Too Much Canelo: Alvarez Stops Smaller Josesito Lopez
Photos by Tom Casino for SHOWTIME
by Gautham Nagesh
Mexican junior middleweight sensation Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was simply too big and too strong for Josesito Lopez on Saturday night. Alvarez methodically imposed his will on the game, but overmatched Lopez, scoring three knockdowns with body shots on the way to a 5th-round stoppage at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Lopez showed once again that his heart is as big as anyone in the boxing game, but the rest of him wasn’t enough to trouble Canelo. Lopez took a significant amount of damage before referee Joe Cortez finally stepped in to stop the carnage.
“Canelo’s a badass,” Lopez admitted after the fight. “We felt good. But I think the size was pretty different.”
Lopez came out looking almost as large as his opponent, despite spending most of his career two divisions lower at 140. Canelo is known as a puncher at junior middleweight and he took early punches from Lopez without batting an eye. Eventually an overhand right to Lopez’s chin showed Canelo was in the fight, but he spent most of the first round measuring his opponent.
Every punch Canelo throws comes with bad intentions, as Lopez found out increasingly toward the end of the opening round. He stood his ground as expected, but Canelo’s body punches sounded menacing when they landed. Lopez came out to fight in the second as expected, and gamely brought the fight to Canelo against the ropes. But Canelo absorbed the best Lopez had to offer, and responded with a few well-placed shots. His lefts to the body were particularly effective, but even his jab rocked Lopez to his heels.
Alvarez stalked Lopez patiently, like a caged predator that knows its prey is there for dinner and cannot escape. A combination punctuated by a digging left hook to the body sent Lopez down just before the bell to end the second. Lopez rose, bleeding from mouth and nose, hurting all over. It is a credit to his bravery that he even chose to answer the bell for round three. But answer it he did, this time looking to move rather than stay in the pocket with the larger Canelo. Another hard left to the body from Canelo appeared to hurt Lopez badly, and it took only a glancing blow to his high guard and a second left hook downstairs to brush him to the mat.
Lopez gamely rose, but Canelo came after him again, never rushing or wasting his blows. Lopez threw combinations with everything he had, but Canelo still forced him into the corner and punished him to the body and head. Even the best shots from Lopez had no visible effect on Alvarez. Canelo was simply too wide and too strong, and Lopez was clearly outgunned in every aspect of the fight. Despite this he fought on, answering the bell for the 4th round against a foe he had no chance of defeating.
Lopez tried to show more movement in the 4th, while Canelo grew increasingly confident in his attack. Canelo is an accurate puncher, having fought professionally almost 50 times at age 22, and Lopez is there to be hit. Lopez is a brawler, and he continued to stand and trade with the larger man. A low blow by Canelo earned Lopez momentary respite, but all it did was temporarily postpone the punishment. Canelo trapped Lopez against the ropes near the end of the round and unleashed a furious combination to the head and body. The punches all landed, and Lopez went down in a heap. Somehow he rose, but at that point the fight became borderline inhumane.
Lopez gamely came out jabbing in the 5th, but Alvarez patiently followed him to set up the right hand. His left to the body continued to back up Lopez, who spent far too much of the fight on the ropes. But Lopez also continued to throw punches, catching Alvarez with several clean power shots in the 5th. Lopez has been compared to Rocky Balboa and the amount of heart he showed in the 5th was reminiscent of the fictional heavyweight. But this fight was real, not pre-scripted.
Canelo bullied Lopez into the corner with 30 seconds left, and planted a series of right uppercuts, followed by one hard right hand. Cortez had seen enough. He stepped in to end it, confident that Lopez would never give in. It was the correct move. Lopez had done Riverside, Calif. proud, but Canelo was not going anywhere. Prolonging the fight would have robbed Josesito of a still-promising future at 147.
From the start, I had argued that this fight would be a mismatch at best, and a massacre at worst. Thankfully, Cortez had the good sense to stop that from happening in his last professional assignment. He rescued Lopez before too much damage had been done. Hopefully Josesito will get a real fight at welterweight, which he richly deserves. He would trouble almost anyone short of Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather; Tim Bradley would make sense, since the belt-holder is currently looking for an opponent.
