Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo
This PPV card is being billed as Toe to Toe and hopefully for fans that's how the fight plays out. The two fighters going toe to toe will be Saul "Canelo" Alvarez who is coming off his first career loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather and Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo who is also coming off a loss to Erislandy Lara. This is a crossroads fight for both pugilists, a win would allow them to continue there impressive careers but a loss could be crushing, especially to Alvarez. The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds in the junior middleweight division but no title will be at stake.
 |
| Canelo couldn't touch Mayweather |
Alvarez is an interesting fighter because even though he is being treated like a superstar he really only has one big win. That win came in 2013 against Austin Trout and besides that Alvarez has just feasted on undersized and outclassed opponents. Even that win over Trout is deceitful because both fighters are counter punchers but Trout decided to be the aggressor so he wasn't as effective as usual and Alvarez was able to counter him for most of the night.
There isn't any doubt that Alvarez is a good fighter but he is not yet great. His defense is better than a lot of people think but he has been buzzed in the past, most notable by Jose Miguel Cotto. Also he isn't a very aggressive, attacking fighter. He likes to wait for the fight to come to him and he is a very strong counter puncher. Alvarez is an experienced fighter however and is very smart in the ring where he is good at cutting off the ring and not just chasing opponents. A knock on Alvarez has been his motor, he tends to take rounds off and can fade late in fights which could be deadly against Angulo.
Alvarez has only been fighting since 2005 and has always stayed very active. His record stands at 42-1-1 with 30 knockouts but he isn't a one punch knockout type fighter. Most of Alvarez's knockouts come from an accumulation of heavy leather over the course of a fight. Suffering back to back losses would really hurt Alvarez's image and beating Angulo won't be easy. Angulo is the only real junior middleweight Alvarez has faced and he has more power than Alvarez has ever seen.
 |
| Hopefully Angulo's eye is fully healed |
Angulo is one of the most fan friendly fighters in boxing. He has a relentless style and is always the aggressor. Angulo isn't the slickest fighter in the world and his idea of defense is taking one punch to land two. Angulo is one of the heaviest punchers in the sport and only needs one punch to end a fight. Many people thought he would have trouble with slick, defensive counter punchers but he was very good against Erislandy Lara. He dropped Lara twice and was doing a good job of keeping him up against the ropes until Angulo turned his back on the action in the 10th round and the fight was stopped.
Angulo suffered a broken orbital bone in that fight and also a scratch on his eye making it nearly impossible to see clearly. Angulo and his team thought Lara thumbed him and a replay of the action showed just that. Before Lara landed a big left hand his right hand grazed across Angulo's left eye and definitely did some damage. Still Angulo impressed a lot of people with his ability to be so successful against a good counter puncher.
Unlike Alvarez, Angulo wasn't protected early on in his career and has had many tough fights. He has fought the likes of Lara, Gabriel Rosado, James Kirkland, and Kermit Cintron and gives everyone a tough fight. His career record is 22-3 with 18 knockouts and those knockouts are usually of the brutal variety.
Many people think that Alvarez will be able to outclass Angulo but those people would be wrong. Lara is a counter puncher like Alvarez and is much more skilled and much better defensively but still Angulo was able to put a hurting on him. Canelo has gotten into trouble with big punchers before and Angulo is one of the biggest. Canelo will need keep this fight in the center of the ring. If he can move laterally and do a lot of feinting he may be able to frustrate Angulo and keep him from landing his power punches. Alvarez will also need to be busier than usual and not just fight in short spurts. If Angulo can muscle up Alvarez on the ropes he may be able to do some real damage and become Mexico's new favorite son.
PREDICTION: It is clear that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is the bigger star in this fight and if the bout is close he is sure to get the decision. To get a win Alfredo Angulo will need to convincingly win rounds and knock Alvarez out. I think Angulo will be able to cut off the ring and keep Alvarez in trouble and I expect the him to drop Alvarez a time or two on his way to a very close, split decision win.
Comments
Post a Comment