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LAS VEGAS. — Saul Alvarez beat Erislandy Lara on a split decision in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Nearly 15 000 boxing spectators saw “Canelo” win the non-title fight at the MGM Grand Arena by 117-111 and 115-113 on two cards.
The other judge called it 115-113 for Lara, the WBA “regular” welterweight champion.
Alvarez, who had given Floyd Mayweather a hard time less than a year ago, had his hands full with the elusive Lara before he changed tactics and went for Lara’s body. It slowed down Lara, who was cut near the right eye in the seventh round.

Alvarez, who is only 23 years old, was fighting in his 46th professional fight.
He improved his record to 44-1-1, including 31 wins inside the distance. Lara’s dropped to 19-2-2, with 12 knock-outs.

Lara, a 31-year-old former Cuban amateur star, lost for the first time since his only previous defeat, a debatable loss to Paul Williams in 2011.

Alvarez, a Mexican who had defeated the likes of Lovemore Ndou, Kermit Cintron, Shane Mosley, Josesito Lopez and Austin Trout, is hoping to fight Mayweather again before the undefeated American retires.

Lara provided a stiff test in a fight that was up for grabs in the late rounds.
Lara raised his hands in victory as the final bell sounded, certain he had done enough to win. A few minutes later, he leaned on the ropes, staring out in disbelief as the decision was announced.

Alvarez was a 2-1 favourite but acknowledged before the bout that fighting someone with a style like Lara’s was risky.
Alvarez could not find Mayweather when he moved in their fight last year, and he had almost as much trouble cornering Lara in a fight in which no title was at stake but was dangerous for both boxers.

Lara was a moving target from the opening bell, going sideways and backward, content to let Alvarez chase him. The strategy worked early on as Alvarez had trouble cutting off the ring and often threw wild right hands that caught nothing but air.

By the fourth round, Alvarez began to have more success. He was relentless in pressuring Lara, who was content to move about the ring, stopping occasionally to throw a right hand, followed by a left.

The heavily pro-Alvarez crowd grew frustrated with the lack of action midway through the fight, booing Lara for refusing to stand and trade punches with the Mexican favourite.

Lara spent much of the later rounds wiping blood from his eye. He kept moving, though, and Alvarez kept chasing him, drawing huge roars from the crowd on the few occasions he managed to trap him on the ropes.

Punch statistics reflected how close the fight was, and how few punches landed.
Alvarez was credited with landing 97 of 415 punches and Lara landed 107 of 386. — AFP.