Canelo Alvarez’s last two big fights have both been mired in controversial scoring, but tonight he got the duke over Daniel Jacobs, and it’s not likely to cause much real outrage.
Alvarez won on scores of 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112 from the ringside judges. Bad Left Hook had the fight 115-113 and 117-111 for Canelo.
With the win, Alvarez adds the IBF middleweight title to his collection, which already included the WBC and WBA titles, as well as the Ring Magazine championship.
Canelo (52-1-1, 35 KO) boxed well early, but Jacobs (35-3, 29 KO) hung around the fight and kept things competitive throughout, connecting with good shots to turn the tide in a round now and then, but probably just not doing quite enough to really earn the win, which is how the judges saw it.
The fight, for action, never really sparked, but that wasn’t unexpected. This always figured to be a tactical affair that went the distance, and that’s what we got. There was even some booing at the lack of action in the 11th round, and for action it probably peaked in the eighth, getting a rise out of the crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“We knew he was going to be a difficult fighter, but we did things the right way,” Alvarez said through a translator after the victory.
Asked about facing Gennadiy Golovkin for a third time, Alvarez was defiant, and said nothing about GGG “needing a belt” to get the bout.
“For me, we’re done, but if the people want another fight, we’ll do it again, and I’ll beat him again,” Canelo said. “That’s what I was born for, to fight, to defend what’s mine, and I’ll fight anyone.”
Jacobs was upbeat despite the setback, satisfied with his overall performance.
“He’s a tremendous champion, I take my hat off to him. I gotta go back and review the tape, but I gave my all out there,” Jacobs said. “It took me a couple rounds to get my wits about me, to figure out his rhythm. He was a fast guy, very slippery. It was a great contest today. I look forward to the future.”
Jacobs said he does feel like he deserved the win, but didn’t go nuts about anything, simply repeating that he’ll review the fight later.
CompuBox saw Canelo landing on 188 of 466 (40%) total punches, and 120 of 264 (46%) of his power shots, both strong connect percentages. Jacobs was 131 of 649 (20%) total, and 89 of 359 (25%) on his power punches. Canelo won the jab battle, 68-42, and outlanded Jacobs to the body, 58-30.
Source: badlefthook.com
