2010 WBN Young Boxer of the Year Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez cemented his place among the elite boxers in the world, with a dominant twelve round decision victory over Britain’s Matthew Hatton at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California last night.
The 20 year old, who was also named WBN’s ‘One to watch’ for 2011, became the youngest light-middleweight champion of all time in the process as he proved too big and strong for the 147lb European champion, with all three judges scoring the fight 119-108.
Hatton, 29, drops to 41-5-2 after the one-sided defeat, in which he lost every round, with only Alvarez being docked a point for hitting on the break in the seventh, saving him from a total shutout on all three of the judges scorecards.
The Manchester fought bravely though, taking heavy shots in the second round and having to deal with a cut that opened up in the fourth, but was never in with a chance of beating the younger, stronger fighter and had to concede that Alvarez was a step too far.
The new champion, who is now undefeated in 37 contests since turning pro at 15, is expected to stay at the 154lb limit for the foreseeable future, where as Hatton admitted he is too small for the weight and will move back down to welterweight, where he hopes his performance will gain him another world title shot.
