LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) punished a brave Alfredo Angulo (22-4, 18 KOs) over 10 rounds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena before referee Tony Weeks stepped in to halt the action after a huge uppercut from Alvarez. Some observers thought the stoppage was controversial and premature, however trainer Virgil Hunter had told Angulo only minutes earlier that he would stop the fight should it continue to go Canelo’s way.

Canelo began with urgency, throwing vicious uppercuts and hooks in close and landing powerful shots almost at will in the first round – making it a very long 3 minutes for his fellow Mexican. Continuing in the same vein in the second, Canelo began sitting down on his forceful punches, clearly keen to make a statement early on. Taking Alvarez’s punches gamely, Angulo came back with punches of his own – but just lacking the power of his younger opponent.

Virgil Hunter berated “El Perro” before the third, a round that showed the 31 year old – if he hadn’t realised already – what a tough assignment he was facing. Showing slightly more activity than the previous round, Angulo began putting combinations together. However it was the thunderous punches of Canelo to the head and the body winning the exchanges, including the intense ending skirmish in the third – where Angulo openly traded with an Alvarez beginning to tee off on his punches.

Angulo showed greater coyness in the fourth, covering up more effectively and moving his head as per Virgil Hunter’s instruction. Canelo’s feinting and dummying between uppercuts and bodyshots only occasionally fooling his compatriot. To no-one’s surprise Canelo’s workrate dropped in the fifth and sixth, as Angulo refused to relent in his come-forward style and making better use of the jab – going as far as to invite and beckon Alvarez for more action in round six.

Alvarez’s stamina again seemed to dwindle in the seventh, throwing sporadic jabs and heavy hooks to keep Angulo off of him. Angulo put together an impressive left hand, right hand and right hook combination to punctuate two of the fights slower rounds. The fight became furiously hot again in round eight as the two discarded their defences and traded, a slightly reckless Canelo in particular showing no respect for Angulo’s power.

Showing shades of Antonio Margarito – coming forward in the face of bruising punishment – “El Perro” was instructed to let his hands go and hit his opponent “everywhere” going into the ninth. Canelo had different ideas to counter this, opting to sway and bend at the waist with his hands down. Virgil Hunter’s advice changed considerably into round ten though, telling him he wouldn’t let his fighter have another round like the previous one. A prophetic piece of guidance it so turned out as Canelo threw an exaggerated uppercut early in the round, rocking Angulo’s head backwards. That the punch was so telegraphed and that Angulo did not react or see it coming was the greatest concern.

Referee Tony Weeks jumped in and stopped the action, perhaps early but in the context of the previous ten rounds, not without good reason. Sections of the Mexican fans booed and throw objects at the ginger-haired star and his team as they made their way back to the dressing room after the fight. But this was no Froch-Groves type stoppage, at points it was target practice for the flame-haired Mexican and the extent of the damage he was wreaking was evident on Angulo’s face at the final bell.

There is perhaps an irony that the fight was stopped in the same round as when Erislandy Lara stopped “El Perro.” Lara, ringside for the one-sided bout, is apparently being lined up to fight Ishe Smith in May. Though this did not stop the Cuban southpaw from confronting the Mexican superstar at the post-fight press conference, asking him why he had avoided his fellow junior middleweight after fighting in his division for so long. Alvarez’s response was far from positive to this long-extended invitation from Lara though.

A move to middleweight is widely expected given Canelo’s well-known problems with making weight and likely to be against the winner of Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez in June. It’s also conceivable that Cotto-Canelo is made regardless given the Puerto Rican’s PPV following and dwindling prowess in the ring

After the Mayweather reverse, the Guadalajara wrecking ball is swinging again.

Photo: Kevork Djanseziian(Golden Boy)