Canelo defeats Yildirim by stoppage to defend super middleweight titles
Canelo Alvarez defended his WBA and WBC super middleweight belts, defeating mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim following a stoppage after the third round on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
And that’s it. #Canelo knocks down Yildirim in the third round. The fight was called shortly after. pic.twitter.com/yEwLxwywCw
— LmnNews (@OfficialLmnNews) February 28, 2021
Alvarez, now 55-1-2 (37 KOs), knocked down Yildirim in the preceding round and was beginning to dominate the bout. Just as the fourth round was set to begin, the referee called the fight while Yildirim protested the decision.
This is only Alvarez's second fight since the beginning of 2020. After a year-long layoff, the 30-year-old defeated Callum Smith this past December by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBA and WBC super middleweight titles.
The 29-year-old Yildirim drops to 21-3 (12 KOs) with the loss. It's his second consecutive defeat after dropping his bout against Anthony Dirrell over two years ago on Feb. 23, 2019.
In his quest to unify the division, Alvarez will face Billy Joe Saunders on May 8. The bout's venue hasn't been announced. The fight against Saunders is set to take place the weekend following Cinco de Mayo. Alvarez recently discussed the importance of fighting in Mexico and initially wanted to fight Yildirim in his hometown of Guadalajara.