Canelo Alvarez did what everyone expected in Miami tonight, beating Avni Yildirim in three rounds to retain his WBC and WBA super middleweight titles and wage a battle on May 8 with WBO title holder Billy Joe Saunders.
“It’s Canelo against Saunders on May 8, the venue will be announced soon,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said after the fight. “It’s going to be one of the biggest fights of the year.”
Canelo (55-1-2, 37 KO) made his way from the start and easily won the first two rounds against provisional Yildirim (21-3, 12 KO) while unleashing hard power shots on the body. Yildirim went down in the third round, but did finish the frame before being stopped in the corner after coach Joel Diaz told the Turkish challenger that he would only give him one more round. The team decided not to play any more rounds.
Here are the highlights we had:
Yildirim got a huge heat after the fight from the DAZN team, which was probably unfair. He was about a 15-to-1 underdog, and this chance was honestly ample and only had the purpose of driving money. He is not a top ten super middleweight, and he was not a match for Canelo on paper or in the ring.
Aggressively aggressive, Yildirim actually offered nothing, and Canelo just took him apart. The march will now unite further at 168 pounds.
“I come here to do my job, I come to win, and I come to make history,” Alvarez said after a fight by a translator. ‘I feel strong, fast and comfortable (at 168). I would fight anyone. I always fight the best. It does not matter. I had to fight Yildirim (as obligatory) to unite 168. ”
So Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KO) is next as expected. It’s a much more intriguing battle than this one. Who did you get on May 8th?