[dramatic music] ♪ ♪ male announcer: The following is a presentation of HBO Sports. ♪ ♪- Hello, again. I'm Jim Lampley. On May 7, HBO Pay-Per-View will bring you live to Las Vegasfor an unexpected treat,the showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khanas Amir Khan moves up from welterweight to fightfor the lineal middleweight championship of the worldagainst Alvarez. To help get you ready for that,we're going to look back at Canelo's last appearancein the ring, his signature assignment last Novemberhere in Las Vegas against Miguel Cotto. Let's take a look back. [bell dings] Round 1 begins. Everyone's on their feet. As Max pointed out, there's not only an expectation but also a tremendous hope on the part of boxing fans that tonight this will deliver, and there's every reason to believe that it will. Jones: I'll tell you what, Canelo comes out winging a big left hook like he's trying to make a statement to Cottothat he has just as good a hook as Cotto has. Lampley: Signature punch from Miguel Cotto is the left hook to the rib cage. Canelo Alvarez has a pretty doggone good left hook of his own. They're standing in the center of the ring trying to land big stuff. Kellerman: This is a pins-and-needles kind of fight already. [crowd yelling and cheering] Lampley: I ran into Freddie Roach in the hallway outside my room this morning and said, "Freddie, are you going to box the first few rounds?" And he said, "Yes, we will. We believe we can outbox him. " Body shot by Canelo. Cotto getting in a little right hand upstairs. Mostly they've been missing early on. Kellerman: But throwing heavy leather. Lampley: Good jab by Canelo. He has slightly the longer arms, it appears. Cotto high with those left hooks, hasn't gone down to the bottom of the rib cage, where he does the most damage. Jones: Good jab by Cotto. Lampley: Both fighters seeming now to settle down and relax a little bit. There was tension early on. Good quick left hook inside by Cotto. Now good left hook by Canelo. Hard right hand to the body by Canelo Alvarez. Jones: Good body shot. Lampley: Body shots by Cotto. Left hand to the solar plexus by Cotto was a good shot. Jones: Yep, and he's stepping around; he gets to the left or to the right as he delivers, Jim. He's not staying right there in the middle when he attacks. Kellerman: Best work has been done to the body by both guys so far. Lampley: Cotto believes he has a footwork advantage and can step around Canelo. Canelo will come straight forward in his view to land his shots. [cheers and applause] Quick left hook by Cotto, and he moves laterally as soon as he lands the punch. Lateral movement clearly a part of the Cotto plan early on. Good right hand by Canelo. [cheers and applause] And the left hook. Crowd loves that. Left to the body by Canelo. Jones: Cotto up on his toes boxing early, like they said he would do. - Bell, bell! Lampley: Pretty even round, not much to differentiate the two fighters either way in round number 1. - Here you go. Nice job. Water. All right, that was your round. Now, you keep boxing this guy,and his jab's a little long for you, all right?But I think when you land the first one,I'd like to see you step in with another one, okay?- A second one, yeah. - Right?'Cause you've been--kept wanting to steal it. Back him up with the double jab, all right?- Yeah. - Nice combinations, though. The body shots work well, okay?Keep that body work, all right?Very good. [both inhale deeply]- Go ropes, all right? Go ropes. - Yeah. - Okay. [whistle blows] man: Ready! Lampley: CompuBox numbers in round 1-- I said it was an even round-- they each landed 8 punches, Cotto 8 out of 54, Alvarez 8 out of 33. [bell dings] Small edge for Cotto-- or for Canelo, I should say-- in power shots. He landed 6 power shots to 5 for Cotto by CompuBox count. As I said, not much to differentiate the two fighters in round number 1. Right hand upstairs for Cotto. Kellerman: First round could have legitimatelybeen scored either way. Lampley: Harold Lederman gave it to Cotto, who threw more punches in the round. Jones: One fascinating event is that Cotto is throwing a straight-right lead more than we've ever seen him throw it before; after the jab sometimes, sometimes he's throwing a straight right. [cheers and applause] Doesn't look like a very powerful or effective straight right, but he's using it. Lampley: Probably to set up left hooks later on. Jones: More than likely. Lampley: Jab for Cotto. Canelo ducking underneath the second one. crowd: Cotto! Cotto!Cotto! Cotto! Cotto! Cotto!Lampley: Neither fighter fights at a particularly fast pace, but it's Cotto who is throwing more punches early on, and throwing more punches can steal rounds when neither fighter is landing all that much. Jones: Yes, it can, and it seems as though Canelo learned from the Mayweather fight that he has to be more aggressive early in these fights, or he's gonna fall behind, because here he's being much more aggressive early in this fight than we expected to see him. Lampley: Aggressive by meaning-- aggressive by throwing power shots and trying to crowd Cotto a little bit. Jones: And keeping the pressure on staying right in Cotto's face. Kellerman: Yeah, he's the bigger, younger fighter, and he's trying to impose that on the older, smaller guy. Lampley: Jab lands for Cotto. Second one missed. Kellerman: And the older, smaller guy is using his timing to catch Canelo, you know, off rhythm in between when Canelo's ready for it. Lampley: Canelo fired the right uppercut, which was a big weapon against Kirkland, but he was using it as a counter against Kirkland. Kirkland was wide open. This was different. Cotto was guarding. Jones: Good counter right hand by Canelo. Lampley: Followed by the jab, followed by a left hook. Canelo starting to get a little bit more