Canelo Beats Ex Champ Cintron, Gets TKO5 Win

It was a career best win for Canelo Alvarez, I suppose, as he forced the ref in round five to halt the main event, against Kermit Cintron,  on HBO on Saturday night at the Monumental Plaza Del Toros in Mexico City. But this may be the last we see of Cintron, who didn’t look all that engaged, or crisp, from the opening. He rarely launched through his target, and while his name is a nice scalp on the resume, he does not present, in retrospect, more of test that Alfonso Gomez.

After, Max Kellerman talked with Canelo. The winner said that he wants Mayweather in May. Is he ready, Max asked? “Apart from the money, that doesn’t matter, we want to fight the best in the world, he’s the best pound for pound and that’s what we want, we want to fight him.”

The 21-year-old Canelo (38-0-1 with 28 KOs; from Jalisco, Mexico) was 154 pounds, while Cintron (33-4-1; from Puerto Rico) was 154. This bout was the third defense of Canelo’s WBC light middleweight title.

In the first, the ex welter champ Cintron ate a solid left hook. A straight right also snapped his head back.

In the second, Cintron came out more awake, jabbing. But Canelo was the lead dog, dictating pace and tone. Cintron wasn’t punching through his target, and didn’t look all that sharp.

In the third, Cintron worked from the outside, but he didn’t have the look of a man on a mission. He wasn’t all that busy, didn’t seem to be working a particular strategy, and had lost every round.

In the fourth, Canelo scored a knockdown with a minute left. A right hand did the trick. He then slipped with 35 seconds to go. He was also hurt at the end of the round, and blood came from the bridge of his nose.

In the fifth, Cintron looked a bit depleted. The ref stopped it, a real quick hook to me on first glance. Canelo went 79-215, to 41-285.

Roy Jones offered a summation. He said he thinks Broner is maybe the best at 130 right now, and that Canelo is an old soul. “I can’t wait to see whatever his future holds,” he said. TSS Universe, what do you want next for the redhead? Weigh in!