again. Canelo is continuing to try to walk Lara down but he’s not as effective this round. Canelo is a little short with his punches. Canelo lands a good left to the body of Lara. Lara lands a good two punch combination. Canelo ends round a little short on his punches again. 10-9 Lara; 95-95.
Round 11:
Canelo is talking Lara again, but he does not appear to be in a rush to get in on the inside. Canelo is short with two more right hands aimed at the body of Lara. Canelo ducks under a left cross from Lara. Lara lands a good short right counter on Canelo. Lara lands another two punch combination and moves out of the way of Canelo. Canelo digs a right hook into the body of Lara. Canelo with a two punch combination on Lara, and Lara answers with a combination upstairs. Lara flicks a jab in the face of Canelo. Canelo is short with a jab. The crowd is booing the action in the ring again. Lara with a lead left cross but Canelo answers with a right to the chin of Lara. Lara lands another short right hand counter. Lara lands a clean straight left. Lara again throws a straight left hand and moves out of the way. 10-9 Lara; 105-104 Lara.
Round 12:
Lara opens up with a three punch combination upstairs but Canelo is coming out very aggressively early on. He’s still short with most of his punches, but digs several hard hooks into Lara’s body. Lara lands a hard two punch combination on canelo and Canelo answers with short hooks to the body. Canelo lands a hard hook to the body and Lara lands a hook upstairs of his own. Canelo lands a jab and Lara connects with a counter straight left hand. Lara connects a straight left hand and moves out of the way. Lara sticks a jab in the face of Canelo. Canelo with a left hook to the body of Lara. Lara punches Cnaelo with a lead left. Lara cleanly lands a left cross to the body and Canelo lands two hooks to the body. Lara lands a two punch combination as the round comes to an end. 10-9 Lara, 115-113 for Lara.
The official scores were 115-113 Lara, 115-113 Canelo, 117-111 for Canelo Alvarez. ; Boxing Insider scored it 115-113 for Erislandy Lara.