active now as we come down the stretch of round number 2. [crowd chanting and cheering] Already you see Miguel Cotto throwing 31 more punches by CompuBox count than Canelo. That can steal rounds. Kellerman: Canelo's right-hand counter has been his best shot so far, I think. He's landed four of them really well in the first two rounds. Jones: Yes, he did, and the difference in this is that Canelo has power in both hands; Cotto only shows power in the left hook. But he did land a good straight right right there. Kellerman: They're both doing good work in spots. [bell dings] - Time! Time! Lampley: And you saw a shot of Melissa Cotto earlier. There's Ana Alvarez along with Nelda Sepulveda, who is Cotto's girlfriend-- or, excuse me, Canelo's girlfriend. That's Canelo mother and Canelo's girlfriend seated at ringside. - [speaking Spanish]- Just relax. You've got to advance and move in there good. When you're gonna push in, flex your waist. Flex your waist. You got to fake him. When he attacks you, leave him short. Leave him short; you're leaving him short, and he ducks. You got to move him. Flex your waist and move in, okay,but when you go in, you got to get him. You got to--got to throw more of that left,more left. - Just--he's got nothing, okay? All right?If you don't back him up, he'll come forward, okay?All right, keep backing this guy up when you can, okay?It's very good. Your jab is doing a great job, okay?All right?Your right hand and your body shots behind thatare working really well, okay?- All right. - It was a great round. Jones: Here we see Miguel Angel Cotto land this straight-right lead right down the pipe. Not the most powerful punch but a beautiful setup punch. . . [whistle blows] A beautiful lead. You can't ask for a more clean right hand-- cleaner placed right hand than that. Lampley: CompuBox numbers in round 2: Cotto was 10 of 55, Alvarez 8 of 41. So Cotto has thrown more punches in both rounds, landed one more punch than Alvarez so far in the fight. 9-5 power advantage for Cotto in that round. Kellerman: It's a nip-and-tuck kind of a fight. So far, what we can see is that Canelo Alvarez is not Delvin Rodriguez or Sergio Martinez at the end or Daniel Geale. He's a different level fighter, and the improvement that Freddie Roach has made in Miguel Cotto have brought him up to a level where he's competing on even terms with Canelo. Jones: Yes, it is, but I can tell you right now, Canelo is the sharper puncher tonight, Max, by far. Kellerman: Agreed. Lampley: And we agreed that both fighters have been relatively conservative so far looking not to make a mistake, and now Canelo begins to open up in round number 3landing a body shot, trying for the right hand over the top. Good hard shot by Canelo up the middle. - Pick 'em up. Pick 'em up. Lampley: Heard Robert Byrd telling him to pick it up. There's a good right hand by Canelo. man: Ooh! Lampley: Alvarez blocking the left hook with his right hand. [cheers and applause] Lands a straight right. Crowd likes that. Best round so far, by far, for Canelo Alvarez, who's stepping up the action. Now takes a right hand from Cotto. Kellerman: As expected, where Cotto has the advantage, it's when his superior feet put him in position to land punches, and when Canelo has the advantage, it's when his hands, feet, and reach puts him in the position to land. Jones: Of course, but that right hand right there from Cotto had a little sting on it. Lampley: Counter left inside by Canelo. Now the jab lands for Alvarez as well. Jones: Canelo is showing a good jab and a good left hook so far. Lampley: Much more active in the third roundand seizing the initiative here a little bit from Miguel Cotto after Cotto outthrew him in the first two rounds. Now Cotto seems to feel the need to throw more punches himself. Jones: Good jab by Cotto. Two good jabs by Cotto. [crowd chanting] Lampley: Timing. Miguel Cotto has great timing on his jab, and he is frustrating Canelo Alvarez with this sharp timing right now. This is a good round. Both fighters have done some damage. Kellerman: Canelo just looks so much bigger physically than Cotto. Jones: Oh, good right hand by Canelo. Lampley: Hard right hand by Canelo. Jones: Good hook by Cotto. [cheers and applause][loud tapping] Lampley: Well, you get a sense here in round number 3 that the fight is beginning. The boxing match has been going for three rounds. The fight is coming at some point. - Okay, excellent. Now, you're getting the jab. You're getting the range. Very good, okay?Now, after you land those jabs and that two jabs, okay,I need some head movement,'cause he's always gonna come back, okay?- All right. - Don't stand up in front of him, okay?- After the jabs, move now. - Yes, okay? - Shoulders. - All right, angles, movement, okay?Make him chase you, okay?- All right. - All right?You're scoring really good. . . Jones: Here you see Cotto get stopped in his tracks by a beautiful left jab by Canelo Alvarezright as he was throwing a jab. Then you see Canelo counter this jab from Cotto. Dips right under it with a beautiful straight right over the top, and his straight right hand's keel on it is not quite like the same straight right hand that Cotto is throwing at him. Lampley: CompuBox numbers showed a good round for Alvarez, 13 out of 45. All 13 of the landed punches were power shots. Cotto was 9 of 58. Now we go to round number 4 of a scheduled 12. Harold, how do you have it through three? Lederman: Okay, Jim, I got it 2 rounds to 1, 29-28 Canelo Alvarez. I tell you, Jim, I'm impressed the way, you know, the way he's walking him down and landing the power shots, just like that. Backs him up, walks him down, and belts him with a right hand. You know, it shows real skill that Canelo's got. I mean, for a kid that's 25 years old, he fights for a guy that looks like