On July 12th, 2014, at the MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas, Saul Alvarez found himself in a testing clash with Cuba’s highly regarded Erislandy Lara. After being out-boxed and falling behind on the cards in the first 4 or so rounds, Alvarez sensed urgency and began to assert himself, slowing down his foe with body shots and mostly bossing the rounds that followed.
Alvarez’s quick change in gear was key to winning the Split Decision victory, which was reached by scores of 115-113, 117-111, and 113-115.
Post fight, Lara strongly protested the decision, but it didn’t seem like there were any dubious scorecards that night. Sure, Lara impressed with his mobility, hand speed and crisp connects, but he spent too much time on the back foot, and didn’t do enough to edge the later rounds.
Alvarez, on the other hand, fought like a man who was more fired up – possibly concerned about suffering his first loss – and was willing to do whatever it took to win. Certainly after the earlier rounds. The result will now be debated in the fight fan universe, however, as there is no denying this was a particularly close contest.
Following the win, Alvarez now climbs to 43 wins, 31 knockouts, 1 loss, and 1 draw, while Lara reduces to 19 wins, 12 knockouts, 2 losses, and 2 draws.
Japan’s Tomoki Kameda scored a 7th round TKO on the evening’s undercard, defending his WBO Bantamweight title. His opponent Pungluang Sor Singyu, who was evenly matching the champion on the scorecards, was waved off by the referee at the 1:35 mark. Japan’s unbeaten Kameda now rises to 31 wins, 19 knockouts, while Singyu falls to 46 wins, 31 knockouts, 3 losses.
What did you think of Alvarez vs Lara? Could Lara have done more to edge any of the rounds, or was he simply too overwhelmed by a strong Alvarez? Or did you think Lara won the fight, and was robbed by the judges? Is a rematch in the cards, and where do both fighters go from here?
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