On Saturday, the AT&T Stadium saw what was supposed to happen, happen. Proving why he is indeed the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world, WBC and WBA (Super) super-middleweight Canelo Alvarez thrashed Billy Joe Saunders with an 8th round TKO, clinching the Briton’s WBO belt in the process.
Saunders wasn’t as difficult as I expected: Canelo
The fight lasted eight rounds with both fighters connecting with each other, but Canelo was able to keep himself ahead in scoring for the most part, courtesy of a number of brutal shots on Saunders with a staggering right uppercut that became the pivotal point of the fight.
By the end of the 8th round, Saunders had hit the stool at his corner, with an injured and swollen right eye, giving Canelo his 38th career knockout victory while giving Saunders the first defeat of his career.
The Mexican is now the WBC, WBA (Super), and WBO titleholder at 168 and is just one fight away from becoming the undisputed super-middleweight champion of the world.
“I said the fight was going to develop before the 7th or 8th round and that’s what happened,” the champion said after the victory, “but it wasn’t as difficult as I expected and that proves that my preparation has improved day by day.”
Right now, there is just but one hurdle that Canelo needs to cross to become the undisputed champion at 168, and that is IBF titleholder Caleb Plant, a fight that has been speculated to be held in September this year.
Check out the full fight card results below:
- Canelo Alvarez (c) defeats Billy Joe Saunders via eighth-round TKO (corner stoppage)
- Elwin Soto (c) defeats Katsunari Takayama via ninth-round TKO (referee stoppage)
- Souleymane Cissokho defeats Kieron Conway via split decision (92-97, 96-93, 95-94)
- Frank Sanchez defeats Nagy Aguilera via technical decision (60-54, 60-54, 60-54)
(more to follow)