he's much older and with much more experience. On the other hand, Miguel Cotto boxes nicely, lands a lot of jabs, but I just don't think he's doing as much damage as Canelo is, like there with the right hand. Lampley: Well, that was the hardest punch of the fight so far, that right hand by Miguel Cotto. Thank you very much, Harold. Lederman: You're welcome, Jim. Lampley: 29-28 Canelo on the Harold Lederman scorecard. Obviously, it could be anything on the three official judges' scorecards, 'cause these have been relatively close rounds. Kellerman: That's why Freddie wants the head movement and the angles from Cotto, because Canelo has the heart of a champion. When you go at him, he comes back at you. And so when Cotto lands those one or two or three shots, Freddie wants him out of there with Canelo chasing. Jones: And Canelo came out throwing a strong left hook to show Cotto that he was willing to exchange left hooks with him if he wanted to throw the hook. Lampley: Now here comes Cotto with left hook, left hook, left hook, one to the body, two to the head. His primary weapon well in evidence now as we get into the middle portion of the fight. Kellerman: The feeling is, Canelo's not good at chasing. He wants you to be in punching range. Lampley: Talked about the timing on Cotto's jab. Now Canelo is starting to time his jab effectively. Jones: See that hook right there? Lampley: Right there, yep. Jones: That hook slows your opponent down from throwing his own hook. [cheers and applause]Lampley: They trade body shots. Cotto got in a good left hook. Canelo came back with a hard counter right hand to the body. You saw Canelo's mastery of range there. Cotto sticking the jab and not quite getting it to Canelo's face. Jones: Good body shot by Canelo. Lampley: Sometimes he leaves himself open when he throws those body shots, so you wonder if Cotto's gonna land the big counter upstairs at some point. Kellerman: Well, Canelo's very good against a stationary target,and Cotto being the shorter guy has to at times get inside to land those punches, making him a target for Canelo. Lampley: Closing seconds of round number 4. Cotto trying to come back in the closing stages of the round. Another close, difficult round to score. [cheers and applause] [relaxing music] ♪ ♪- Good round. - [breathing sharply]- Great. All right, now, you're getting your rhythm. All right, you're backing him up. Okay, now, that's the key, okay. When you land that jaband you're taking that slack up and back him up to the ropes,he's got nothing, okay, all right?- With that left, and then bring that right back, okay?Shot, shots, move, hit, and then come back outand then with that right hand up and more punches. Jones: This is Canelo's best punch right here so far of the fight. He lands a straight ja-- a straight right hand right over the top of Cotto's low jab, 'caused Cotto's legs to just kind of freeze for a second, but he didn't appear to be hurt by it. Lampley: Well, so far, it's clear that Cotto is effective with his footwork and can at times outwork Alvarez, but on the other hand, Canelo's punches seem more powerful, Roy. Jones: They're more crisp and more powerful and more-- he would be the sharper of the two guys tonight. But we have to see how long he can hold this. Kellerman: And you heard Freddie a round ago wanted Cotto, "Movement, have Canelo chase you. " Now he wants Cotto to back Canelo up and put him on the ropes, maybe feeling that Cotto had some success in the last round and now it's time to step it up a little bit. Jones: Or that Canelo is getting too confident. Lampley: You saw that Harold Ledermangave the fourth round to Cotto, evening it on the Lederman scorecard two rounds apiece. Kellerman: Good hook to the body by Cotto. Canelo acknowledged it. Lampley: It's being reported to me that on Twitter,several of the ringside writers are revealing their scores, and some of them are 4-0 Canelo so far. Jones: Good right hand by Canelo. That may have hurt Cotto again. Kellerman: That's a possible score. The first round could have gone either way, and so could the fourth. Lampley: We don't know, of course, what the official judges are doing as they score the fight as they go along. We can tell you what Harold. . . Jones: Oh! Lampley: And Twitter can tell you the others. And there's a hard left hand for Canelo Alvarez. Jones: Hard left uppercut. Canelo is really doing some great feinting to cause Cotto some issues right now. Lampley: But Cotto comes back with a flurry of punches of his own. Jones: Yeah, he had to do something, Jim. He was losing momentum bad right there. Kellerman: And what's the story of the fight so far? The bigger man is able to absorb, it seems, the little man's shots with greater ease than when the little man gets hit. He seems to move more and get stung more. Jones: And Cotto's shots right now seem to have no effect on Alvarez. Lampley: He's able to walk through some of these punches and keep going forward. Cotto's side-to-side movement stops Canelo from throwing, but when Canelo throws, he lands and lands sharply. Jones: Oh, good overhand. Lampley: Like that. Like that. Kellerman: And then Cotto does the right thing by making those little stands, where he flurries, because you've got to break the momentum of the bigger guy. Jones: Just seems to be too big for Cotto at this point. Lampley: Good hard left uppercut by Cotto-- or, excuse me, by Alvarez. Cotto seems to realize now that he's gonna need to volume Canelo. He's gonna need to throw more punches, because when Canelo lands, the crowd and some at ringside are going "ooh" and "ahh. " Hard right hand by Alvarez. That one moved Cotto. Jones: Yeah, he's definitely the sharper puncher tonight, Jim, and being the bigger guy is giving him all of the advantages. - Four, three, two. . . [bell dings] Tiempo![cheers and applause] Lampley: That's the Cotto family at ringside, wife Melissa in the middle, Miguel's mother to the far side. [pop music]- Miguel, deep breath. Thattaboy. - [inhales sharply]- Take a deep breath. - All right, now, you let him dictate the pacethat time, okay?