Round-by-round: Mayweather beats Alvarez by majority decision
LAS VEGAS — USA TODAY Sports was on the scene for round-by-round updates of the highly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Mayweather scored a majority-decision victory over Alvarez. Judge C.J. Ross scored it 114-114 even, a baffling score. She was overruled by tallies of 116-112 by Dave Moretti and 117-111 by Craig Metcalfe for Mayweather, the new junior middleweight champion of the world by majority decision. The 114-114 score is an absolutely stunning score, which did not come close to truly representing the action. The judges had it far closer than anyone at ringside.
Mayweather was humble in victory. Alvarez offered no excuses following the bout and said, through a translator, "I didn't know how to get him. ... We were trying to catch him."
ROUND 12: Alvarez tries to rough up Mayweather in the final round, as Mayweather is happy to jump on his bicycle and kill the clock. An uneventful end to an uneventful fight. The fans started for the exits during the round. Another masterpiece by Mayweather, who shows no signs of slowing down at 36. We now go to the scorecards for what should be a formality. Mayweather wins on this card, 118-110.
ROUND 11: Mayweather now teasing Alvarez as he dodges his punches. Mayweather takes off the entire round, and Alvarez probably wins it based purely on activity. Alvarez needs a knockout entering the final round. 9-2, Mayweather.
ROUND 10: Alvarez seems gassed now, his mouth wide open as Mayweather effortlessly glides around the ring, nary a deep breath. Alvarez lands a few shots on Mayweather's arms, and the crowd goes wild. Mayweather, as always, seems content to score the decision, rather than press for the knockout. Mayweather, 9-1
ROUND 9: For the first time all night, the cheers for Mayweather overshadow Canelo's supporters. Mayweather stands in the pocket, but begins to throw less as Alvarez's activity drops. But Mayweather then lands a shot that seems to stun Alvarez. Mayweather is standing right in front of Alvarez, but Alvarez can't hit him. Mayweather, 8-1
ROUND 8: Alvarez comes with an effective flurry along the ropes, as he lands a few body shots, but allows Mayweather to escape. Alvarez then pins him to the ropes again and this time lands a big left hook to Mayweather's head. But Mayweather bounces back and begins to land some of his best power shots of the night, as Alvarez is too slow to guard himself after throwing. Alvarez does some good work, but another Mayweather round. Alvarez needs a knockout at this point, he's simply being outclassed.
ROUND 7: Mayweather and Alvarez exchange in the corner, and Mayweather lands his biggest combination of the fight, rocking his opponent with a one-two. Alvarez seems to be tiring, and is slowing down. Mayweather's shoulder dips and dodges are making Alvarez look silly at times. Mayweather then lands a double jab followed by a big left uppercut. Mayweather's best round of the fight. Mayweather, 6-1
ROUND 6: Alvarez is by far the bigger man, but he's not fighting like it. Mayweather is standing right in front of him and landing stinging shots over and over. They traded it in the center of the ring, and Mayweather got the better of it. Alvarez finally lands a big shot, a left hook. He's starting to throw more and more and is enticing Mayweather into exchanges. But Alvarez needs to land more. Another round for Mayweather, who is up 5-1 on this card.
ROUND 5: Mayweather appears to be sharper as the fight wears on. Every time Alvarez throws, Mayweather connects with a clean counter shot. Mayweather then landed a big right, followed by another combination. Target practice at this point. Mayweather pinned Alvarez to the ropes and let go with lefts and rights. Alvarez appears to be growing frustrated. Chants of "U-S-A" broke out, as the Mexican contingent booed in reply. Easy round for Mayweather, his most dominant of the night. Mayweather, 4-1
ROUND 4: Alvarez landed to the body, then ate a big Mayweather combination. Alvarez responded with a blatant low blow, as Mayweather grimaced in disgust. The hand-speed disparity is enormous here, but Alvarez is the busier fighter. Mayweather landed a left hook, but didn't string any punches together. He then teed off with some quick combos, clearly winning the round. Mayweather, 3-1.
ROUND 3: Alvarez again trying to get to the body. Mayweather landed a stinging jab. Mayweather then finally opened the attack, connecting with two big combinations in a row. Alvarez backed Mayweather to the ropes, but couldn't do any damage. Mayweather landed another combo to end the round, but Alvarez caught him with a counter shot. Mayweather leads 2-1.
ROUND 2:Mayweather landed two left hooks, then missed with an uppercut. Alvarez is attempting to work the body, but Mayweather isn't in range. Mayweather landed some body shots to end the round. Through two, neither fighter has landed anything of consequence. Another tough round to score, but Mayweather shades it on this card. Even through two.
ROUND 1: Mayweather started out the action, throwing feints and left hook leads. Boisterous chants "Ca-nel-o" rang throughout the first round. Alvarez threw some big shots but missed. Mayweather landed a right cross, then escaped harm's way immediately. Alvarez caught Mayweather coming in and knocked him off-balance, sending the crowd into a frenzy. It was a tough round to score with neither fighter doing much, but it will be interesting to see if the crowd sways the judges. 10-9, Alvarez on this card.
The national anthems are over, the crowd is going bonkers for Alvarez, Mexico's favorite son, as he calmly walks to the ring in a robe outfitted in his nation's colors.
Mayweather makes his way to the ring, donned in blue and silver. Rapper Lil Wayne is accompanying Mayweather to the ring, performing live. Loud chorus of boos for Mayweather -- it's clearly a pro-Alvarez crowd. We'll see how the fighters feed off the energy.
On the unofficial scales tonight, Mayweather weighed 150 while Alvarez hydrated up to 165. Alvarez will need to use his superior size to dictate the fight. Both fighters are undefeated. Mayweather has been on the big stage time and again, but this is very new for Alvarez, who is just 23.
