Canelo Alvarez tasted the first defeat of his career in 2013 at just 23 years of age but was able to bounce back in a big way.
In September of 2013, Alvarez would go up against all-time great Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas.
With the WBC Super Welterweight title up for grabs, ‘Money’ Mayweather’s move up a weight division would prove to be a successful one, as he dethroned the Mexican.
Alvarez would lose the fight via majority decision, meaning it was the first time Mayweather did not win a fight unanimously on the scorecards or via stoppage.
Recently, Alvarez named Mayweather his most difficult opponent years on from the loss.
However, the Mexican did not let his first career loss affect him too much, as he was able to bounce right back in his next fight.
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Canelo Alvarez had a dominant performance to bounce back from his first loss
Returning to the ring six months after his first professional loss, Alvarez would take on Alfredo Angulo, who had a 22-3 record at the time.
The pair would share the ring in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, where Alvarez suffered his loss to Mayweather.
However, Alvarez made sure that he would not suffer back-to-back defeats, as he had a dominant performance over his fellow Mexican.
In a showcase performance, Alvarez would display great defensive improvement, as well as landing significant blows on his opponent throughout the bout.
In round 10, Alvarez would land a sharp lead uppercut on Angulo, which would be the last punch thrown in the fight. Still on his feet, Angulo was waved off by the referee and Alvarez was awarded a TKO victory.
The win would be the start of a brand new winning streak for Alvarez, who would go undefeated in his 16 fights that followed the Mayweather loss. This run would help Alvarez become known as one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time as he moved up in weight classes.
However, the stoppage was subject to some controversy, as well as protests from Angulo.
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Alfredo Angulo and his coach protested Canelo Alvarez stoppage
When the referee stopped the fight between Alvarez and Angulo, some boos came from the crowd as the fight ended. In response to the boos, Alvarez said, “The referee stopped the fight. He’s the law of the ring. I could have fought 10 more rounds, but the referee stopped the fight…It’s not my problem.”
However, the fans were not the only ones who were disappointed with the stoppage. Speaking after the fight, Angulo said “I told Tony [the referee] he did the wrong job tonight. The referee tells us to take care of ourselves at all times. I can take care of myself. My plan was to work harder in the final four or three rounds. I had good preparation for this fight.”
Not only was the fighter himself disappointed with the stoppage, but so was his coach, Virgil Hunter. “I’m very upset,” said Hunter about the finish.
“I told the referee and the doctor that if Canelo put two or three shots together that I would stop the fight. He landed one punch. Everyone knows Alfredo was coming on strong, everyone knows that,” Hunter told ESPN.
Following the loss to Alvarez, Angulo would have trouble stringing together wins, as he went 4-4 in his final eight boxing fights.
Angulo has most recently competed in bare-knuckle boxing matches, where he had one win and one loss in 2024.