- All right. I can't. - All right?You've got to get back on the jab,and you back him up with the jab, all right?Double jab. Take the slack up, okay?- All right. - Do not let him come forward, okay?He's strong coming forward, okay?You stop him in his tracks with the jab every time. - All right. - All right?Set these up. Double jab. Jones: Here you see Canelo do the old Roberto Duran, feint the right hand and come with a beautiful left uppercut up the middle. I thought only me and Roberto Duran could do that, but I see that Canelo has it too. Lampley: Now there are three. [laughs] Jones: [laughs] man: Six. Lampley: Power punches in the fifth round: Alvarez 10 of 20, Cotto 6 of 17. Overall, Canelo with a 14-to-6 landed punch advantage in that round. Kellerman: The effect of Cotto's shots on Delvin Rodriguez, on Sergio Martinez, on Daniel Geale were devastating, and that has not been the case here tonight. Canelo's ability to absorb them is the difference in the fight so far. Lampley: Well, one of the questions coming in was, what exactly was the import of Cotto'sthree sensational wins in a row under Freddie Roach? Was it because he was so great and had been taken to another level, or was it because all three of those opponents were severely compromised when he fought them? Jones: And that was a beautiful left hook-- I mean, a straight right hand by Canelo again, but, Max, what I was gonna say was, all those three hooks that you were talking about against those opponents, he was coming forward. Today he is going backwards and is circling. He's no good going backwards and circling. That's the difference that Freddie Roach had made in him. Kellerman: That's why Freddie wants him to double on that jab and come in pushing Canelo back. [cheers and applause] Lampley: Good combination by Alvarez. He reversed it, threw the right, then the left, and landed heavily with both shots. Jones: Yeah, he pretty slick. He's showing some really slick stuff tonight, Jim. Lampley: There's a good body shot by Cotto with the right hand. And he hasn't landed one of his signature left hooks to Canelo's body. Jones: Well, Canelo is doing a great job of defending it and sending a left hook of his own at Cotto anytime Cotto goes towards the body with the left hook, so those are the two big reasons he hasn't thrown it. Lampley: That and the fact that Canelo's very dangerous with the right hand. Jones: Yep, making him keep that left hand at home. Lampley: Good body shot by Cotto there. Jones: See, Cotto's punches just don't seem to have the steam on them that they normally have against those smaller guys, because he's going backwards already. Kellerman: Or circling. Jones: Yes. Lampley: Freddie Roach kept saying to him, "Don't let Canelo come forward. You need to back him up. " Freddie doesn't think that Canelo's a good fighter going backward, but he isn't going backward tonight. He's been able to go forward most of the time. Kellerman: If you had to guess what these guys weigh, 'cause neither weighed in today, Cotto looks a little heavier maybe than he was when he weighed in yesterday at 153 1/2 pounds, probably about 150-something pounds, and Canelo looks like a super middleweight at least. [cheers and applause] Lampley: So the size advantage seems to be showing up as we come toward the middle point of the fight. 20 seconds left in the sixth round. Another round in which they've landed just about an equal number of punches, but Canelo's punches have more effect. Jones: Much more effect. - Six, five,four, three, two. . . [bell dings] Tiempo! Lampley: Halfway through. [cheers and applause]- Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Where's the bag?How are you feeling? Good. All right, several--we got to throw more combinations. We got to light it up. Good? Yes. Yes. You got to throw more punches, okay?You're doing good defense, but you got to punch more. Punch more. You got to throw much more punches. Throw more punches, son. Don't just stay here close up and catching punches. If you're gonna stay there. . . - Okay? [speaking Spanish] Jones: Here you see Canelo land a right body shot first to pull the hands down, beautiful body shot right on the waistline to make the left hand come down. Then you see him come back, and this is when you know a guy feel like-- feels like he's in control. Instead of going down with it, he looks down and comes over the top with it. So he's in full control right now and being able to do anything that he wants to do, and that's not good for Cotto. [bell dings] Lampley: So it's been a pretty good first half of the fight for Canelo, or so it would seem. Now we go to the second half of the fight. Early in the seventh round, Canelo, as you can see in the picture, looking like the larger man in the ring. Harold, how do you have it through 6? Lederman: Okay, Jim, I've got it 4 rounds to 2, 58-56 Canelo Alvarez. You know, Jim, in rounds 4-- no, rounds 5 and round 6, Canelo really got into his game. He backed the guy up. He--you know, he's walking him down, moving forward, landed the harder shots, just like that, two hard right hands. He's doing more damage. That's all there is to it. 4 to 2 Canelo Alvarez. Kellerman: Even if you look at the way this round started, Cotto was active, Canelo took a few shots, and then it was like, "Okay, that's all you got, little guy? Here I come. " Jones: Yep, yep, exactly. Kellerman: Canelo's corner wants more activity. Lampley: Hard body shot from Canelo. Cotto seems to be searching for an answer. He knows he needs to