Canelo Alvarez made it easy on Saturday night in Miami when he forced Yildirim to quit on his stool after Round 3.
Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez successfully defended his WBC and WBA super middleweight world titles against first body mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim in the undercard main event held at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Alvarez, (55-1-2, 37 KOs), the sport’s biggest star and best pound-for-pound fighter, made quick work of his limited foe while defending his WBA and WBC titles at 168 pounds via third-round TKO in front of 15,000 socially distanced fans at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
The 30-year-old Mexican star put on quite the performance amid fireworks and a live concert on his walk to the ring alone. After Yildirim (21-3, 12 KOs) hid behind his high guard for the first two rounds, he finally succumbed to a stiff right cross from Alvarez that dropped him in Round 3.
It was all one-way traffic tonight.
(@AutoZone) pic.twitter.com/sDjbW2FbYh
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
Live updates
Good Night From Miami ✌️ pic.twitter.com/LN4fhd4xaZ
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
Good Night From Miami ✌️ pic.twitter.com/LN4fhd4xaZ
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
No Boxing, No Life. pic.twitter.com/d3f14seFJj
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
Como Canelo en el ring nada me asusta. pic.twitter.com/7RIxrn5Nnw
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
It was all one-way traffic tonight.
(@AutoZone) pic.twitter.com/sDjbW2FbYh
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗟𝗢 𝘃𝘀. 𝗦𝗔𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦⁰⁰𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟴. pic.twitter.com/6wZL4FfQIW
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
The moment that secured the win for Canelo 💥 pic.twitter.com/mxofve7qMj
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021
Fight card, results
- Canelo Alvarez (c) def. Avni Yildirim via third-round TKO (corner stoppage)
- McWilliams Arroyo (ic) def. Abraham Rodriguez via fifth-round TKO (ref stoppage)
- Zhilei Zhang vs. Jerry Forrest declared a majority draw (95-93 Forrest, 93-93, 93-93)
- Diego Pacheco def. Rodolfo Gomez Jr. via unanimous decision (79-73, 79-73, 79-73)
- Marc Castro def. John Moraga via second-round TKO
- Aaron Aponte def. Harry Gigliotti via unanimous decision (40-34, 40-34, 40-34)
- Keyshawn Davis def. Lester Brown via second-round TKO
- Alexis Espino def. Ashton Sykes via fifth-round TKO
