Canelo Alvarez defends titles, dominates Jermell Charlo in undisputed champion vs champion clash
Showtime Boxing returned to us tonight, September 30, 2023, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Headlining the event was a historic main event clash of undisputed champions as WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, and Ring Magazine super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2) faced off with WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, and Ring Magazine light-middleweight champion Jermell Charlo (35-2-1).
Charlo jumped up two divisions to make his 168 lb debut tonight to challenge Alvarez for his super-middleweight championships in attempt to become a two-division world champion.
Coming into the bout, Charlo knocked out his latest four opponents, three of which came in title fights, seeing him avenge both his lone defeat and draw in the process.
Alvarez on the other hand, following defeat to Dmitry Bivol in 2022 where he attempted to become a two-time light-heavyweight champion, came into tonight’s main event off back-to-back victories over Gennady Golovkin in their trilogy, and then John Ryder, both wins of which saw him defend his titles.
Continue reading to see how this super-middleweight championship main event went down:
Official Result: Canelo Alvarez def. Jermell Charlo via unanimous decision (119-108, 118-109, 118-109)
Rounds 1 & 2
Alvarez dictates the center of the ring throughout round one, Charlo having a tough time getting his jab going.
Following just one punch landed in the opening round, Alvarez begins to dominate the fight in the second, mixing his heavy combinations to the head and body well.
Rounds 3 & 4
It’s all Alvarez through the opening nine minutes, who continues to walk Charlo down whilst throwing heavy leather.
Alvarez looks sharp tonight, much sharper than he’s looked in his latest three appearances. His jab, left hooks to the body and head, and his overhand rights are landing at will through the first four rounds.
Rounds 5 & 6
Charlo continues eating heavy shots into round five, though he remains fairly unfazed by them. He’s returning fire and landing some good left hooks of his own, but still is forced to get them off backing up.
Alvarez has a strong finish to round six, teeing off on Charlo up along the ropes.
Rounds 7 & 8
Alvarez secures his first knockdown of the fight in round seven following a nasty overhand right, just the second time Charlo had ever been knocked down in his career.
Alvarez continues to land those nasty left hooks of his into round eight, Charlo landing good shots of his own in return.
Rounds 9 & 10
Charlo has a good start to round nine, landing a good combination early on, though he’s unable to keep it going and gets tagged up from there on.
Canelo has another dominant three minute span following round ten, walking Charlo down and landing at will.
Rounds 11 & 12
Charlo has shown his incredible durability tonight, taking all sorts of heavy shots to the body, head, and arms from one of the harder punchers in the sport today.
Canelo finishes the fight strong, though he’s for the fourth time in a row unable to secure the knockout. That being said, though Charlo was jumping up from 154 lbs, he did appear to be the bigger man in the ring.
This was a good showcase from Canelo Alvarez, who showed he still has a lot left in the tank with 64 pro fights at 33 years of age.
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