It?s predictable and understandable, yet still a bit silly, that boxer Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez is being touted as the carrot-topped savior of the sport.
Yes, Alvarez is a terrific fighter. Yes, his third-round knockout of James Kirkland in Houston on May 9 was sensational. Yes, Alvarez-Kirkland qualifies as an antidote to the widespread fan dissatisfaction created by Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s ?ho-hum? victory over Manny Pacquiao the previous Saturday.
Alvarez (and Kirkland, too, in making his face so available to Canelo?s fists) gave those fans exactly what they wanted ? a barroom brawl, albeit a brief one.
Flash back, though, to the September 2013 fight in Las Vegas, Nev., between Alvarez and Mayweather.
Did Alvarez give the fans what they wanted that night? No, unless they were craving the cool breeze he generated by missing on 78 percent of his punches. At least he did a bit better than Pacquiao, who connected on only 19 percent against Mayweather.
Mayweather, even more masterful that night than he was against Pacquiao, defeated Alvarez by majority decison. Judge C.J. Ross, who scored the bout a draw, was widely excoriated and hasn?t worked a fight since. The cards that favored Mayweather read 117-111 and 116-112, and many ringside observers didn?t think it was that close.
Alvarez, to his credit, made no excuses. Unlike Pacquiao, he didn?t say he thought he?d won the fight. Unlike Pacquiao, he didn?t talk afterward about a bum shoulder.
?It was simple: I couldn?t catch him,? Alvarez said. ?(Mayweather) was very elusive. He?s a great fighter. I did not know how to get him. He is very intelligent. He?s got a lot of experience. Honestly, I couldn?t find him.?
Alvarez?s own trainer, in the buildup to the Kirkland fight, compared his boxer?s plight against Mayweather to that of a blindfolded kid swinging at a pi?ata.
So, do we get it now? In a matchup between a boxer and a puncher, it?s up to the puncher to pursue and pressure the other guy into fighting his fight.
Against Mayweather, the best pure boxer of his generation, Alvarez and Pacquiao failed. If either or both of those fights were ho-hum affairs, it was their failure that made them so. Mayweather simply did what he does, effectively and often brilliantly.
Not liking Mayweather the person ? what?s to like? ? is, for this discussion, beside the point.
The point is this: The name of the sport hasn?t changed. It?s boxing.
TROUT FALLOUT: Las Cruces junior middleweight Austin Trout has gotten positive reviews for his victory by seventh-round TKO over Luis Galarza on May 9 in Hidalgo, Texas.
Trout (29-2, 15 knockouts) was scheduled to face veteran Anthony Mundine (47-6, 27 KOs), but the Australian fighter withdrew after suffering an ear injury. Trout had few problems against Galarza (20-4, 14 KOs), sending him to the canvas in the fifth and sixth rounds before the bout was stopped in the seventh.
The New Mexico boxer now has scored four knockdowns in his last 17 rounds, reversing what had been a disturbing trend. Trout had been knocked down once each in losses to Alvarez and Erislandy Lara and twice by Daniel Dawson before rallying to win by unanimous decision.
Accounts of the Galarza fight describe Trout as having punched effectively to the body, a welcome trend that began with his victory by seventh-round stoppage over Luis Grajeda in December.
THUNDER AND THE ROCK: Northern New Mexico boxing cards staged on the same night some 10 miles apart, at Buffalo Thunder and Camel Rock casinos, produced exciting and closely contested main events.
Despite their proximity in time (May 9) and space, according to online reports, both were well-attended.
At Buffalo Thunder, Albuquerque?s Jodie Esquibel (7-7-1, two KOs) earned the women?s NABF light flyweight title with a victory by eight-round split decision over Mexico?s Mayela Perez (11-19-4, seven KOs).
At Camel Rock, Espa?ola super bantamweight Tony Valdez (8-4-5, seven KOs) fought to a six-round draw with Gilberto Mendoza (5-4-1, one KO) of Modesto, Calif.
BACK ON THE HORSE: Albuquerque-based junior welterweight Ranee Ganoy (36-12, 33 KOs) has accepted a fight against unbeaten New Yorker Cletus Seldin (16-0, 13 KOs) on June 19 in Huntington, N.Y.
The WBC International Silver title in that weight class will be at stake, said Jacob Maes, Ganoy?s manager.
Ganoy, from the Philippines by way of Australia, is coming off a loss by majority decision to Albuquerque?s Josh Torres at the Convention Center on April 11.
