On This Day: Floyd Mayweather Defeats Canelo Álvarez in 2013 Showdown

On September 14, 2013, the undefeated Mexican fighter Canelo Álvarez took on his fellow undefeated fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. The bout took place at the MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. It was ultimately a dominant performance from Mayweather, but it was not without controversial scoring by judges. Big Fight Weekend are here to take you down memory lane to this historic fight for the WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring light middleweight titles.

Floyd Mayweather Defeats Canelo Álvarez in Las Vegas Showdown

Mayweather vs. Canelo Recap

Álvarez tried to work the body of Mayweather early on but couldn’t make a dent. Mayweather’s jab began to find a home early, and his exceptional lateral movement ensured Canelo regularly failed to connect.

After a cagey couple of rounds, Mayweather began to find a home for his right hand in the third round. The Mexican fighter began to look frustrated, landing a low blow in the fourth round. When “Money” let his hands go, he kept tagging Canelo almost at will.

During the fifth round – the class of Mayweather – shone through as he picked his punches brilliantly while evading many counters from his opponent. The only success Canelo had was landing on Mayweather’s arms, while “Money” was mixing his punches well, which left the Mexican fighter often dazed and confused.

In the championship rounds, it was clear Canelo needed a miracle, and that wasn’t to be, as Mayweather coasted through the final rounds, landing again almost at will. This was a brutally efficient performance from a fighter who would never taste defeat during his professional career, retiring at 50-0. The controversy came after the final bell when the judge’s scorecards were read, 117-111, 116-112, with the final judge C.J. Ross inexplicably scoring the bout 114-1114, giving “Money” the majority decision win.

Post Fight Quotes

In the post-fight interview, Mayweather paid tribute to Canelo: “Canelo is a young, strong champion. A great Mexican champion,” Mayweather said. “I take my hat off to him and to Mexico. He can take a loss and bounce back.

He continued: “Seventeen years, and I’m still going strong. I think had I pressed the attack earlier, I could have gotten the stoppage, but I am very happy with my performance.”

Canelo was very honest when speaking through a translator after the fight: “It was simple: I couldn’t catch him.”

Álvarez added: “He was very elusive. He’s a great fighter. I did not know how to get him. He is very intelligent. He’s got a lot of experience. Honestly, I couldn’t find him. In the later rounds, I felt frustrated. I recognize that he beat me. I tried to connect on him, but I just couldn’t. At the same time, he also missed me a lot. A lot of punches landed on my gloves.”