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Taking into account the goal of closing plans for an ambitious 2021 by becoming the first undisputed champion at 168 pounds, unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is forced to look at Saturday’s comeback against Avni Yildirim as a way to end .
Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) is a 40-1 betting favorite to defeat his mandatory challenger when the 168-pound pair of fighters touch gloves in front of 15,000 socially distant fans at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for WBA and WBC Alvarez titles.
Although Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs), 29, from Turkey, is full of game and aggressive as a tough brawler, few give him more than a little punch as most expect him to be. that the Mexican superstar scores a training knockout in his first fight in South Florida since a first-round stoppage by Raul Pinzon in 2008.
“I hope so, I hope it’s a knockout because people really like to watch knockouts, but I’m up for anything,” Alvarez told ‘Morning Kombat’ this week.
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Alvarez was unusually gruff this week when any mention of betting odds was brought up or when it was pointed out that Yildirim, fresh off two years and lost in his last fight, is not screaming worthy of the occasion.
In his defense, Alvarez pointed out the little respect he got in December by dominating undefeated champion Callum Smith before announcing a return for just two months later, launching an ambitious plan for four fights this year, including two unification fights.
Although Alvarez, 30, doesn’t think there is another fighter weighing 160 or 168 pounds who deserves to be favored to beat him, he is far from looking past Yildirim and respects what his opponent hungry brings to the table. The two fighters clashed before in 2018 when Alvarez brought in Yildiirm to help him prepare for a rematch against Gennadiy Golovkin.
“He’s a strong fighter. He’s fierce,” Alvarez said. “He’s still there, pushing. At all times it is dangerous.
“That’s what we thought with Callum Smith but the truth is I’m in my best time and I find it really hard to see someone giving me problems.”
Yildirim enlisted the services of respected coach Joel Diaz to help him fine-tune his face-to-face style just in preparation for Alvarez’s backlashes. Yet it was Alvarez’s own coach Eddy Reynoso who finally started receiving what Alvarez believes is long-awaited recognition as one of the best coaches in the game.
In addition to Alvarez, whom he trained on the first day of the four-division champion’s career in 2005, Reynoso recently guided undefeated lightweight Ryan Garcia to the biggest win of his young career in January against Luke Campbell. and junior lightweight champion Oscar Valdez last week. to an upset KO of Miguel Berchelt.
“It’s a very important relationship, the one between a fighter and his coach,” said Alvarez. “[Reynoso] has been with me from the start and taught me everything. Now that he’s getting the credit he deserves, that’s something I knew from the start. “
The co-main event is expected to see a pair of flyweights fight for an interim crown as McWilliams Arroyo takes on Abraham Rodriguez. That spot was originally reserved for WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez to face Arroyo, but Martinez was forced to retire due to a hand injury. Arroyo has won three straight wins since 2019 with 15 knockouts in 20 career wins. Rodriguez has won four in a row, but lost his only other fight on U.S. soil to Angel Acosta in 2018.
Additionally, Zhilei Zhang will face Jerry Forrest in a featured heavyweight fight. Zhang, 37, wears an unbeaten ring record of 22-0 with 17 knockouts. He’s scored a knockout in eight of his last nine fights since 2017 with Audriy Rudenko leading him away. Forrest, meanwhile, has 20 knockouts in 26 career wins, but lost two of three by decision, including to Carlos Takam last July.
Fight card, odds
- Canelo Alvarez (c) -6000 vs Avni Yildirim +1700, unified super middleweight titles
- Zhilei Zhang -575 vs. Jerry Forrest +450, heavyweights
- Diego Pacheco -3500 vs. Rodolfo Gomez Jr. +1 400, middleweight
- Alexis Espino vs. Ashton Sykes, super middleweight
Information display
- Dated: February 27 | Location: Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, Florida
- Start time: 7 p.m. ET (main event scheduled for approximately 10 p.m. ET)
- TV: Traditional PPV (check local listings)
- How to watch / stream: DAZN (subscribe now)
Prediction
Alvarez is the best boxer in the world right now. But is he much taller than Yildirim to be a big betting favorite?
In some ways the answer is no. Yildirim will have a nearly four-inch advantage over Alvarez, who is small for the 168-pound division despite having good power. But in so many other ways, it’s hard not to see this as nothing more than a fierce fight that shouldn’t go beyond the early rounds.
Unless Yildirim can follow the dirt line and force Alvarez into a scuffle by injuring him early on, the gap between speed and technique tilts massively in Alvarez’s favor. In fact, Yildirim looks a lot more like the threat brawler James Kirkland introduced in his 2015 fight with Alvarez in which he was cut up and cold-knocked out in three rounds than anyone Alvarez has faced in recent years.
Look for Alvarez to be patient in the first round as he navigates from a distance before catching Yildirim along the way with a clean uppercut to end the fight.
Take: Alvarez via KO3
Who wins Alvarez against Yildirim? And which accessory is essential? Visit SportsLine now to see Peter Kahn’s best bets for Saturday, all from the fighting game manager who has 32-8 on boxing picks since returning from the sport, and find out.
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