This past weekend, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mexican star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez won a split decision over Erislandy Lara. The match was a tactical battle of two highly skilled warriors, so it is no wonder that the judges did not see this one the same way.
Watching the Mexican broadcast, the tone of the announcers makes it clear you will not find a Mexican who thinks Alvarez lost. Alvarez worked all night coming forward, trying to close the distance and cut off the ring. Alvarez did his best work on the inside, where he worked the body of Lara and caught him with hard shots.
All the while, Lara danced, and used his precision and superior reach to hit Alvarez with shots throughout the match. It was clear in the interview that Lara thought he was winning the match with his strategy of movement and precision strikes. His movement at times made Alvarez miss quite badly, and aside from a little cut above his right eye, Lara was unscathed after the bout, while Alvarez had developed swelling and reddening under his eye.
Lara made immediate calls for a re-match, feeling the decision was unjust and that he had clearly outboxed Alvarez.
That re-match is not likely to be next for ‘Canelo’. The young Mexican turns 24 next week and is taking some time off, and he is looking at a November return to the ring. For November, look for him to be matched up against the re-furbished Miguel Cotto, possibly in Madison Square Garden.
Cotto has been spoken about as a potential opponent for ‘Canelo’ for a long time now, and with Cotto riding high after his big victory over Sergio Martinez in his last outing, the date for ‘Canelo’ with the Puerto Rican superstar who is a massive draw in his own right seems like the right move from a business perspective. Though Cotto’s star is up, expect him to be the underdog heading into a showdown with ‘Canelo’. Purely from the perspective of his following, expect the oddmakers to come in with Alvarez as a favorite when a line gets put up at the books.
