Touted as the fight of the year, decade… and possibly, century, Floyd Mayweather’s fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Saturday (September 14) at Las Vegas’ MGM Arena was just another day at the office … as he easily won a majority decision.
Two judges scored the match in favor of Floyd, while C.J. Ross — who scored the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight for Bradley — saw a draw… upsetting the crowd and the winner, who later admitted he was shocked.
“I’m not in control of what the judges do. I’m a lil shocked at whoever had him ahead, but things happen in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in the post-fight interview. “You live and you learn. Everything’s a learning experience. I’m just thankful to all the fans who came out to support me, and support Canelo.
“Canelo is a young, strong champion. I take my hat off to him,” he continued. “I take my hat off to the country of Mexico. Mexico has produced some great champions throughout the years. Canelo is a champion, a true champion at heart… and a true champ like Canelo can take a loss and bounce back.”
The bottom line was: the 36-year-old was simply too good. His lightning-fast quickness and technically superior defense was too much for the 23-year-old champion… and by the end of the fight, he was outpointed by a wide margin.
Canelo tried, but failed to land anything of note throughout the evening. Most punches, his opponent either slipped, dodged, or took on the arms and shoulders. All night, penetrating Mayweather’s defense was near impossible for the Mexican fighter.
However, in the later rounds, there was a moment that could’ve changed things when Canelo was able to land a hard, overhand right hand, catching Mayweather squarely on the chin. But, Mayweather proved that, in addition to his technical skills, he also has a chin… and continued to dance around after.
“He’s a strong competitor. He’s a strong champion. It’s nothing I never felt before after being in the sport for over 20 years,” Floyd said.
That was all she wrote, though. While Floyd picked him apart with punches from the outside, and ducked outta the way from any counters, Canelo was tiring… and outta gas by the final rounds, fighting with his mouth closed from chasing his opposite around the ring all night.
“I didn’t know how to get him. It’s as simple as that,” Canelo said post-fight. “He’s elusive and it’s hard to get to him. He’s a great fighter and we were trying to catch him all night.”
Mayweather improved to 45-0, while Alvarez’s record dropped to 42-1-1.
Floyd was guaranteed a record $41.5 million-dollar purse, but with PPV sales of three million or more, promoter Richard Schaefer had previously said he could walk away with around $100 million, though it’s unlikely. His TMT (The Money Team) brand was pulling in a lot of money with lines forming at stands selling merch throughout the week.
Canelo is guaranteed $5 million from the fight, but will reportedly earn more than $12 million from Mexican television contracts.
Speculation has already begun about Mayweather’s next fight… but he refused to comment.