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For all the talk about whether Billy Joe Saunders could be the Kryptonite for Canelo Alvarez’s hope of going one step further to become the undisputed super middleweight champion, Saturday’s unification fight was over as soon as that it has started to heat up.
After a mid-fight adjustment that saw the tough Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) come back into the fight, Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) ended it with a round 8 right uppercut which swollen and appeared to damage Saunders’ right eye. The Great Britain native said from his corner he couldn’t see out of his eyes and the fight was stopped by referee Mark Calo-Oy before the start of the ninth inning.
Alvarez, the Mexican superstar who unified Saunders’ WBO title with his WBA and WBC belts, celebrated the abrupt TKO in front of a crowd of 73,126 worshipers inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX as the fight established a new indoor world record for boxing attendance. .
“I said the fight was going to develop before the 7th or 8th round and that’s what happened,” Alvarez said. “But it was not as difficult as I expected and it proves that my preparation has improved day by day.”
Alvarez, 30, the reigning pound-for-pound king of the sport, was leading on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage by scores of 78-74 (twice) and 77-75. He also outscored the 31-year-old Saunders by a 73-60 margin by CompuBox, including 53% of his powerful punches.
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But Saunders, to his credit, had his moments when the southpaw got off slow when Alvarez used his speed and body attack to stifle his offense by making a clear adjustment in turn 5. Not only did Saunders start to stand right in front of Alvarez. by landing punches from uncomfortable angles, his boast boost seemed to help his defense keep Alvarez from landing clean.
Saunders started to establish the jab and appeared to control the next three laps until Alvarez stepped up production dramatically in Round 8 and the power of his shots sent Saunders into a more cautious stance.
“Not at all, [I was never hurt]. The fight, I was winning turn based, ”Alvarez said. I knew my fight would develop after round six, but I started to adjust pretty quickly. I knew it would be the last round. “
Alvarez, who caved in to Saunders ‘demand for a bigger ring during the fight week amid threats to resign, didn’t seem surprised by Saunders’ decision to stay on his stool after Round 8. Alvarez l ‘had previously called publicly for making a number of apologies leading to a fight.
“I knew it. The truth is, I knew it,” Alvarez said. “I think I broke my cheek and I knew he wasn’t going to come out. I walked around the corner and said [trainer] Whirlpool [Reynoso] he wasn’t coming out because I broke my cheek and that was it. “
CBS Sports was with you throughout the course on Saturday, so be sure to follow the live scores and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Canelo Alvarez (c) defeats. Billy Joe Saunders via TKO in round eight (corner stop)
- Elwin Soto (c) beats Katsunari Takayama via ninth round TKO (referee save)
- Souleymane Cissokho defeats. Kieron Conway by split decision (92-97, 96-93, 95-94)
- Frank Sanchez beats. Nagy Aguilera by technical decision (60-54, 60-54, 60-54)
Canelo vs Saunders scoreboard, live coverage
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Canelo |
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Saunders |
9 |
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