Canelo Alvarez Destroys Sergey Kovalev in 11th Round – Boxing News

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By Anthony “Zute” George

As I settled in to watch the light heavyweight championship fight between Saul Canelo Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev, I wonder what we would be in store for. You might not know this about me, but I adore the light heavyweight division. I remember first seeing Eddie Gregory handle, who I thought was the superior fighter in Marvin Johnson; Gregory changed his name to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, but nothing about his great boxing ability changed. I remember following Michael Spinks, then years later watching great light heavyweight fights such as the two Prince Charles Williams and Bobby Czyz fights, the trilogies between Jeff Harding and Dennis Andries, and Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones as well as many fights involving Sergey Kovalev. Would this fight make this great division proud?

Then I wondered if Kovalev would get a fair shake, he certainly did not get a fair shake against Andre Ward, in either fight, but that conversation is for another time. He certainly was not getting a fair shake with the purses either. Canelo is to be getting paid $35 million, compared to $3 million for Kovalev, but that a conversation for smarter business man than I.

I was also apprehensive about having Dave Moretti and Don Trella as judges. The winner of this fight should be decided fair and square, but when Canelo, Moretti, and Trella are involved, buyer beware.

With that said, I kept an open mind that these men would not do a lousy job with their pad and pencil this evening.

When the bell rang to start the fight, and it took forever for that to happen, more on that another time, I was excited. I thought it would be a better fight than both of Canelo’s fights against GGG, as well as his match with Daniel Jacobs. The script of the fight was pretty clear at the start. Sergey tried to fed Canelo a steady diet of jabs, while Canelo tried to come forward in a calculated manner, looking for that money left hook upstairs.

The first seven rounds more or less saw this pattern, with the rounds being very tough to score. Round eight saw Canelo significantly back up for the first, as he was looking to trap Sergey into a hard counter. But it was a clear round for Sergey. Round nine also saw an edge for Kovalev, as the round saw both men try and fight more. The tenth round also appeared to be a Kovalev round because he did well in the second half of the round.

Round eleven saw an advantage for Canelo right from the start. He had success slipping the jab, and it appeared as if all the energy from Sergey’s punches were sapped from him. Kovalev was now fighting like a fearful fighter who was just hoping the round would end before the damage came. That would not be the case, as Canelo’s methodical game plan finally came to fruition as he landed a thunderous left hook that put Kovalev in an immediate vulnerable position. Canelo came back with a short, crisp right hand that put Sergey down for good.

Canelo is now a light heavyweight champion, and there is a lot of talent in this division if Canelo indeed wants to stay there. The fight itself was more interesting than exciting, as it appeared Sergey was landing some good power shots here and there, but Canelo has a great chin, and just trying to keep him at bay with a left jab was not the ideal game plan, but it might have been the only way Sergey Kovalev could go deep into the fight. This fight is another piece of history in a great division, but it was not a very robust piece. An average fight at best. But a historic one for Canelo.

At the time of the stoppage, Don Trella had the fight even at 95-95, while Dave Moretti and Julie Lederman had Canelo ahead 96-94. Indicating that Trella and Moretti appeared to be having one of their better nights, as the fight was close, up until the destruction (Julie Lederman is typically a solid judge).

Canelo is an all-time great, no doubt about it. As he is one of the great fighters of his time. And that is all that he can be. The best thing about him is his book is far from closed. When Canelo was asked if he would stay competing at the light heavyweight division, Canelo said he is taking a wait and see approach.

Stay tuned…

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