Canelo Alvarez cruises to underwhelming win over Daniel Jacobs by UD

Before his bout with Daniel Jacobs, Canelo Alvarez was seen by many as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. After, it’s complicated.

When Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs met to establish complete dominance over the middleweight division on May 4, it was a tale of two fights. If you just watched the first six rounds, you wouldn’t have thought that Jacobs stood a prayer of winning. However, the match became more intricate as the second half transpired.

Round 1 was a typically slow start, but  Alvarez pressed forward while Jacobs was on his back foot. Alvarez looked like he was continuing with the aggressive stance he took since his second bout with Gennady Golovkin.

In the second, Alvarez took over. He stepped up his attack. Alvarez utilized his jab despite giving up 3 inches of reach. His faster hands allowed him to get in on Jacobs without taking any return fire.

Jacobs woke up a bit in the third, but he had a hard time landing punches on Alvarez. Jacobs winged shots, but Alvarez’s head movement and shoulder rotation dodged most of Jacobs’ punches.

Alvarez was on cruise control from rounds 4-6. Jacobs lacked activity, which wasn’t surprising. Alvarez didn’t set a blistering pace either, but his punches were harder and more accurate. Suddenly, the bout started to shift.

Jacobs’ output grew in the seventh, and round 8 looked like it was a toss-up. Alvarez scored early, but Jacobs let his hands go in the last minute. To Alvarez’s credit, he hit Jacobs with numerous uppercuts in the final 10 seconds.

Rounds 9 and 10 were all Jacobs. Alvarez didn’t show any urgency. He was content with winning on points. Alvarez didn’t look like the same boxer from the second Golovkin bout who had something to prove to his opponent and the world. He was nonchalant and inactive in vast stretches.

Jacobs was tired in round 11 and chose the wrong round to take off because Alvarez had plenty of energy saved for the 12th. There were some entertaining skirmishes in the final round, but Alvarez wasn’t going to allow Jacobs to win it. His power shots were more ample and precise.

When the judges’ cards were read, they revealed two scores of 115-113 and one score of 116-112. The judges did their job and evaluated this contest correctly.

Alvarez looked good, but not great. He didn’t fight with the same heart he showed in his rematch with Golovkin. The truth is that he didn’t need to perform at his best to defeat Jacobs and he knew it. Although, his lack of tenacity and vigor were apparent to fight fans.

Alvarez is an immense talent, but he didn’t look like the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He couldn’t have won against Golovkin with this performance, but he could have found an extra gear or two if he was fighting Golovkin because he would’ve needed it. Golovkin brought out the best in Alvarez. Against Jacobs, his best wasn’t required.