Mexican sensation Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez stopped Alfonso Gomez in round six in Los Angeles to retain his WBC light-middleweight title.
'Canelo' still perfect after blasting out Alfonso
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez stopped Alfonso Gomez in round six in Los Angeles on Saturday night to retain his WBC light-middleweight title.
The red-headed Mexican sensation, seen by many as the eventual successor to Oscar De La Hoya as boxing's biggest box-office draw, exploded with a vicious assault to bring proceedings to a close in Staples Center.
The 21-year-old improved his perfect pro record to 38-0 and dropped Gomez to 23-5-2.
'Canelo' announced his intentions right from the off, dropping Gomez late in the first with a left hook after a circumspect opening.
After that he seemed content to wait for further opportunities, allowing Gomez to take the initiative and fight his way into the bout.
Alfonso produced the greater workrate while Alvarez was content to pick his shots and bide his time.
Uppercuts
It appeared that Alvarez, showing good power in both hands and great accuracy, could go up a gear at any time. He landed several powerful uppercuts that rocked Gomez. And when the end came in round six, it came quickly.
Late in the session Alvarez exploded off the ropes to land another vicious uppercut followed by a right hand to send Gomez reeling backwards across the ring.
Alvarez smelled blood and followed up with a sustained assault which left Gomez covering up and unable to reply. And Wayne Hedgpeth stepped in to call a halt allowing 'Canelo' to retain his world title, and his perfect professional record.
