Terence Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) defeated Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
There were so few punches landed by Crawford in each round that it was hard to score the fight, as he spent much of the contest moving. His movement limited his and Canelo’s output to a trickle. It was the same strategy that Canelo’s last opponent, William Scull, used against him.
The scores
- 116-112
- 115-113
- 115-113.
“If we do it again, it’s going to be great. I give the credit to Crawford. I feel great,” said Canelo when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Crawford again.
Results
Junior middleweight prospect Callum Walsh (15-0, 11 KOs) beat Fernando Vargas Jr. (17-1, 15 KOs) by a dull workman-like 10-round unanimous decision in the chief support fight.
The match was supposed to be an exciting one that set the table for the headliner superfight between Canelo and Crawford. Instead, it was a painfully boring match between two not-ready-for-primetime players, Walsh, 24, and Vargas Jr.
In the seventh, Vargas Jr. hit Walsh repeatedly with left hands that had the crowd cheering loudly. Some of his shots strayed low, causing Walsh to complain to the referee each time.
The scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90. Walsh looked robotic and slow with the way he fought, throwing left hands. He used a lot of jabs and stalked the smaller Vargas Jr. throughout the fight.
Mbilli and Martinez Fight to a Split Draw
WBC interim super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) and unbeaten challenger Lester Martinez (19-0-1, 16 KOs) battled to a closely contested 10-round split draw. It was a contest that arguably could have gone to Mbilli, as he was the busier, cleaner fighter of the two, but the judges couldn’t agree.
Martinez was the harder puncher of the two and landed a lot of big uppercuts. However, Mbilli finished the rounds strong in the last 30 seconds, overwhelming the Guatemalan-born Martinez with punches.
The judges’ scores were 97-93 for Martinez, 96-94 for Mbilli, and 95-95.
Lester Martinez was pushing off throughout the fight, using his forearm and shoulder to force Mbilli off. The referee never mentioned this tactic from Martinez, but he should have, as it was the only way he could keep Mbilli from overwhelming him with his volume. Without that illegal tactic, Martinez might have lost the fight because he couldn’t match Mbilli’s output in close. So, he was forced to shove with his forearms and shoulders.
Alakel Survives Tough Test Against Crawford
Super featherweight prospect Mohammed Alakel (6-0, 1 KOs) battled to a 10-round unanimous decision over Travis Crawford (7-5, 2 KOs) in the first fight of the main card. The judges’ scores were 99-91, 98-92, and 98-92.
It was supposed to have been a dominating performance by Alakel, 21, but he didn’t look good, struggling much of the time against Crawford. Indeed, Alakel was hurt by a right hand from Crawford late in round nine and took a lot of punishment in the tenth.
He tried to fight Crawford off in the final round, but the 22-year-old Corpus Christi, Texas native walked through his light shots to tag him with repeated headshots throughout the three minutes of round 10. Luckily for Alakel, Crawford wasn’t a big puncher because he would have been in serious trouble if he were.
Adams Defeats Bohachuk Again
Junior middleweight Brandon Adams (26-4, 16 KOs) dominated a tired and weak-looking Serhii Bohachuk (26-3, 24 KOs), defeating him by a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision in their long-awaited rematch. Bohachuk gassed out after two rounds and was worked over by the harder [unching 36-year-old Adams. The judges’ scores were 99-91, 98-92, and 98-92.
Bohachuk chose to fight much of the contest on the inside, which limited his power. He was smothering his power and unable to get any pop in them. He didn’t make any adjustments until the ninth round, and by then, Adams had built a wide lead. It was too late.
Bohachuk did appear to be more effective after he began fighting on the outside, but he had no strength. Adams still got the better of him.
Franklin Gets the Judges Against Dychko
Heavyweight Jermaine Franklin Jr. (24-2, 15 KOs) labored to a controversial 10-round unanimous decision over 6’9″ previously unbeaten Ivan Dychko (15-1, 14 KOs) in a fight that could have gone the other way.
Franklin Jr. looked severely out of shape and landed very few punches in the contest. Dychko initiated most of the action in the fight, but was holding excessively in every round after the first. In the eighth, referee Harvey Dock penalized Dychko for his holding. He’d warned him several times before about this, but he failed to follow his instructions.
The scores were 96-93, 95-94, and 97-92.
Santana Smashes Nelson in One
Raiko Santana came out swinging and never let Steven Nelson breathe. He battered him for most of the opening round, and with 30 seconds left the referee had no choice but to wave it off. Nelson protested, but the damage was clear. Four straight wins now for Santana, who didn’t even need a second round to prove his point.
Verde Breaks Down Akale
Marco Verde kept his unbeaten record intact with a vicious stoppage in the fourth against Sona Akale. The Mexican pressed from the start, wore Akale down, and closed the show with authority. A ruthless finish that got the crowd roaring early.
Tsutsumi Blows Out Martinez
Reito Tsutsumi needed less than a round to flatten Javier Martinez. He tore through him with ease, forcing the referee to step in. Martinez offered little resistance; Tsutsumi’s power and pressure made it one-way traffic.
Almohamed Cruises Past Caraballo
Sultan Almohamed boxed safely to sweep the cards 40-36 across the board against Martin Caraballo. He controlled the action without taking risks. Professional, but hardly memorable — a clear win with little excitement.