Mexican Canelo Alvarez, through a third-round knockout, triumphed over American James Kirkland in a fight for the junior middleweight belt, ESPN reported May 10.

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Alvarez, with a record of 45 wins, 1 loss and 32 knockouts, gave boxing fans in attendance at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, and the millions who watched at home, an action-filled fight that demonstrated his power and technique.

According to CompuBox, Alvarez landed 87 of the 150 punches he threw; while Kirkland's final number came down to 42 landed and 197 thrown.

Alvarez said the fight went as expected and although Kirkland "did surprise me with his aggressiveness in the first and second rounds," the Mexican fighter said he knew the fight was his when Kirkland dropped for the first time.

ESPN reported that Kirkland, with a record of 32 wins, 2 losses and 28 knockouts, went down three times during the three-round fight.

Kirkland was quoted by ESPN as saying that he "did not see the knockout punch" but that he is proud to have been part of the exciting bout with Alvarez.

Golden Boy Productions Founder and Boxing Legend Oscar De La Hoya also chimed in, noting that the 24-year-old Alvarez had "tremendous punching power." De La Hoya was also very happy with the style, power and skills that both boxers showcased during the fight.

"I believe if we continue on this pace, delivering these types of fights, people will forget about Mayweather-Pacquiao," De La Hoya said, according to the news article.

Alvarez VS Kirkland came exactly a week after the so-called Fight of the Century between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, which many analysts, fighters and boxing fans are now considering as an underwhelming match.

Yahoo Sports also quoted De La Hoya in a same-day news article as saying that the performance of Alvarez is the "future" and that the MayPac fight was a thing of the past.

De La Hoya, who is in the middle of a lawsuit with Mayweather's manager, is the promoter of Alvarez while actor/rapper 50 Cent was Kirkland's promoter. Jon Schorle officiated the fight.

TagsSports, Boxing, Boxing News, Oscar de la Hoya, canelo alvarez, james kirkland, manny pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather