Alvarez takes middleweight title over Cotto

The Mexican fighter came through with his promise during weigh-in, when he said he would put all his effort into the bout against Cotto. “Our goal is to win the fight”, said Cotto in the ABC News report. Alvarez would be declared the WBC champion if he wins the bout, but the title would be vacant if Cotto wins.

Every top fighter in the middleweight division has avoided the powerful knockout artist known as GGG to this point, but the Kazakhs star has still emerged as one of boxing’s biggest stars.

“We knew going into this fight that it would be a hard journey, but I feel that I was the faster and stronger fighter tonight”. Mayweather and Pacquiao spent years playing the political game, and their goals were trying to be the best boxing attraction in the sport.

But they know each other well and have sparred together several times. “I thought we won the fight”.

“Anything he can bring, I’m ready for it”, Alvarez said.

Cotto expressed disappointment in the judges’ decision, but left the ring before speaking. Cotto didn’t have the pop in his shots to put Alvarez in any type of danger.

Vargas won a piece of the 130-pound title, but paid a price to do it. He was knocked down once and staggered at the end of the eighth round, and the ring doctor looked closely at his swollen right eye before allowing the fight to continue in the ninth.

Roach preaches about how good Cotto’s defense was versus Alvarez. “That I’m at this level shows the quality of my trainer”.

The first couple of rounds took place at a sedate pace, as Cotto attempted to use his movement to gstay at range and away from Alvarez’s power – a strategy that proved reasonably successful at times.

The entire fight was as competitive as could be as both fighters clashed in a battle of skill, in a definite match-of-the-year contender. He landed 40 percent of power punches against Cotto (118-of-298). Most were on their feet in the final round when the two went toe-to-toe in the early moments of the round.

After an impressive victory, Alvarez now appears set to return on May 7, taking over the annual Cinco De Mayo Saturday fight date that has recently been ruled by Floyd Mayweather, and hasn’t been headlined by an A-side Mexican or Mexican-American fighter since 2007, when Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya. The red-head known simply as “Canelo” among fans has consistently drawn big, enthusiastic crowds. Alvarez buckled Cotto with a left uppercut, with the pride of Puerto Rico showing the heart of a champion with multiple shots to the body, including his signature left hook to the body.

“Is he going to fight Triple-G?” I’d like to think maybe a rematch, but we’ll see.

“Going to 154 is definitely an option we’ll pursue because going into the fight he weighed 159 and his opponent weighed like 175”.

Canelo threw 484 punches and connected 155 of them for a rate of 32 percent while the defending champion, who vacated the title days before the fight after not paying sanctioning fees, actually threw more with 629, but only landed 129 for a 21 percent rate, via The Guardian.

While the win by Alvarez over Cotto was the biggest of his career, fans can only hope it won’t be long before he’s in a fight that is even bigger.