Canelo Alvarez defeats Avni Yildirim
Canelo Alvarez defeated opponent Avni Yildirim in the third round of the middleweight title fight at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Canelo Alvarez outperformed Avni Yildirim and retained his middleweight world title with a technical knockout after Yildirim failed to answer the bell in the fourth round Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Alvarez, Mexico, shot down the Turkish opponent with a left and right combination midway during the third round. Alvarez followed him with additional fixtures, fixing Yildirim to the ropes. Yildirim escaped the tour but absorbed enough penalty that forced his coach Joel Diaz to stop the fight.
With the victory, Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) successfully defended the belts of the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Association.
"I came and did what I had to do," Alvarez said. "I had to win by knockout and it did."
The fight topped the first boxing event at the 34-year-old Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphin team.
In a methodical first run, Alvarez set the pace early with a shot left in the head, left and right for the body.
Alvarez landed runs and continued to score with combinations in the body per second. Yildirim (21-3) rarely punched and the little he did, prevented Alvarez or his shots slipped. Alvarez stayed within the punching range and increased its output but was also effective from a distance and connected to a flux counter directly to the head.
"It doesn't matter if he's stronger or taller," said Alvarez of Yildirim, who started his career in the lightweight before moving to the 168-pound category. "It doesn't matter if he has a good coach. I came to do my job."
Saturday's match was the first in what Alvarez hopes will be a busy year of pursuit of unification battles. Alvarez said there were preliminary talks for a match with WBA reigning Billy Joe Saunders in May. The Caleb Factory holds the fourth sanction belt.
Inactive since February 2019, Yildirim was relegated in the match against Alvarez after WBC appointed him as a mandatory contender.
Both Alvarez Yildirim weighed 167 pounds, below the Super Middleweight weight limit.
Earlier, MacWilliams-Arroyo of Puerto Rico won the World Flyweight Championship in Class Two with a technical knockout in the fifth round over the late substitute Abraham Rodriguez. Arroyo was originally slated to challenge WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez but Martinez withdrew from the match on Thursday due to a hand injury.
Source:
Los Angeles Times
Semantic words:
canelo fight