try to back Canelo up, so now he's trying to step up the pace. [cheers and applause] Activity level going up. The more they trade, the more dangerous it seems to become for Cotto. Jones: Mainly because it's like he's trading with one hand, and now Canelo's trading with two. The only thing he seems to be able to hurt Canelo with is a left hook, if he hits him. He don't even know that that can hurt him or not. But Canelo seems to be able to hurt him with a straight right hand, a left uppercut, a left hook, a right uppercut, a body shot-- Lampley: And there. Jones: Exactly. Good hook by Cotto there. Kellerman: Cotto's gonna have to commit to that hook to the body. Jones: And he's not doing it right now because he's the smaller man. You do not want to commit and trade with a bigger guy. Lampley: Now it's on Freddie Roach. Freddie Roach is the greatest trainer in the sport and the one most capable of making an adjustment that can change a fight. This fight needs to be changed for Miguel Cotto to have a chance to win it. Jones: Well, when you say it's on Freddie Roach, but Freddie Roach can tell you what to do; Freddie Roach can't go out there and apply it. And he told him to go forward and push him back. And he's trying, but he's not going back. He's steadily coming forward because he's too big. [cheers and applause] Kellerman: You're right; it's not that Cotto's not landing punches. He is landing punches. Jones: Just that he is so small that Canelo has no fear for him. See, then that right hand, that wouldn't hurt Canelo anyway. [loud tapping] Lampley: Cotto landed a left inside. Byrd: Six, five,four, three. . . Jones: Even the left hook, Max, he's just not sharp tonight. [cheers and applause] [upbeat music]- Good round. ♪ ♪- Better, okay?- That's better, right? - Yep. All right, now you-- you're getting in chargeof everything, okay?All right, you're backing him with the jab, okay?Now, you're backing him up with that double jab. I think you have the right hand there, okay?But you have to be right behind it, okay?All right, don't reach for him. If he steps back, keep stepping in with the jab, all right?Double jab, right hand right down the middle for me, okay?- All right, all right. - All right? Jones: Another sign of the growing confidence, he steps back off of a straight-right lead, which he's not afraid of, throws a right uppercut, then slips the left hook. Wow, and the only punch he's caught by is a jab that causes him no problem at the end of it. Lampley: CompuBox numbers through 7, Cotto 75 out of 380, Alvarez 76 out of 255. And, again, if they land an equal number of shots, Canelo's are harder shots. Jones: Oh. Lampley: Another left uppercut lands for Canelo. Kellerman: It buckled Cotto's knees a bit. Jones: Yeah, that hurt pretty bad there, Max, and that come from reaching at him with that jab. Just what they told him to do. Back him up with the jab. Kellerman: Freddie Roach wanted Canelo for Cotto. He saw Canelo. . . [cheers and applause] Ooh, good action. Good, real tough exchanges from both guys. Lampley: Good body shot by Cotto, one of his best of the fight. Alvarez answers the body shot with one of his own. Tremendous uppercut for Alvarez, another uppercut, a right hand across the top. Cotto lands a left hook, tried to land another one. [cheers and applause] Best action of the fight so far. Left hook lands for Cotto. Right uppercut lands for Canelo. [cheers and applause] Jones: Canelo is just the sharper guy tonight so far. Lampley: Bigger hitter. Jones: Right now. Lampley: Bigger man, bigger hitter. Jones: Like that. Like that. That hurt. Those hurt Cotto. Lampley: He is gradually getting Cotto into trouble from the accumulation of punishment. Kellerman: These are furious exchanges, and the difference is one guy's ability to absorb it over the other. Jones: Oh, good exchange of hooks. Lampley: Tremendous left hook by Cotto. Alvarez answers with a right and a left. Hard right hand by Canelo Alvarez! Tremendous round! And it's still only halfway done. Looks like Miguel Cotto has decided he needs to make a stand. Kellerman: Yes, he's trying to break Canelo's momentum, and he's paying a price to do it, but he is landing his own big shots. Those were some terrific exchanges. [cheers and applause] Jones: Good hook by Cotto. Lampley: Three great punches by Cotto. Jones: And that was a-- Lampley: And Canelo took them and stood right there and landed a return shot of his own. Jones: But that was a beautiful combination by Cotto. Kellerman: I was saying, before that fight broke out, that Freddie Roach saw Canelo at Wild Card when Canelo first got to the United States, and based on what he's seen from Canelo, he really likes-- he liked this fight for his fighter, Cotto, but it's obvious that Canelo has improved since then. Lampley: Tremendous body shot with the right hand by Canelo Alvarez. The book on Alvarez is that he can have stamina problems. So we'll be watching down the stretch of the fight to see if he's able to maintain the pace. Kellerman: Good right to the body by Cotto. Lampley: He's fighting very hard in this round. But you see the difference in power punches landed. Canelo's almost tripled Cotto in power shots in this round despite the number of good, hard, clean shots we've seen Cotto landing here. Kellerman: Cotto's jab is usually like a power shot, but not against Canelo. - Five, four, three, two. . . Jones: Good shot. [bell dings][cheers and applause] Lampley: Best round of the fight, fairly close to even, but, again, the thunder being from Canelo. - More pressure now. How are you feeling?Good. Great. I don't want you to do things you don't need to do,all right, son?He hit you with a straight shot. Why?Because you were overconfident there. You're playing around. - All right. - All right, and you want to land those shots like that,and you're never hit. Don't stay too long, okay?- All right. - All right, now, here, the biggest thing,don't throw the lazy jab, okay?He's gonna counter with the right hand over the top. All right?I think your double jab right hand will work. . . Jones: Here you see Cotto come in, best flurry of the fight for him, I think. He started with straight-right lead that was partially blocked. Then he threw a jab that wasn't blocked, a good right hook to the body, left hook to the body, left hook to the head. Left hook to the head, though, was not as sharp finishing as he wanted. There, that was a straight kind of left hand but jab at the end of the round. Lampley: CompuBox found Cotto landing 13 of 60 and Canelo 21 of 43 in that round with Canelo with an 18 edge in power shots. The judges mostly see how many punches you throw, so Cotto was trying to stop what appeared to be something of a losing streak by rounds, and Harold Lederman gave him the eighth round as some of the other judges might have as well. Kellerman: I can see that. I can see that. It seemed like the narrative of the fighthad been established, but Cotto interrupted it last round, but the punch stats say otherwise. Lampley: And the question is, how big a price did Cotto pay to change the momentum of the fight? Can he keep it up? Jones: But he just landed a good straight right earlier in this round, probably his best one of the night. Kellerman: And you hear the difference in the reaction of the corners. Freddie Roach in Cotto's corner was saying, "Okay, that's good. Now I think we can also do this. " And in Canelo's corner, they were saying, "We don't like what you did there so much. " Lampley: Yes, and they're saying, "You were overconfident. " Jones: And they were talking about that jab at the end of the round. 'Cause like they said, that really could have been a left hook or a semi-overhand left, and it could've been dangerous. That's what they're worried about. Good right hand by both fighters. - All right, break. Break! Break![speaking Spanish] Jones: Oh, good uppercut. [cheers and applause] Cotto threw a good body shot there. It didn't land, but he threw a good one. Lampley: No, the real Miguel Cotto is beginning to show up now. There's the left hook to the body, which is his best punch. And there's Canelo answering the left hook to the body with his own left hook to the body. Jones: Three good jabs by Cotto too. Oh, good hook. Lampley: Quick hard left hook might have hurt Cotto. [cheers and applause] That was great footwork by Canelo. Jones: Oh, good uppercut. Wow. Kellerman: I think Cotto blocked it, Roy. Jones: The uppercut? Kellerman: Yeah. Jones: Okay. Lampley: Good jabs by Cotto. Canelo seems willing to take those jabs to get a better look. Jones: Oh, good hook by Canelo. Kellerman: That was a good hook. Lampley: Quick left hooks by Canelo, three of them in this round blistering Cotto. Jones: Oh, good uppercut by Canelo. Lampley: There's another one. Jones: And Cotto comes right back off of it, though. I'm impressed. Lampley: He's got a great chin. Jones: Yes, he does. Kellerman: It does look as though when Canelo hits him with those shots, "Uh, this is going bad for Cotto," but then he doesn't actually wobble. Jones: No, he comes right back and throws three or four of his own. The only thing is, they don't have the velocity on 'em that Canelo's punches have. [loud tapping]- Eight, seven,six, five, four,three, two, one. [bell dings] Tiempo![cheers and applause] Lampley: 3/4 of the way through. - Great. Where's the bag? How are you feeling?Good. Good. All right, there's three more, son. You've got to do strong rounds, son, strong rounds. You're stronger than he is. You're faster than he is. But you give him time. - Okay?We got to press him again, okay?And we can't let him back us up, okay?- Yeah, all right. - All right?- 9 more minutes. - You know, you back him up with the jab, all right?Throw combinations right behind it, okay?- Yeah. - All right?All right, but, yeah, don't stay in the pocket too long. But do--all right, do this for me, okay? Jones: Here's when you know you got two really good fighters in action. You see one come and throw a body shot, body shot, then the other counters with a body shot-- or a head shot, body shot, mainly the body shot, though. That's when you know you got two real competitors in action, top-notch competitors. Lampley: Now here comes round 10 of a scheduled 12. Midway through the fight, Harold Lederman on his unofficial scorecard had Canelo in charge by a couple of points. Harold, how do you have it now through 9? Lederman: Okay, Jim, I've got it 87-83-- 87-84, 6 rounds to 3, Canelo Alvarez. You know, Jim, Miguel Cotto takes a great punch. He looks like he ain't getting hurt. But what you're judging is, is, who's doing more damage? And there's no doubt about it. The flat-footed Mexican is doing more damage. He's coming forward. He's landing monstrous shots. And Cotto starts showing it. He's trying to punch back, but he certainly can't go shot for shot with Alvarez. Alvarez is just too strong. 6 to 3, Canelo Alvarez. Kellerman: And I think what the punches landed indicates, too, Jim, is that Canelo,while not bouncing on his toes, has good upper-body movement defensively on the inside. Jones: Inside and outside, Max. [cheers and applause]- [unintelligible][cheers and applause] Lampley: Tell you another thing Canelo has. He has tremendous confidence. He has tremendous self-belief. He's fighting with body language that says, "I can't lose. I am going to win this fight walking away. " Whether it's true or not, that's what Canelo believes. Kellerman: Cotto's got to be able at some point, if he wants to win this fight, I think, to make Alvarez feel his left hook, especially to the body, but period. He has to throw those hard left hooks, or the fight seems likely to continue in this fashion. - No, no, no. Stop!Get back. Go. Lampley: A little bit of a lull now for Canelo here in the 10th round. Needs to produce some action, or else he might be in danger of giving a round away to Cotto. Cotto's more active, trying to move side to side and confuse Canelo, gets in a body shot. . . - Ah, ah, ah, ah!No, no, no, no, no. Lampley: And pushes Canelo down with his arm on the back of the neck. You know what the defense is for Canelo, Max? He's got great reflexes. Kellerman: Yep. Lampley: He can see what's coming, and he gets out of the way. Kellerman: And he bends with his upper body. Jones: Oh, good body shot. Lampley: Oh, good body shot. Jones: My goodness. Kellerman: Those were the kind of shots that Cotto needs to land. Lampley: And Cotto gets a weary look on his faceafter that blistering body shot from Canelo. Jones: That was pretty rough there, Jim. Tough to take them kind when you're this fatigued in a fight. [loud tapping] Good right hand. Lampley: Good hard right hand by Cotto. [cheers and applause] And Canelo answers back with a three-punch combination. [cheers and applause]- Sorry. - It's okay. It's okay. Sit down. Good job. Legs out. Relax. Good job. Okay, now you're scoring points,and he's not getting nothing back, all right?- [speaking Spanish]- So now he's gonna get a little more angry,and he's gonna come with more force, all right?You need to use that footwork side to side, okay?Use combinations and angles, okay?- 6 more minutes. - All right?Lead him. Kill him with the jab. Every time--every time he steps to you, right there. . . - Okay. - Fast, hard jabs! Lampley: If Canelo Alvarez can win this fight. he wins the WBC title belt, which Miguel Cotto gave up earlier this week rather than to pay the sanctioning fee that that governing body demanded. But that governing body says if Canelo wins the fight that within 15 days after the fight, he must make a deal to fight Gennady Golovkin or risk being stripped. Some people believe Canelo will go ahead and make the deal and fight Golovkin. Others believe that he won't and that the governing body won't force him to, as they say they will. But all that is after the fight. Right now, we've got two more rounds to go. We're in the 11th, and Max Kellerman is in the corner with Freddie Roach. Max? Kellerman: Freddie, Miguel seems to be following your instructions, but ringside, it seems to us that Canelo's size is negating some of Miguel's advantages and carrying the day. What do you see? Roach: I think that we're outscoring him. We're outpunching him. But he is coming forward, and he is very strong with his shots, but he's missing most of 'em. I mean, I think that we're outscoring him, actually, but it's a very close fight, obviously, but I think that we have a little bit of an edge with scoring the jab more and the combinations. Kellerman: Like that. Roach: Yes. I mean, we have more of that than we have the other. You know, very seldom does he get him in the ropes. You know, he'll land maybe one or two clean shots, and that's about it. I don't think it's enough. Kellerman: So you don't feel that Miguel needs to put a little bit more on that hook to hurt Canelo, to stop his forward momentum at all in these next few rounds? Kellerman: Well, no, I would like that. Yes, because I've been urging him, "Now, don't let him back you up. " I said, "Let's back him up. " And I think he can do that with the double jab and the hard right hand, but we need to get-- we need to do that for the next two rounds, yes. Kellerman: Thanks, Freddie. Lampley: Canelo Alvarez landed a right hand inside. He's working calmly through this 11th round, fighting as though he believes he's in control, even as Freddie Roach tells Max Kellerman that he thinks Miguel Cotto's outscoring him. Good left hook by Canelo Alvarez. Jones: Yeah, Canelo is in control, Jim. The thing, though, right now is that he's also giving Cotto an opportunity to land that thunderous left hook if Cotto just sits down on it and throws it. Lampley: Freddie refers to the jab, and, yes, Cotto just landed a jab there and may have had the edge in landed jabs throughout the fight. But the power shots of Canelo Alvarez have seemed to move Cotto from time to time. Jones: And then this footwork from Cotto seems to be giving Alvarez a few problems. And he's landing that jab, just like Freddie said he could. Kellerman: You can see Freddie's point of view. Cotto is landing his shots. What we see is, those shots are not having the same effect on Canelo as vice versa. It's gonna be interesting to see the way this is scored if it goes to the cards, which it looks like it's heading that way. Lampley: Every judge is different. Every scorecard is different. We don't know what to expect as we come down toward the last round of the fight. [bell dings] - Time! That's all. [cheers and applause]- Breathe. Breathe. Let's go. We've got to close very strong. How are you feeling, son? Good. Let's go. Let's go. You got to throw more punches, dude. Last round. Last round. Flex the waist. Jones: Here you see Cotto land a counter right hand over the top of Canelo's left hook, which was his best right hand of the fight, I think, but then he comes back, and Canelo strips his jab and hits him with a lead left hook, and it seemed like Cotto kept his hand pinned to his eye after that as though it may have hit him right in the eye or that it affected that eye in some way. He even rocked back afterwards. [bell dings] Lampley: And you heard Freddie Roach say that he believe Miguel Cotto is landing more punches. CompuBox does not agree. CompuBox counting 130 landed punches for Canelo Alvarezin the fight to only 118 so far for Cotto. Harold Lederman has given the last three rounds in the fight to Canelo Alvarezand