Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 34 KOs) retained his WBC and WBA titles on Saturday night, with a unanimous decision win over Daniel Jacobs (35-3, 29 KOs), also earning him the IBF middleweight title.
After a cautious opening round, Canelo began to pop his jab and counter Jacobs’ attack.
Jacobs attempted to switch to southpaw as the fight went on, but Canelo’s upper body movement made Jacobs miss frequently.
Canelo had a solid eighth round, blocking a series of Jacobs’ punches while landing a couple of hard shots upstairs. In the ninth, the two began to trade at close quarters, with Jacobs having some of his better moments of the fight.
Jacobs fought well in the 10th, as he let his hands go and connected with a few thumping shots that stopped Canelo in his tracks.
The 12th saw Canelo control the action, slowing down Jacobs’ offense in an important round that made a huge impact in the final tallies.
Scores were 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112 for Canelo Alvarez.
“It was just what we thought,” said Alvarez afterward. “We knew he was going to be a difficult fighter, but thank god we did things the right way, what we were going to do. It was just what we thought because of the style of fight that he brings but we just did our job.”
Asked about unfinished business with Gennady Golovkin, who was in attendance, Alvarez said, “No, for me, it’s over. But if the people want another fight, we’ll do it again, and I’ll beat him again.”
“I feel accomplished, l feel great,” said Jacobs about his performance. “I have to go back to look at the tapes to see exactly what the judges thought. They said to me, that I was up, so I was still pushing forward because I wanted to finish strong. He’s a tremendous champion and I tip my hat to him. I gave my all out there. You’ll see Daniel Jacobs bigger and better next time.”
