?Like we say in Mexico, ?We don?t (expletive) around. I don?t fear anyone. We don?t come to play in this sport??
Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a fight televised live on HBO PPV, WBC World middleweight champion Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs), the knockout artist from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, retained his title by starching former two-time champion Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs), the Fighting Pride of Bolton, Lancashire, England, with a right to the jaw at 2:37 of the sixth round.
Fighting out of the red corner in red and white trunks, Canelo started slow. Sometimes he looked clueless. He wasn?t putting his punches together. He was eating combinations.
Khan, fighting out of the blue corner in black trunks with burgundy trim, was tactical and assertive. A thinking man?s fighter, he had a game plan he executed to perfection.
Between rounds one and two Khan?s trainer, Virgil Hunter, told him, ?I told you he wouldn?t be able to deal with your speed.?
It was more of the same in rounds two and three. Khan was out-speeding and outthinking Canelo. He was beating the middleweight champion.
Canelo came on in rounds four and five. He was no longer chasing Khan. He was cutting off the ring. He landed crunching rights to the body. He wasn?t hitting air anymore.
Canelo was hitting Amir Khan.
Between rounds five and six, Canelo?s corner told him, ?You?re starting to wear him down. Let your hands go. Change ?em up. Don?t be overconfident.?
The fight between boxer and puncher was about to end. The dividends on those body shots had taken their toll.
A booming right to the jaw dropped Khan onto his back. He was unconscious when his head hit the canvas. It was lights out. A hush fell over the crowd. Canelo knelt beside Khan, almost as if in prayer.
It was good sportsmanship at its finest.
They peeled Khan off the canvas a few minutes later. He made it through the post-fight interview coherent and intact. He?s in a hospital for observation. He appears to be okay.
It was a spectacular knockout. It was a great fight while it lasted.
?People know me only for my power,? said Canelo after the fight. ?I have many more qualities in the ring and I showed that. I think people saw more of me.?
Canelo continues to improve.
?I knew things would be complicated in the beginning,? he added. ?But I knew they would come to my favor as the fight went on.?
Khan to his credit went out on his shield.
?I tried my best,? he said. ?I want to be the best, and I want to fight the best. That is why I took this fight.
?I?m one of those fighters who will step in the ring with whoever. I was getting in the ring with a big guy. Unfortunately, I didn?t make it to the end.?
When Canelo was asked when he would fight Gennady Golovkin, he said he would fight him right now.
?Like we say in Mexico, ?We don?t (expletive) around. I don?t fear anyone. We don?t come to play in this sport.?
