Saul Alvarez vs Alfredo Angulo Preview

By Peter Wells:


Alvarez (left) & Angulo (right)

On Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez 42-1-1(30) returns from the humbling he received at the hands of Floyd Mayweather as he faces a far different proposition in Alfredo 'El Perro' Angulo 22-3(18).

Both fighters are heading in off the back of tough losses, Alvarez was severely dominated by the aforementioned 'Money' Mayweather over 12 one-sided rounds, while Angulo lost a dog-fight (often his speciality) with the slick Erislandy Lara, Angulo had scored two knockdowns but in the 10th round, Angulo's orbital bone ballooned up. Angulo in large discomfort turned his back on the action forcing the referee to wave the contest off.

The Lara loss wasn't the first time that Angulo had come out second best in an all-out war, as 2 years earlier he was on the wrong end of a violent beating, as the 'Mandingo Warrior' James Kirkland stopped him in 6. This leaves one to wonder just how much more this pit-bull fighter can take.

A native son of Mexico himself, Alvarez will likely be looking to test the resilience of Angulo's in a 12 rounder that many expect to be a showcase for an Alvarez looking ahead to more super fights in the near future.



Frustrated: Alvarez never figured out Mayweather in his 1st loss

At just 23, Alvarez is the much fresher fighter, despite having fought 19 more times, but the manner of those fights have taken little toll of the young golden boy. Outside of his stoppage defeats to Lara and Kirkland, Angulo has been tested thoroughly against opponents including; Joel Julio (W KO 11) and Kermit Cintron (L UD 12) while also showing his ability to dish out punishment in quick and brutal fashion against Joachim Alcine (TKO 1), Harry Joe Yorgey (KO 3) and Gabriel Rosado (TKO 2).

Alvarez's first major test at world level came last April when he took on WBA Light Middleweight champion Austin Trout. Alvarez won the fight, but the result was disputed by a number of boxing fans, Alvarez was on the front foot throughout, while often doing the bare minimum to snatch rounds, relying on the straight right hand and some kind judging to win him the fight, it was an extremely close fight that wasn't represented by 2 of the scorecards.

Prior to that Alvarez had recorded fairly comfortable wins against respectable opposition; Carlos Baldomir (KO 6), Alfonso Gomez (TKO 6), Kermit Cintron (TKO 5), Shane Mosley (UD 12) and Josesito Lopez (TKO 5).



Tough loss: Angulo put a lot into his defeat to Lara

Angulo is a hard working fighter, and he'll look to punish Alvarez if he doesn't up his work rate from his last two contests. But one feels that Angulo's here-to-be-hit type style will allow Alvarez to fire punches in bunches without the worry of being made to miss.

Alvarez can bang and his accuracy will prove a big problem for Angulo to deal with, but it's hard to see Angulo being taken out by one Alvarez punch, leaving this to look very much like a distance fight. Angulo can take a few early rounds as Alvarez attempts to find a good rhythm, but once he does it will be hard for Angulo to sustain effective attacks enough to take many rounds after the 5th. Alvarez can pull away to earn a wide decision win, with a potential blockbuster fight with the winner of Sergio Martinez-Miguel Cotto looming at the end of the year.