CANELO ALVAREZ is done with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Their rivalry had simmered for years, with Chavez the beneficiary of his fatherโs famous name while Alvarez had to work his work up from the very bottom, turning professional just as a teenager and now at 26 reaching the summit of the sport. But Canelo settled their grudgeย conclusively, shutting out Junior over 12 rounds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
โThis chapter is over. I enjoyed the fight, I won the fight, every single round, I had fun and thatโs what I do. I love boxing,โ he said.
โAfter all these years, after all the talk of whoโs better, Iโm very happy to demonstrate that regardless of the weight, regardless of the size advantage he had, that Iโm the better fighter.โ
Alvarezโs promoter, Oscar De La Hoya wasnโt hugely satisfied with Chavezโs efforts. โOne side showed up and thatโs Canelo for this fight and we are extremely happy for him,โ Oscar said.
There were moments when Canelo appeared to relax in the fight and slow his own workrate but he maintained that was only to goad Chavez in. It didnโt particularly work. โI wasnโt ever hurt. But I was inviting him to open up and exchange so we could give the public a beautiful fight,โ he said. โThe preparation, the hard work was done in training and yes of course in the fifth, sixth round I felt a little exhausted but thatโs normal. Then I got my second wind and picked it up and finished strong.โ
โIโm very happy and Iโm very proud,โ he added. โIโm going to continue giving you all, giving the fans big and great fights.โ
Thatโs exactly what he is doing. Canelo Alvarez will fight Gennady Golovkin for the unified middleweight title on September 16.