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Canelo Alvarez answers one question but produces another

With Miguel Cotto out of the way, is Gennady Golovkin next?

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Steve Marcus

Canelo Alvarez, right, of Mexico connects on Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico during their middleweight fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Alvarez defeated Cotto by unanimous decision to win the WBC middleweight title.

Cotto vs. Canelo

Canelo Alvarez, right, of Mexico lands a punch on Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico during their middleweight fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Launch slideshow »

Oscar De La Hoya boxed himself into a corner and let Saul “Canelo” Alvarez punch him out of it.

The Golden Boy Promotions CEO spent the past several weeks openly criticizing now-retired Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s reign atop boxing and promising imminent change going forward. In his first bout seizing the perch as the main attraction of a pay-per-view card, De La Hoya’s prized draw didn’t let him down.

Much like Mayweather, Alvarez dominated. Unlike Mayweather, according to De La Hoya and other detractors, Alvarez maintained his superiority while thrilling a capacity crowd.

Alvarez defeated Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision (119-109, 118-110, 117-111) to win the WBC middleweight title in an action-packed fight for more than 11,000 fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“It’s huge for boxing because this is a new era in our sport,” De La Hoya proclaimed. “Get used to this right here — exciting fights and the fights fans want to see.”

Those words, as De La Hoya knows as well as anyone, will ring hollow unless the promoter keeps answering the bell and delivering. Another challenge has already emerged.

The mandatory next opponent for Alvarez’s belt is 33-year-old Gennady Golovkin, or “GGG," an undefeated champion many consider the top fighter in the world. Asked if he planned to face the Kazakhstani, the 25-year-old Alvarez flexed and momentarily ditched his native Spanish language for two English words: “I’m ready.”

“I’m not afraid of anybody,” Alvarez continued through a translator. “I’ll fight anytime. And if you guys don’t believe me, I’ll put the gloves back on and fight another 12 rounds.”

De La Hoya wasn’t as definitive, which many boxing fans feared. It would make sense if the promoter wanted to delay the bout given that Alvarez is the only superstar on his roster, and Golovkin is perhaps the lone fighter who would be favored over him.

De La Hoya would only commit to Alvarez’s next two fights coming in May and September 2016, on the Mexican holiday weekends that Mayweather long owned. Discussions on opponents and locations will come later.

“I’m going to let him rest,” De La Hoya said, “then we’re going to talk about it.”

Some rest is deserved after Alvarez willingly engaged with one of the best boxers of the past decade. Alvarez showed off far more defense with fluid head movement than in his only career loss, to Mayweather two years ago, but never at the detriment of the fight.

He was just as willing to stand in the pocket and trade punches with the 35-year-old Cotto, creating a couple of moments in which nearly everyone in the venue stood and cheered in awe. The two biggest exchanges in the fight, in the eighth and 12th rounds, both went Alvarez’s way as he answered Cotto's combinations with significant punches.

“I said I was willing to do anything I needed to win this fight,” Alvarez said, “and that’s what I did.”

Alvarez landed 155 of the 484 punches he threw, according to CompuBox, with 118 of them registering as power shots. But he also absorbed 129 of 629 punches thrown by Cotto, including 75 power shots.

Many of the rounds were close, volume-wise, which had Cotto’s corner believing they had an advantage. Cotto rushed out of the ring upon hearing the decision and failed to show up for the post-fight news conference because he was shocked with the loss.

“We didn’t lose the fight by that much,” Cotto’s Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach, said. “There’s no (expletive) way. I thought we won the fight.”

Although the judges’ margins were higher, all ringside media also scored the fight for Alvarez. For once, controversy or frustration wasn’t the prevailing theme out of one of the biggest fights of the year.

Whether that’s an effect of Alvarez bringing a new approach as De La Hoya preaches or just a one-off phenomenon remains to be seen.

“People were eager to see an exciting fight after the disappointment with Mayweather-Pacquiao, the lack of action,” De La Hoya said. “And that’s what both fighters delivered.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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