Canelo Alvarez (42-0-1) pushed his stardom to new heights with a unanimous-decision victory over previously undefeated foe Austin Trout (26-1) on Saturday.
However, Trout shouldn't walk away from this fight with his head down too low; he did plenty to raise his stock in his defense of his WBA light middleweight crown. Despite the clean sweep on the scorecards, Trout put in a performance that proved he is one of the elite fighters in the 154-pound weight class.
It didn't change the final result, but Trout was able to execute his game plan, dictate the pace and out-box Alvarez for stretches of the fight. He showed incredible heart by rebounding from the first knockdown of his career by winning the rest of the round.
There are those, such as MaxBoxing's Gabriel Montoya, that would make a strong case that Trout even won the fight.
Being on the losing end of a tightly contested decision is a disappointing way to be handed your first loss, but it isn't as if Trout was blown out. The fact that he gave Alvarez a good bout should be enough to either warrant a rematch down the road or make him a more recognizable draw for bigger fights.
He no longer has the drawing power of being undefeated, but it's not as though he was blown out by inferior competition. A razor thin loss to a future (or current) superstar isn't the end of the world. Trout will be back in the limelight sooner rather than later.
For Alvarez, he doesn't have to worry about blemishing his undefeated record yet. He preserved his perfect 42-0-1 mark, and at just 22 years old, he's in a great position to push his career to new heights with the win.
Whether or not you agree with the decision, Alvarez didn't back down against a fellow undefeated champion. His combination of power and strength was on display, and he became the first person to send Trout to the canvas in his career.
If Alvarez can keep delivering impressive wins, he may just wind up as boxing's next big draw.
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment