The HBO PPV results are in and it was not a satisfying main event. Canelo Alvarez won a wide, one sided decision without much in the way of attempted opposition. Lemieux, Matthysse, and JoJo Diaz also won in much more interesting fights. After the main event the much anticipated showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin was also announced.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr committed fraud in open public tonight in Las Vegas via the crime of impersonating a professional fighter. He wore the gear and stepped into the ring, but at no point did he attempt to to engage in a boxing match. Instead of coming forward with pressure, Chavez Jr backed up without purpose. Ostensibly boxing from the outside was his bizarre gameplan, but in truth the son of the legend just became a mobile heavy bag for Canelo Alvarez to hone his craft on.
I would like to say Chavez fought with fear and no confidence, but in truth he didn’t fight at all. The non-contest was a farce of the highest order, a con on millions of marks at once. The idea of the fight was that Chavez’s size would be able to compensate for his lack of skill, but in order to impose size Chavez would have to have tried. There is very little else to say about this depressing lowlight of an event. The main event was a disgrace and none of it was Canelo Alvarez’s fault.
As for Canelo himself, he did what he could. He battered Chavez for a while and thoroughly embarrassed him along the way. About two thirds of the way through the non-fight he even began backing up to the ropes and covering up in an effort to get Chavez to do something. It would work for a second, but as soon as Canelo returned fire any weak effort would immediately end. Alvarez could only work with what was being given.
We do have a silver lining, however, as post-fight Canelo versus Gennady Golovkin was finally announced for September. Golovkin came to the ring with a full ring walk, entrance music and all, and they bantered for a few minutes as mediated by Max Kellerman. It was corny for sure, but the spectacle of it and the excitement of the announcement was actually better than the fight. Which, in truth, is saying next to nothing at all. At least the undercards were pretty good.
Montreal’s power punching David Lemieux laid a pretty savage ten round beating on an extremely game Marco Reyes in the co-main event. The first three rounds in particularly were brutal as Lemieux battered Reyes around the ring with vicious power shots, but the next three had a really interesting tonal shift where Reyes was able to find some real success behind his jab and right hand. It wouldn’t last, however, as the French-Canadian returned to dominance in the seventh, carrying it through the end of the fight. Reyes was extremely game, occasionally even still effective, and showed a tremendous chin to the bitter end. It was one of those fights, however, where you start to worry about one side before the end and I was glad to see Reyes appear fine as he left the ring.
The second fight of the night brought the return of Argentinian power puncher Lucas Matthysse. He had a pretty easy time roughing up Emmanuel Taylor, dropping him in the third before doing it again in the fifth to end the fight. Matthysse’s well known power seemed to carry up to welterweight just fine and he had an easier time than I even expected. He hurt Taylor with almost everything he landed from the first round on.
In the opener former US Olympian JoJo Diaz outclassed Manuel Avila over ten rounds in a battle of unbeaten Golden Boy featherweight prospects. Through four rounds it was an even fight as Avila was able to find counter opportunities, but after that point Diaz’s class began to show. The last third of the fight was very one sided, but it was never really close to a stoppage. While not consistently exciting, Joseph Diaz Jr really was able to showcase his skill set effectively here. His team is reportedly targeting Gary Russell Jr should be prevail in his upcoming fight. That would be an excellent matchup that I would love to see.