As for Canelo, Mayweather and Pacquiao are exactly the fights we would like to see him take in the near future, after perhaps one final tune-up against a real junior middleweight contender. The winner of Miguel Cotto-Austin Trout would be an obvious pick, as would James Kirkland or Carlos Molina. But the latter probably presents too much risk for too little return, and Kirkland is currently in the process of sabotaging a promising career revival. So hopefully it will be Canelo against Cotto or Trout early next year.
Mexican puncher Jhonny Gonzalez lost his WBC featherweight title to Daniel Ponce De Leon by technical decision after both men sustained nasty cuts due to accidental headclashes. A second clash in the 8th round opened a gash above Jhonny’s right eye, impairing his vision and forcing the doctor to end the fight. De Leon was correctly awarded the unanimous decision by scores of 77–74 and 79–72 (twice).
Ponce De Leon looked like the stronger man throughout the fight, while Gonzalez played the role of the boxer from the outside. As the southpaw, Ponce De Leon bulled forward head-first at times, resulting first in a cut high on his brow in the 3rd round. The cut bled freely and partially obscured his vision, but Ponce De Leon handled it with composure. He scored a knockdown in the 6th after catching Gonzalez with a sweeping left hook and sending him halfway through the ropes with a leaping combination.
Gonzalez came back to stand his ground in the 7th round, landing a few solid combinations from the outside, but Ponce De Leon backed him up with a hook to the body followed by an uppercut. Gonzalez finally began showing the wear of 60 professional fights, his body breaking down and moving backward under the challenger’s assault. Even if he hadn’t been cut just one round later, it would have been a challenge for Gonzalez to make the final bell.
Ponce De Leon is a tough customer and he has given problems to the likes of Adrien Broner and Yuriorkis Gamboa. I’d love to see him provide a test for Gary Russell Jr., who is desperately in need of a quality opponent. Gonzalez has had a long and successful career, particularly after linking up with Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain. He may want to consider retiring while his faculties are still intact.
Marcos Maidana showed immediate returns from hiring trainer Robert Garcia on the undercard, boxing well before stopping Jesus Soto Karass in the 6th round of an absolute barnburner at welterweight. Maidana’s reputation as one of the sport’s most exciting fighters is well-earned, but he out-did himself on this evening against a larger fighter that was tougher than day-old brisket.
Both men landed some heavy shots in the first round, and the Mexican stood his ground well after tasting the Argentine’s vaunted punching power. But Maidana began jabbing and boxing well in the second, landing a number of vicious shots to his opponent’s unguarded chin. Maidana’s punches landed more cleanly, but the Mexican’s chin was chiseled out of granite. Even the hardest blows did little more than chip off splinters, where lesser men would crack.
Maidana came out like gangbusters in the 3rd, eschewing the jab and unloading his trademark right hands directly to the grill. Soto Karass stood his ground and landed a few power shots of his own, but his punches lacked the snap of Maidana’s. Still, it appeared for a while that Maidana’s one-punch KO power at 140 hadn’t come up to welterweight with him. Despite being the larger man, Soto Karass leaned in and gave up his height. He ate many punches as a result, but remained unmoved.
Things got heated after the 3rd when both men fired combinations late, with Maidana’s appearing to land well after the bell. The fighters stood in the middle of the ring and boxed to start the fourth, though Maidana was too quick and too slick for Soto Karass. He landed some hard shots with ease, and managed to avoid most of the Mexican’s better punches. But Soto Karass persevered and continued to come forward, his sheer size and strength giving him a chance against his smaller foe.
Referee Kenny Bayless took a point from both fighters for hitting on the break, and Soto Karass swarmed Maidana on the re-start. He trapped the Argentine on the ropes, but Maidana dodged artfully and boxed his way back to the center of the ring. Maidana has always been able to bang, but he showed far more ring savvy and defense than previous fights, on this night. The move to welterweight may finally succeed in bringing the best out of the man blessed with iron hands.
