The world stopped moving for 12 rounds of boxing action on Saturday, Sept. 14 as Floyd Mayweather defeated Saul Alvarez via majority decision. While the word "majority" may suggest that this was a relatively even fight, it wasn't.
Mayweather proved that he's the unquestioned best in the world after dominating Alvarez in Las Vegas, Nev.
As previously alluded to, Mayweather's victory shouldn't have been labeled as a "majority" decision. While one judge may have called it a draw, this was as unanimous a decision as any panel of judges could've possibly reached.
Mayweather put it best, via his official Twitter account.
Words truly don't describe how well he fought.
Mayweather is now the reigning WBA, WBC and The Ring Super Middleweight champion. Even at the age of 36, he's out-classing fighters who, physically, should be able to take down the greatest of our generation.
Plain and simple, Mayweather is the best in the world—and it isn't even close.
Checking the Numbers: Canelo vs. Mayweather
The fact that Mayweather and Canelo saw the fight decided by majority decision was as nonsensical as anything in recent boxing history. It's no surprise that the judge who scored this fight a draw, CJ Ross, has been tied to other controversial decisions.
When two judges have a blowout that's generous to Canelo and the third has a draw, something's wrong.
Those aren't the only numbers that defined this fight.
Mayweather didn't just control the pace of this fight, he lived up to his moniker as one of the most untouchable fighters who has ever lived. Using his unparalleled footwork and paralyzing precision, Money made a mockery of Alvarez's elite striking game.
In the end, the younger, stronger and faster fighter looked closer to 36 than Mayweather.
According to CompuBox, Mayweather was 232-of-505 on total punch attempts, good for 45.9 percent. By comparison, Canelo was 117-of-526 on total punch attempts, equating to 22.2 percent, per CompuBox.
For those who haven't done the math, Mayweather attempted 21 less punches than Canelo yet landed 115 more.
You can try to spin those numbers in any way you'd like, but the statistics show that Mayweather was all but equally as aggressive as Alvarez. In the end, he didn't just beat him—he thoroughly dominated the Mexican star.
Most impressive of all, he did it across the board.
Per CompuBox, Mayweather landed 42.1 percent of his jabs and 53.1 percent of the power punches he threw against Alvarez. Alvarez, meanwhile, converted 15.0 percent of his jab attempts and 31.5 percent of his power punches, per CompuBox.
That's a 27.1-percent advantage on jabs and 19.6-percent advantage on power punches—yet Ross scored this a draw.
Checking the Numbers: The Big Picture
When you hear that Mayweather dominated Alvarez, the previously alluded to numbers are impressive enough to turn any head. With that being said, critics will inevitably point to the fact that Alvarez is a rising star at 23 and Mayweather is an established performer.
Thankfully, the statistics paint a more accurate picture.
According to CompuBox, Alvarez entered this fight as the No. 2 fighter in the world when it came to percentage of punches landed to percentage of opponent points landed (also known as plus/minus). CompuBox also reports that Alvarez had owned the highest percentage of any fighter in terms of punches landed.
Statistically speaking, the most efficient striker in the world was just given a boxing clinic.
If that's not enough to convince you, the only fighter who had a better plus/minus than Alvarez entering this fight was Mayweather. After landing 23.7 percent more punches than Alvarez, what we've long known has become undeniable: Mayweather is the best in the world.
Until a fighter can pose anything close to a legitimate threat, there is no reason to debate that statistical fact.
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