Two undefeated champions would step into the ring Saturday night in San Antonio, TX to unify the WBA and WBC Light Middleweight titles. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez would be defending his WBC title, while Austin Trout would defend his WBA title.
This fight would be the biggest test Canelo has faced to date. Many have said that Canelo’s previous opponents have been too small and out matched. Trout was said to be a larger light middleweight and could withstand the power that those previous could not.
Prior to the event starting, it was said 40,000 people would fill the Alamodome Canelo vs. Trout. By the time the time the main event started, the arena was full and it seemed the 40,000 number was reached.
The arena was definitely Pro-Canelo, but you could hear faint chants for Trout leading up to their walkouts. Austin Trout was set to walk out first. As soon as his face hit the big screen, the boos erupted in unison. Once Trout entered the ring, the volume had come down to normal. There was a brief pause, and then the mariachi music hit. 40.000 fans stood up and began screaming and cheering for Canelo. Words can’t express the decibel reached in the arena.
As soon the opening bell sounded, it seemed as if every fan in the arena was on their feet cheering for their fighter; although it seemed like it was only Canelo fans in the arena. The opening round was much of a feeling out round for both fighters, but if you’re listening to the fans, Canelo was doing the most scoring. It seemed as if Canelo blinked, the fans were up cheering.
Throughout the early rounds, you could tell that Trout was not afraid of Canelo’s power by willing to stand and trade with him. There was back and forth battling of combos and effective defense. The one thing that stood out early was the body work of Canelo. He attacked Trout’s body early and often. This could have been his way of trying to slow down the larger Trout. Throughout the fight, Trout landed some clean shots, but none seemed to have had much of any effect on Canelo.
The dynamic of the fight changed in the seventh round when Canelo was able to do what Trout’s previous 26 opponents fail to do. Canelo landed a devastating straight right that sent Trout to the canvas for the first time in his professional career. It seemed as if Trout had recovered during the round, but Canelo landed a big right hand that made Trout almost replicate the Zab Judah dance. Trout was able to keep on his feet.
During this fight, the WBC and Texas Athletic Commission chose to use an open scoring system. This allowed the corners to know how the judges scored the rounds after rounds 4 and 8. By the time the 8th round had ended, Canelo was up heavily on the cards and Trout would need a knockout to win. Knowing this, it seemed as if Canelo took the rest of the rounds offy, and only chose to fight in spurts unlike the earlier rounds.
Toward the end of the fight, Trout knew he needed the finish to get the win. Trout landed some clean, flush shots to Canelo’s jaw, but there was nothing on them. Trout was gassed from the body shots early on and it showed with the lack of punching power.
Many of the rounds could have gone either way. I felt Canelo captured 8 rounds by the amount of damage done. Trout was more active during the fight, but never did enough damage to threaten Canelo. After the fight when the scores were read, one score stood out. A judge scored the fight 118-109. This score was atrocious. This fight was nowhere near this one-sided. Something has to be done about the judging.
During the post-fight interview, Canelo was asked if he’s ready to fight and if he would like to fight Floyd Mayweather next? Canelo responded, “I hope so. Maybe, maybe.” This was a solid test for Canelo; the largest of his career. Although he passed, there are still holes in his game. The fight was closer than the cards shown. Who’s next for Canelo?