Soto Karass continued to pressure through the 4th and 5th rounds, unleashing a high volume of punches as Maidana dipped, ducked and exchanged hard shots. Maidana hit Soto Karass with a right hand clearly after the bell after the 5th, infuriating the Mexican. He came forward again in the 6th, as Maidana boxed and moved, backing the Mexican up with his jab. Still, Maidana was forced to hold several times, stunned briefly by the body work from Soto Karass. The Mexican’s size and chin looked to be too much for the South American puncher, and Maidana has always been vulnerable downstairs. By the start of the 7th, the Mexican was clearly in control.
Maidana flagged early in the 7th, and lost a second point for hitting Soto Karass with a low blow on the break. The foul seemed to wake up Maidana, who went back to moving and jabbing in the center of the ring. He landed a left hook, then a right hand, then backed up his foe with a hard straight right. Another left hook found home, but Soto Karass continued to march forward. Unfortunately for Soto Karass, he walked right into a one-two, followed by a double jab, and a straight right hand to his chin. He went down hard for only the second time in his career, and was saved by the bell after rising unsteadily.
Maidana came right after Soto Karass to start the 8th, battering him with a series of hard right hands. Several shots turned the Mexican’s head, forcing him back to the ropes, where Maidana continued to fire rights. Soto Karass was hurt and vulnerable, but also appeared to be firing back when Bayless stepped in to stop the fight. Regardless, Maidana was clearly on his way to doing serious damage, and deserved to win the fight. His punches are still lethal at welterweight, and his loss to Devon Alexander is now a distant memory. Throw Maidana in the ring with any passable welterweight and pretty much everyone that loves the sport would watch on TV.
Leo Santa Cruz battered veteran Eric Morel to the body for five rounds before his corner stopped the carnage in the televised opener. In the process, the Mexican defended his IBF bantamweight strap and outclassed the aging Puerto Rican in an entertaining firefight. The opening round saw both men stand toe-to-toe and trade heavy shots to the head and the body, with Santa Cruz hurting Morel at one point with an overhand right to the chin.
Morel landed some strong shots of his own, proving he still has some fight left, but he didn’t have the power to trouble the young titlist. Santa Cruz had Morel on the ropes early with a thudding combination; he then continued to stalk Morel around the ring and unload punches on the inside. Morel made things easier by staying in the pocket and leaving himself wide open for vicious left hooks to the body. Morel’s liver must look like Barney Gumble’s after the beating it took on this night.
Morel tried to incorporate more lateral movement in the third, but Santa Cruz had already sapped his legs with the early body work. Morel’s counters barely deterred his foe, as Leo kept marching in behind the high guard and firing hard left hooks to the body. Morel was soon trapped in the phone booth, eating hard shots and barely making a dent with his own. At only 20 years old, Santa Cruz is already a master of inside fighting. He would trouble any veteran with the way he digs hard to the torso.
Santa Cruz also maintains a furious pace, throwing more than a hundred punches in some rounds. By the 4th, the pressure and body work had taken their toll on Morel. He stood mostly in front and offered little resistance as the Mexican punished him with hooks and uppercuts. Morel looked to be retreating early in the 5th, dancing away and backing straight up as Santa Cruz advanced. Eventually Leo found his foe, forcing Morel to stand in the pocket once again.
Noticeable redness showed on the right side of Morel’s torso, where Santa Cruz had concentrated his attack. The kid may not be known as a puncher, but his blows definitely leave a lasting imprint. He continued to punish Morel, as the veteran looked ready to capitulate. Morel returned to his corner after the round, where his trainer elected to stop the fight. The former U.S. Olympian had been stopped for the first time in his career, making Santa Cruz officially a player in the bantamweight division.
The Mexican would be the ideal pick to fight the winner of Abner Mares vs. Anselmo Moreno, young as he may be. He has already shown a veteran’s savvy in the ring, and fighters of his age are hardly babied south of the border. Moreno may have too much craft for Santa Cruz, but a fight with Mares might be a potential blockbuster at the Mexican box office.
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