The younger, bigger, stronger man did what younger, bigger, stronger men do.
And in boxing terms in Las Vegas on Saturday night, that meant 25-year-old Canelo Alvarez was the man of the hour in scoring a wide unanimous decision over 35-year-old Miguel Cotto in their WBC middleweight championship fight atop a pay-per-view card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
The win, in addition to improving the red-headed Mexican to 46-1-1 in a decade-long pro career, provided his second weight class championship and positioned him for myriad big fight possibilities with many of the sport’s highest-profile starts.
Alvarez got official scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111, or 11-1, 10-2 and 9-3 in rounds.
CBS Sports scored it slightly closer for Alvarez, 116-112 ? or 8-4 in rounds.
?It’s a great victory for me, and not just for me but for all of my country,? Alvarez said. ?For all of my people, my family and especially for my team. I’ve got a great trainer and he’s the one who brought me here from nothing. I didn’t know what a jab was and now we’ve gotten to this level.?
Alvarez had held a world title at 154 pounds before losing it to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what had been the most lucrative fight in Las Vegas history before Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao in May.
Saturday’s fight was at a contracted weight of 155 pounds, but it is recognized as the middleweight championship by the WBC because had dethroned Sergio Martinez for the title in 2014.
The Rhode Island-born Puerto Rican lost for the first time in three years, and the first time in four fights with new trainer Freddie Roach.
Alvarez titillated fans in the audience after the fight by indicating a willingness to meet unbeaten slugger Gennady Golovkin, who holds the IBF, IBO and WBA belts in the division and was in attendance.
?If you want me to fight him right now, put the gloves on and I’ll fight him right now,? Alvarez said. ?I respect he’s a great champion, but right now I’ll put the gloves on against him.?
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Welcome to our coverage of Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez from the Mandalay Bay center in Las Vegas. Cotto comes into the bout the ‘linear champion after having his WBC middleweight belt stripped for not paying sanctioning fees of $300,000. Alvarez comes in as the favorite in this bout and can walk away the champion with the belt if he is victorious.
We will have you covered with everything and anything surrounding Saturday night’s main event.
Fight Card
Vacant WBC Middleweight title: Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) def. Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) by unanimous decision.
WBC Junior Lightweight title: Francisco Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) def. Takashi Miura (29-3-2, 22 KOs) by TKO
Junior Featherweights: Guillermo Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KOs) def. Drian Francisco (28-4-1, 22 KOs) by unanimous decision.
Featherweights: Ronny Rios (25-1, 10 KOs) def. Jayson Velez (23-1-1, 16 KOs) by unanimous decision.
