By Rick Reeno
MGM Grand, Las Vegas - Sergio "Yeyo" Thompson (29-3, 26KOs) accepted this fight on late notice and used his the power in his fists to score two knockdowns to win a ten round unanimous decision over Ricardo "Dinamita" Alvarez (23-3-3, 14KOs), the older brother of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, in a lightweight contest. The scores were 95-93, 95-93, 97-91.
BoxingScene had it 97-91 for Thompson.
Thompson rocked Alvarez in the first minute and punished him in spurts. Alvarez landed a few good counters to back Thompson up, but he was getting shaken up with every landed punch. In the second round, Alvarez caught Thompson with a series of hard punches to push him back.
During the third, Thompson scored a knockdown when be cracked Alvarez on the chin and he fell backwards, with only the ropes holding him up. They were trading big shots, toe to toe, when Alvarez fought his way out of trouble.
After two more rounds of warfare, Thompson once again had Alvarez in trouble during the sixth. Alvarez came back in the seventh to get a tiring Thompson in trouble as he worked him over against the ropes. At the start of the eight, Thompson dropped Alvarez hard with a huge counter. Alvarez stayed on his toes, moving around the ring to recover his senses.
Thompson was visibly exhausted in the final two rounds, with Alvarez doing most of the work and tagging him with punches.
Alvarez was originally scheduled to face WBC champion Omar Figueroa, who withdrew less than two weeks ago with a hand injury.