Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) of Guadalajara was victorious as he won a unanimous decision over son of Mexican Legend, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (50-3-1, 32 KOs) of Culiacan , Mexico Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Canelo started off going to the body on the taller Chavez in the opening round. In round two Chavez had Canelo on the ropes as he unloaded a combination. Fighting on the inside in round three Canelo busted Chavez nose as he began to bleed. Canelo went to the body and followed upstairs with big shots in the fourth connecting with the overhand right.
Canelo pressed in round five as Chavez backed up and began to swell on the left eye from a Canelo right. Chavez had Canelo on the ropes in the sixth as Alvarez was able to fight off. Coming out for the seventh Canelo fired combinations on Chavez and connected with the overhand right. The eighth round saw Canelo stalking and continue to land the overhand right.
Chavez had Canelo up against the ropes in round nine but Alvarez continued to fight well off the ropes. Chavez left began to close in round ten as it appeared the Canelo was on his way to a victory. The championship rounds saw Canelo staking Chavez to final bell. All three judges scored the bout 120-108.
Former middleweight champion David Lemieux (38-3, 33 KOs) of Montreal, Canada won a one-sided unanimous decision over Marco “Dorado: Reyes (35-5, 26 KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico in the co-feature bout on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Lemieux landed big punches throughout the fight. Reyes was cut over the right eye but there was no quitting in the Mexican, who went the distance despite getting hit with bombs. Judges scored the bout 99-90, 99-90, and 99-91
Former world champion Lucas Matthysse (38-4, 35 KOs) of Argentina scored a fifth round knockout over Emanuel Taylor (20-5, 14 KOs) in a scheduled ten round welterweight bout. A slow start to the opening round Matthysse connected with a right as he staggered Taylor. In round two Matthysse backed Taylor to the ropes with a right hand landed heavy punches throughout the round. The Argentine was cut on the right eye from a clash of heads in round three but a hard right hand sat Taylor down. The fourth round saw Matthysse connect with a hard right hand as Taylor was taking big punches. At the halfway point in round five Mattysse knocked Taylor down for a second time as he got up but referee Jay Nady waved it off at 2:21.
In a clash of unbeaten featherweights, Joseph Diaz Jr. (24-0, 13 KOs) of South El Monte, California rolled past Fairfield, California’s Manuel “Tino” Avila (22-1, 8 KOs) to open up the HBO Pay Per View telecast.
Diaz had a good opening round as he connected Avila with the left hand. Avila pressed in round two as Diaz countered, in the closing seconds Diaz landed a left as Avila went down but referee Tony Weeks ruled it a slip. In round three Diaz landed a solid left as he had Avila going back. Avila landed a flush right hand in the fourth, later in the round Diaz returned the favor landing a straight left.
Halfway through in round six the southpaw Diaz showed more offense as he pressed Avila. The straight left continued to land for Diaz as he tagged Avila flush in round seven. Diaz began to dig to the body in round eight. The hand speed of Diaz proved to be the difference heading into the final rounds as he finished strong against a very tough Avila.
The judges scored the bout 100-90, 99-91, and 99-91 as Diaz wins a unanimous decision handing Avila his first defeat.
Victorville, California’s Ryan Garcia (9-0, 8 KOs) scored a second round stoppage over Tyrone Luckey (8-7-3, 6 KOs) of Long Beach, New Jersey in a scheduled six round lightweight bout. A left hook by Garcia in the opening round send Luckey to the canvas. Garcia continued his attack in round two as he pinned Luckey up against the ropes unloading a combination as referee Russell Mora stepped in to stop the fight at 2:20.
Two ladies from the Lone Star State were in action as 2016 U.S. Olympian Marlen Esparza (1-0) of Houston won a unanimous decision over Samantha Salazar of Dallas in a scheduled four round flyweight bout. Esparza boxed and circled Salazar in the early rounds. The Olympian showed more offense in the second half of the fight as she finished strong. All three judges scored the bout 40-36. The bout was unusual for a female fight as the ladies fought three minute rounds.
2016 Mexican Olympian super welterweight Raul Curiel (1-0) of Tamaulipas, Mexico made his pro debut winning a unanimous decision over Jesus Sanchez (1-2-2) in a scheduled four round bout. Curiel boxed at a distance as Sanchez held his own mixing it up. In the final seconds of round three Curiel and Sanchez got into an exchange as Sanchez connected with a right hand. Sanchez pressed in the final round with Curiel fighting off his back foot boxing away. Scores were 40-36, 40-36, and 38-38 as Sanchez proved to be a tough opponent for the debuting Curiel.
Super bantamweight Ronny Rios (28-1, 13 KOs) of Santa Ana, California stopped Danil Noriega (28-11-1, 15 KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico in four rounds of a scheduled ten round bout. Rios boxed well keeping his distance popping the jab and following up with big punches as Noriega was taking big punches early on. A short right hand by Rios in the second round sent Noriega to the canvas. Rios then staggered Noriega with a left hook and boxed patiently until referee Vic Drackulich had seen enough and waved it off at 2:22 of the fourth round.
In the opening bout from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, undefeated lightweight prospect Joseph Aguirre (17-0, 9 KOs) of Cancun, Mexico won a unanimous decision over Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico’s Angel Aispuro (8-5-2, 5 KOs) in a scheduled six round bout. Aguirre was busy throughout the fight fighting from a distance as Aispuro proved to be tough and durable in going the distance. All three judges scored the bout 60-54.
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