MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeated Avni Yildirim and retained his World Super-Middleweight title, after which Yildirim rang the fourth round bell on Saturday night.
Alvarez of Mexico dropped the Turkish challenger through the hairline with a left-right combination through the third round. Alvarez pinned Yildirim on the ropes, with additional combinations. Yildirim survived the goal but absorbed enough punishment that forced his trainer Joel Diaz to stop the fight.
With the win, Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KO) successfully defended his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Federation belts.
The fight held the first boxing competition at the 34-year-old Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
In a first round, Alvarez set the pace early with head and left and left jabs to the right of the body.
Alvarez landed the uppercase and continued to score with a body combination in the second. Yildirim (21–3) rarely bowled and all he did was block Alvarez with his shots blocked. Alvarez stayed within the punching range and increased his output, but was also effective from a distance and connected to the flush counter on the right side of the head.
Saturday’s bout was the first year of Alvarez’s hopes, which would be a busy year fighting the battle for integration. Alvarez said he had initial talks in May for a bout with Billy Joe Saunders, the World Boxing Organization titleholder. The Caleb plant has a fourth clearance body belt.
Inactive since February 2019, YBCL landed the match against Alvarez after WBCL named him a mandatory challenger.
Both Alvarez and Yildirim weighed 167 pounds, one pound under the super-middleweight limit.
Earlier, Puerto Rico’s McWilliams Arroyo won the second-place world flyweight title, winning in a fifth-round technical knockout over late replacement Abraham Rodriguez. Arroyo was originally a challenger to WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez, but Martinez withdrew from the bout on Thursday due to a hand injury.
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