Canelo Alvarez Wins Split Decision Against Erislandy Lara

Canelo Alvarez displayed a dominating performance against Erislandy Lara this Saturday night in Las Vegas. Although Lara used his quickness and intelligence effectively, Canelo Alvarez won out in a 12-round, split decision victory thanks to his impressive body work and power punches.

Judge Levi Martinez and Dave Moretti both scored the fight in favor of Alvarez with scores of 117-111 and 115-113 respectively while Larry Roth scored it 115-113 for Lara.

Canelo Alvarez was putting heavy pressure on Lara for the majority of the match as Lara mainly fought an evasive, cerebral fight. Lara was literally running away from Canelo, sliding and sprinting along the ropes to avoid Canelo Alvarez’s heavy power punches.

“I came to fight. I didn’t come to run. You don’t win by running. You win by hitting. He definitely has a great jab but you don’t win a fight like that by running,” said Canelo Alvarez after the match.

Lara, however, protested the result of the match. “I 100 percent thought I won the fight,” he claimed. “I felt I was totally in control. It didn’t seem like he was doing anything. I know one thing, 100 percent I made him look bad in front of all of his people. Everyone knows I won the fight, no matter what they say.”

Erislandy Lara still continues his disrespect for Canelo Alvarez after the match. He quite explicitly says, “I still have no respect for him. I want a rematch. I will do the same and I will win again.”

Canelo Alvarez responded that he would rematch him when Lara “learns to fight.”

According to statistics gathered during the fight, Canelo Alvarez landed 97 out of 415 punches while Lara connected on 107 out of 386 of his shots. Although Lara hit a higher percentage of his shots, Canelo Alvarez’s hits were obviously much heavier. Canelo landed several heavy, body shots and a couple of uppercuts as well, while Lara managed to sneak in some straight left hands that caused Canelo’s right eye to swell.

For his victory, Canelo Alvarez won $1.5 million while Lara received $1 million. Since the fight was contracted over the 154-pound weight limit, the WBA light middleweight title was not on the line which means Lara still technically has that title.

As for Canelo Alvarez, he will return to the ring sometime in November, but his opponent is still undecided. For now, all he wants to do is “enjoy [his] birthday.”