Saul Alvarez becomes first man in 16 years to stop Carlos Baldomir

Carlos Baldomir hadn't been knocked out in 16 years coming into tonight's fight with Saul Alvarez.

No more.

Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 KO) was measured and careful in the first five rounds against the 39-year-old Baldomir (45-13-6, 14 KO), but he won all of them. In the sixth, though, the "Canelo" who is becoming arguably the top young sensation in boxing showed up. Alvarez landed 42 of 58 punches in the round, battering Baldomir in the closing moments and knocking him out flat with a vicious left hook. There were just two seconds left in the round.

Alvarez, just 20, got a huge reaction in his first fight in Los Angeles. This is a budding superstar. He's not perfect, but he's the perfect next Mexican star, perhaps.

Baldomir may well retire now, and if he's set up to do so, you can't argue with that. He's old, he was out of shape in this fight, and he's still so tough that you might argue he's too tough for his own good. He took plenty of hard shots from Alvarez tonight, and stood up to all but the final round assault. Baldomir was once a modern Cinderella Man, but he was just too slow and faded to keep any sort of pace with a hungry young man nearly half his age.

Our live coverage will continue with the main event of the PPV next, as Shane Mosley meets Sergio Mora.