Mexican Saul Alvarez became the WBC Light-Middleweight champion tonight with a unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton at the Honda Center in California.
The bout was very one sided and Alvarez’s superior power looked evident from the get go, as he rocked Hatton around the ring, even when Matt blocked his punches.
He obviously felt a lot of force of Alvarez’s shots, but was determined to hear the final bell, and that he did.
The nose of Hatton began streaming with blood as early as round 2 after being hit with an assortment of power punches, and Alvarez was determined to put his foe away,but with little luck.
Alvarez made various attempts to turn up the heat on Hatton throughout the fight, but the Manchester fighter from England showed his bravery by always fighting back, and showing that he definetely belongs in the same ring as the very popular new champion.
There was a bit of trouble between the two boxers in the 7th as both were clinching and hit one another while holding, however, Matt was apparently hurt by Alvarez’s blow, walked away and took a knee. Referee, Lou Moret deducted a point from Alvarez for the shot, and in response to this began to, again, unload heavy shots on Hatton.
By round 9, the fight looked to be a formality, and Alvarez was comfortable enough to start showboating, as he decided to go against the ropes and begged Hatton to hit him with everything he had, but Matt was having none of it and waved at Alvarez to come off the ropes and fight. Alvarez did just that and he hit Hatton with left and right’s to the head.
In round 10, Matt hit Alvarez with a low blow, and in response Alvarez immediately hit him with a left hook and Hatton went down, possibly attempting to get another point taken from Alvarez. Moret told Hatton to rise and continue, and Alvarez’s patience was wearing thin at this point as he tried to finish him off.
Round 12 was pretty uneventful apart from the last half when Hatton was hurt by a right hand. Both fighters traded shots until the final bell rang.
Alvarez said of Hatton and his future: “He’s a good rival. It was a great experience. I will be one of the big names from Mexico.”
“I’m a fighter through and through. I’ve shared a ring with a great fighter. He never hurt me in the fight. I wish him all the best in his career. He’s got a good variety of shots. He’s the better fighter.” Matthew stated.
In earlier fights, James Kirkland made a successful return to the ring after almost two years with a first round stoppage of Ahsandi Gibbs, while Daniel Ponce De Leon lost a unanimous decision to boastful Adrien Broner.
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