has him with a 5-point lead coming to the 12th. Alvarez lands a couple of pretty big shots to start this last round. Jones: Huge shots. Kellerman: Oh, what action. [cheers and applause] Lampley: Alvarez is trying to knock Cotto out. Jones: And Cotto is trying to do the same. Lampley: They're both gunning for the KO right now. - Let him go. Let him go. . . Lampley: Body shot by Alvarez. Hard right hand over the top-- no, not really hard. A looping right hand over the top. Jones: It was pretty hard, Jim. [cheers and applause] Lampley: These shots are hard enough. Jones: Good body shots. Lampley: He's getting the better of him in every way right now. This is a very big round so far for Canelo. Now here comes Cotto trying to reverse it. [cheers and applause] Mexico, Puerto Rico,the two best 154-pound fighters in the world, a tremendous fight down the stretch. Jones: Cotto has a cut over that left eye bleeding in his eye now. - Come on, guys, stop. Kellerman: And if this is close on the cards, that's a bad look. Cotto needs to do something dramatic here. Lampley: Yeah, because Alvarez just did. He cut him in the 12th round. Jones: Oh, and hit him with two more big shots right there. Lampley: A little left hook lands for Cotto. Same thing has been the case all night, though, that Alvarez walks through the shot and then loads up a big one and knocks Cotto back. Kellerman: The three-to-one odds for Canelo reflected not only the fact that he's such a fan favorite among so many but that youth and size would be served. And by our lights, that's what's happened here tonight. There's 40 seconds left. [cheers and applause] Jones: Good body shot. Oh, that body shot hurt. Lampley: Hard shots by Canelo. Jones: Yeah, that body shot hurt him bad. Lampley: Very hard shot. Jones: That body shot hurt Cotto really bad. Lampley: He's in trouble now. We'll see if Canelo can finish him off! Only 20 seconds to go. Cotto trying to survive what has been a brutal assault here in the 12th round. Jones: And Cotto just tried a mean left hook just there too, Jim. Lampley: Combination for Cotto. Not many chances left, though. [loud tapping][cheers and applause]- Six, five, four, three, two, one. [cheers and applause][bell dinging]Time! Good match![cheers and applause][unintelligible][cheers and applause] Lampley: Two extremely classy fighters. Kellerman: That's a good prize fight. Lampley: That's a great prize fight. And those are very classy guys. Let's go to Michael Buffer. [bell dinging] Buffer: Ladies and gentlemen, after 12 rounds of boxing here at the Mandalay Bay of Las Vegas, we go to the scorecards. John McKaie: 117-11; Dave Moretti: 119-109; Burt Clements: 118-110;all three scores for the winner by unanimous decision and new middleweight champion of the world. . . [cheers and applause] From Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Saul. . . Canelo. . . Alvarez![cheers and applause][laughter and indistinct chatter]- Whoo!Whoo! Lampley: Now let's go to Max Kellerman with another one of the same stripe, Canelo Alvarez. Kellerman: Congratulations, Canelo,on such a big win. - [speaking Spanish]- Just--can you describe what you're feeling?- [speaks Spanish][cheers and applause]- [speaking Spanish]- It's an emotion that I just can't put into words. - [speaking Spanish]- I'm very happy, and much respect to Miguel Cotto. I will always admire him. He's a great champion. - [speaks Spanish] - But now it's my era. [cheers and applause]- I haven't seen you this emotional after a fight,after a big win. Why are you this emotional tonight?[both speaking Spanish]- It's a great victory for me. - [speaking Spanish]- Not just for me but for all of my country. - [speaking Spanish]- For all my people, for all my people,for my family, and especially for my team. [people speaking Spanish]- [speaking Spanish]- Got a great trainer. - [speaking Spanish]- He's the one that brings you here from nothing. - [speaking Spanish]- I didn't even know what a jab was. - [speaking Spanish]- And then we get to this level,and that shows the quality of these trainers. They're great trainers. - [speaking Spanish]- I'm very proud to have people like them,and more than trainers, they're my family. - [speaking Spanish]- I want to thank my family. I want to thank my friends that are always supporting me. And all this is for them. - You guys were boxing at-- you know,it was a boxer-puncher kind of fight, both of you,and the difference seemed to be that your punches were havinga greater effect on him than his were on you when he landed. Did you feel his power?[both speaking Spanish]- You know, it's also, like I said,my respect for Cotto, as I said. - [speaking Spanish]- You know, like I said, my respect for him,and what I said; it doesn't matter if I landed ten punchesbut ten well-connected punches. - [speaking Spanish]- And obviously not get hit by his punches. - Okay, now we turn our attentionto what's coming up. The hope in the boxing worldwas that if Canelo won,he would fight Triple G,because Canelo fights everyone. What are your thoughts now that you're consideredthe lineal middleweight championand he has all the belts-- or many of the belts--what are your thoughts about fighting Triple G?- [speaking Spanish]- You know, with all due respect,before, I didn't want to answer youbecause I was focused on this fight,but with all due respect,if you want to fight him right now,I'll put the gloves on right now and fight him now. - Yeah! - [speaking Spanish]- My respect. He's a great champion. I know him. He's a friend of mine. But right now, I'll put the gloves on against him. - And this is one of the many reasonsthe boxing world loves Canelo. Congratulations, champ. - [speaking Spanish]- Gracias. [speaking Spanish]Gracias. [dramatic music] ♪ ♪
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