Canelo vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. result: Canelo def. Chavez via decision

Canelo Alvarez defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via shutout decision in a fight that played out exactly as many expected — and feared.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., despite being a fight no one had asked for, was certainly imbued with significant stakes for the bitter rivals — namely, Mexican supremacy and bragging rights for the winner. With a pathetically one-sided unanimous decision win via three scores of 120-108, Canelo (49-1-1, 34 KOs) officially put the nail in proverbial coffin of the mercurial Chavez’s strange career.

Alvarez commanded the center of the ring from the opening bell, out-jabbing the taller Chavez (50-3-1, 32 KOs) and landing crisp straight right hands to a somewhat tentative Chavez. Despite getting outboxed in Round 1, Chavez landed two punishing left hooks to Canelo’s right flank. Chavez appeared on the verge of garnering some momentum in Round 2 when he backed Canelo up against the ropes and unloaded a fusillade of body shots, only to retreat when warned for strafing low with his hooks.

Canelo continued to pepper a confused and lethargic Chavez with combinations punctuated with body blows after rallying from Chavez’s early assaults. In the third, Canelo landed a clubbing right hand around Chavez’s guard and followed up with a sweeping hook to Chavez’s exposed stomach. A four-punch combination drew blood from the nose of a befuddled Chavez, who was unable to impose his alleged size or strength advantage.

The mismatch seemed to be confirmed in the fifth stanza with Canelo walking a passive Chavez down and landing multi-punch combinations. A one-two stunned Chavez, and a follow up left hook downstairs stymied his movement. Canelo then unloaded with a barrage of right hands and uppercuts, rendering Chavez embarrassingly helpless. With 25 seconds left in the round, Canelo held a 25-1 edge in landed punches.

A quieter fifth frame was highlighted by a massive counter right hand bomb from Canelo, as well as Chavez’s continued inability to pull the trigger. In-between rounds, referee Kenny Bayless warned Chavez and his corner that they needed to show him something or risk a stoppage. Sadly, the sixth round was a microcosm of Chavez’s failures and reflected the profundity of the mismatch. Canelo willingly retreated to the ropes, ceding the advantage to Chavez, who was unable to mount any significant offense and was petrified to throw a committed combination.

Although Chavez tried to rally in the seventh, backing Canelo up against the ropes for about a minute, two multi-punch Canelo volleys tattooed his face and forced him to retreat again. As the fight entered its final third, it settled into a familiar pattern: Canelo outclassing and embarrassing Chavez, playing possum at his leisure and otherwise walking Chavez down behind surgical combinations.

It should be noted that Canelo boxed extremely well with his back to the ropes, where he appeared content to invite Chavez’s predictable assaults and then propel himself forward with two-fisted attacks that immediately turned Chavez passive. In effect, Canelo played master matador to Chavez’s wounded bull, rendering the fight cringe-inducing to watch.

Canelo also worked his vaunted right uppercut with aplomb, snapping Chavez’s head back with the punch, which he used to punctuate a variety of combinations. Despite Canelo’s mastery of technique, fans expressed their displeasure in the 10th, booing the one-sided action in what would generally be viewed as unfathomable in a marquee fight between two Mexican stars.

As the fight moved into the championship rounds, the narrative shifted to emphasizing Chavez’s paltry effort; however, it seemed less a case of Chavez not trying as him simply being unable — i.e. straight up not good enough — to mount any effective offense. Chavez had absorbed tremendous punishment without quitting, but his true problem stemmed from a combination of his inferior talent and imagination.

As he had for the entire fight, Canelo refused to sit on his stool before the final round, his bravado serving as one more humiliation for Chavez. Simply put, Canelo-Chavez, which saw Canelo land 228 punches to Chavez’s 71, was a farce and spectacle that failed to capitalize, in every respect, on the tremendous momentum infused into the sport after Anthony Joshua’s sensational win over Wladimir Klitschko in a heavyweight championship classic.

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So, will Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and his false mystique finally fade into oblivion? More importantly, bring on Canelo Avlarez-Gennady Golovkin, which was massively hyped post-fight. While that is a tremendous fight, as Canelo and Chavez go their separate ways, tonight was a stark reminder that their paths should have never crossed.