Watch Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Ryan Rhodes Full Replay

"Canelo" Alvarez Stops Rhodes In 12th After One-Sided Scrap There is a tendency for keyboard tappers to go overboard in looking for deficencies in those next big things, the perhaps overhyped phenoms who are presented to us as saviors in shorts. I'm not going to go that route with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Alvarez stayed calm, cool and on message as he whacked Rhodes with combos for 11 plus rounds, and closed the show in the 12th round of a most one sided affair.

Canelo landed six shots, a couple of them sledgehammers to the body, knocked Rhodes back and then kept on firing as Rhodes' corner hurled in the towel as the ref stepped in. That said, I won't place myself in the "Canelo is God" camp, because Canelo isn't. Rhodes did his legacy no favors. Alvarez went 218-590 while Rhodes was 90-343 on the night, stats wise. Canelo, thru a translator, said after that he sensed his body shots were working. If I have to fight the devil, I will." Alvarez (age 20, a month shy of turning 21; 36-0-1 with 26 K0s; from Guadalajara) was 153 1/4 pounds, while Rhodes (age 34; 45-4 with 31 KOs entering; from England) weighed 152 1/2 in this fight for Canelo's WBC junior middleweight crown.

Rhodes said after he underestimated Canelo's power, and that the body attack got to him. Bob Papa called the action, along with Roy Jones, for HBO.

Rhodes switched to lefty at the end of the first, trying to be tricky. Trainer Eddie Reynoso told Canelo to "relax" after the frame.

In the second, Jones made a smart point, lauding Canelo for not being overeager in his hometown. Rhodes again went righty, then lefty. Canelo looked relaxed and on message.

In the third, Rhodes looked to be busier with the jab. The damage came from a right hand that landed behind the head. In the seventh, the left hook worked, the jab worked, the right cross, the same: Canelo was the king of combos and Rhodes' face looked a bit more worn. In the eighth, Rhodes slowed more. Canelo's body work hurt me, in Brooklyn.

In round nine, Rhodes hung tough, we will say that for him.