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WBC 154 pound boss Saul Alvarez kept his title last night at Arena VGK in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Mexico, turning back the challenge of ex-European champion Ryan Rhodes.
14 years younger than the veteran Rhodes, the youthful Alvarez, 20, was in command from the opening round, patiently looking for openings left by the awkward challenger.
Early on Rhodes was the aggressor, searching of opportunities behind a searching jab but Alvarez’s showed a tight defense and his unpredictable offensive barrages made it difficult for Rhodes to succeed at much of anything.
The middle rounds saw Alvarez begin to close the distance between the two and his superb combinations, that often started with a body shot and ended with a sharp uppercut, rattled.
Rhodes was counted as being knocked down in the fourth but he was actually swept off balance from a missed Alvarez punch.
As the bout continued, Rhodes, who constantly shifted between orthodox and southpaw stances, fell further and further behind on the cards as he was unable to find a way to get to the champion, who continued to control the pace and win exchanges.
Rhodes, now cut below both eyes, finally opened up in the 11th frame and had his best round of the fight by far, catching Alvarez with bracing combinations that seemed to surprise the champion and won Rhodes the round.
The challenger started the twelfth in similar fashion but Alvarez put an end to the Englishman’s ambition by going on the attack and soon Rhodes was staggered by heavy punches.
Alvarez continued his assault but Rhodes started to slip much of what was coming his way. Nevertheless, referee Hector Afu jumped in to stop the contest at 0:48 of the final frame.
Alvarez remains undefeated at 37-0-1 (27), retaining his WBC belt for the first time. Rhodes sees a ten bout, five year win streak snapped and his resume now reads 45-5 (31).
Super feather contender Adrien Broner, 21-0 (17), looked sensational in winning the vacant USNBC strap, shattering ex-IBF feather title challenger Jason Litzau, 28-3 (21), with his first offensive stanza, winning the bout when Litzau was unable to defend himself at 2:58 of the first round.
Broner, who’s style looks to be an exact replica of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s, is likely heading for his first world title shot.
