Canelo Alvarez stops Avni Yildirim with ease, faces Billy Joe Saunders next

Every now and then in boxing. an underdog pulls off a major upset. A few weeks ago, virtual unknown Mauricio Lara went to London and knocked out former champion Josh Warrington.

Avni Yildirim entered the ring against WBC and WBA super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez a 40-1 underdog. Would there be an upset at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fl?

No.

Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) disposed of Yildirim (21-3, 12 KOs) in three one-sided rounds Saturday night to retain his belts.

In the opening round, Alvarez landed a left hook that moved Yildirim back. He also went to the body with a thudding shot. His jab was on point. Yildirim, a few inches taller than Alvarez, threw a few punches that missed.

Alvarez worked up and down in round two. Two uppercuts landed. Seconds later, so did a combination. Yildirim wasn’t punching back. Alvarez dug a couple of left hooks to the liver. A straight right bothered Yildirim.

Alvarez,30, went back to work in round three. Yildirim,29, finally connected with a punch. No matter. Alvarez fired a classic one-two that sent Yildirim to the canvas for the second time in his career. The challenger got up with a bewildered look on his face. Alvarez worked him over - teeing off with rights and lefts.

Yildirim took the shots but didn’t look right as he sat in his corner. Trainer Joel Diaz motioned to the referee the fight was over.

"It’s great to be active,” said Alvarez in the ring after the fight. "It’s wonderful to be here in Miami. And I wanted to have a great fight here. [This was a guy] I needed to knock out, and that’s what I did. I did what I had to do. I feel strong at 168 pounds."

Alvarez will fight undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders on May 8. Saunders has held the WBO since 2019. Alvarez wants to unify the division.