Saul Canelo Alvarez wrote history last night. He became the youngest Mexican and just one of the few who won the title in four weight classes. Canelo defeated Sergey Kovalev, now former light heavyweight titleholder, with a monstrous knockout in the 11th round.
“I’m very thankful,” Alvarez said. “This is just a step in my career, in my history, and all I ask of you is to be patient because Canelo will make history. That’s a guarantee.”
Canelo sent a right hook to Kovalev’s chin, forcing him to drop his guard and lose his balance. After that came a terrifying right punch on the Russian’s top of the chin, which completely destroyed him
For one brief moment, it seemed that Kovalev lost his consciousness and was hanging on the ropes like a piece of paper. The referee in the ring didn’t want to count, and he called for help right away. The ropes, which are the boundaries of the ring, were helpful in this situation, as they prevented Kovalev’s free fall to the ground, preserving him from more injuries.
While the audience celebrated, Canelo was trying to calm them down because he wanted to see if everything is ok with his rival. The Mexican came to Kovalev to check out the situation before coming back to his corner.
The match started with Canelo pressuring Kovalev, who tried to keep the distance with his long jabs. The middleweight champion who jumped two divisions higher wanted to find a way to get close to the opponent and hurt his body, waiting for the chance to strike as he did in the end.
But as the fight progressed, Kovalev was better and better. In the latter phases, he won a few rounds, using his one-two combinations to strike from a distance. In the 10th round, he managed to scratch Canelo, who was inferior but wasn’t hurt at all.
But like in his previous fight with Anthony Yarde, Kovalev’s stamina was oscillating throughout the battle. Back then, he nearly escaped the young Brit, but now he couldn’t do the same against a much fresher Alvarez. His game plan was to wait for that one moment before exploding.
“The plan overall was patience, that was basically it — to have patience,” Alvarez said. “We knew it was going to be five, six rounds, and it was going to take some time for me to get him. But honestly, he’s a great fighter,” Alvarez said.
Meanwhile, Kovalev, too, admitted that he didn’t have enough power and that he didn’ recover properly from his match against Yarde.
“I didn’t recover from my last fight. But it’s OK. Thanks for the fight, Canelo. I have a big respect for him. He made history,” he congratulated to the opponent and the new champ.
What seems to be the next fight for Alvarez is the third clash with Gennadiy Golovkin. It appears that DAZN, with whom Canelo signed the most lucrative deal in history, wants to organize another chapter of this fantastic rivalry.
