Miguel Cotto vs Canelo Alvarez PPV Weigh-in 11-20-2015 WBC Middleweight Title Miguel Cotto 153.5 vs. Canelo Alvarez 155 photo Credit: WILL HART
LAS VEGAS -Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto promised a lot. Expected a lot. One promise was fulfilled. Alvarez delivered on a vow to himself and his country.
“This is for all Mexicans’’ he said in a tone that was accented by a sense of relief.
Yeah, Alvarez beat Cotto Saturday night and claimed a vacant World Boxing Council middleweight title that been stripped from Cotto, who refused to pay the sanctioning fee.
But it was decisive on only the scorecards. The judges were unanimous. Burt Clements scored it 118-110. Dave Moretti had it 119-109. On John McKaie’s card, it was 117-111. All for Canelo.
But the Mexican fought the last round as though he wasn’t sure how it would go. Mexican fans in the Mandalaly Bay crowd appeared to hold their collective breath before Michael Buffer prepared to announce the scores. After Buffer did, they broke into celebratory song, but it too had a tone of relief.
There was uncertainty. Cotto made sure of it with a varied attack, agile footwork and a resilient ability to elude and often absorb Canelo’s powerful uppercuts and combinations. Where there was relief in Canelo’s tone, there was a look of anger in Cotto, who left the ring without talking to HB O, which scored the bout for Canelo, 117-111.
“He was tough,’’ said Canelo (46-1-1), 32 KOs), who collected $5 million, $10 million less than Cotto’s $15 million “He is a great champion.”
If you just judged the bout by the one-sided scores, however, Cotto was a chump.
“We thought the fight was a lot closer than the scorecards showed,,’’ Cotto trainer Freddie Roach said. “Miguel’s defense was terrific all night.’
Cotto went to his dressing room. Jay Z of Roc Nation, Cotto’s promotional company, was there and congratulated him.
For Cotto, it wasn’t immediately clear what he would do next. Fight again? retire?
For Canelo, the immediate question is whether he will defend the WBC title in in a mandatory against Gennady Golovkin
“I’m not afraid of any fighter,’’ said Canelo, who has it all, yet wasn’t sure of it until it was all over.
Vargas wins wild bout, scoring TKO for super-featherweight title
There was skill. There was will. In the end, there was Francisco Vargas.
Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) overcame a nasty cut beneath his right eye, a knockdown in the fourth round and a moment in the eighth when he looked beaten. In a triumph of resilience, Vargas found the energy to unleash a wild succession of powerful blows to score a ninth-round TKO over an equally-resilient Takashi Miura (29-3-2, 22 KOs) Saturday night for the WBC’s super-featherweight title on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo card at Mandalay Bay.
Vargas caught Miura with a left uppercut, a left hook and right-left combo. Miura stumbled and fell. He scrambled onto unsteady feet and held his hands up as if to say he was okay. He wasn’t. He held on, almost hugging Vargas and looking almost unconscious. A violent succession of blows from Vargas followed. That’s when referee Tony Weeks ended it, a TKO at 1:31 of the ninth.
Miura also was knocked down by a left and short ring in the first. But he quickly recovered and began to take control of the bout with power in both hands. A straight right followed by a piston-like jab knocked down Vargas, of Mexico City, in the fourth
Same Old Yawns: Ringondeaux wins a dull decision
Trouble sleeping? Take a few rounds of Guillermo Rigondeaux.
There’s not much different about boxing’s version of sleep medication. Rigondeaux has a new contract with Roc Nation and another chance at enlivening his career. Yet, everything else about the two Olympic gold-medalist is the same. Still Rigondull.
The Cuban (16-0 10 KOs) induced boos before slumber Saturday on the HBO telecast of Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez in a unanimously dull decision over Filipino junior-featherweight Drian Francisco (28-4-1, 22 KOs). He scored all the points with a minimalist style that limits punches and earning power.
The television lights went on, yet there wasn’t much to illuminate.
Ronny Rios of Santa Ana, Calif., and Puerto Rican Jayson Velez fought through a featherweight bout that was hard to score and hard to like Saturday night in the first HBO-televised bout on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card at Mandalay Bay. In the end, Rios (25-1, 10 KOs) prevailed, winning 97-92, 96-93, 95-94 decision over Velez (23-0-1, 16 KOs). Rios’ superior quickness and aggressiveness allowed to him to throw — and land — more punches.
All of the power belonged to Puerto Rican lightweight Albert Machado. All of the chances, too.
Tyrone Luckey, of Long Branch, NJ, was simply in the way. Luckey had no chance and none of the good fortune his name might suggestSaturday. Machado (12-0, 10 KOs) dropped Luckey (8-5-2, 6 KOs) early the the first round and a again with right hook, late in the first. Just like that, its was over — Machado a TKO winner at 2:44 of the first round of the fourth bout on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card. at Mandalay Bay.
Martinez races to a unanimous decision in third bout on Cotto-Canelo card
Puerto Rican junior-bantamweight Jose Martinez got booed. Got the win, too.
Martinez (16-11 KOs) kept his distance for the final minutes of an eight-round bout after engaging in punishing, inside exchanges with Oscar Mojica (8-1, 1 KOs), of Dallas throughout the first seven rounds of the third bout on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card Saturday night at Mandalay Bay.
Martinez’ elusive tactic was a down payment on ensuring victory. Boos were part of the price. Martinez ran, ran all the way into a unanimous decision over a frustrated Mojica.
Chinese heavyweight overcomes knockdown to win second bout on Cotto-Canelo card
-It says Big Bang on the back of Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei’s trunks.He survived one Saturday.
Zhilei (6-0, 3 KOs) got dropped onto his nickname, yet emerged with a unanimous decision over Juan Goode (6-3, 5 KOs) in the second bout on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card at Mandalay Bay. Goode, of Taylor, Mich., landed a huge right in the fourth round, but that wasn’t enough for him to overcome the points advantage held by Zhilei, who won 38-37 on all three scorecards.
Cotto-Canelo show opens with first-round stoppage
The show started quickly. It was a first-round stoppage. If you weren’t paying attention, you would have missed it.
Turns out, only a handful of ushers missed this one. Nobody else was in a building full of only echoes and empty seats when San Antonio super-featherweight Hector Tanajara Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) landed a straight right hand that put Mexican Jose Fabian Naranjo on his knees 2:10after the opening bell of the first fight on Saturday’s Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card at Mandalay Bay. Naranjo stayed on the canvas, looking as though he never saw th punch either.
