Someone forgot to tell Avni Yildirim he had a fight on Saturday.
Super middleweight titleholder Canelo Alvarez reduced his reluctant mandatory challenger into his personal punching bag before stopping him after three rounds at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Alvarez pounded Yildirim’s body from the opening bell and put him down in the third round, after which the challenger evidently decided he had taken enough punishment. He didn’t come out for Round 4.
Yildirim, perhaps overwhelmed by the moment, simply didn’t throw enough punches – particularly power punches – to make the fight even remotely competitive.
That raises the question: How did a fighter like Yildirim end up as a mandatory challenger in the first place?
The victory sets up a title-unification bout with WBO titleholder Billy Joe Saunders on May 8, which was officially announced by promoter Eddie Hearn immediately after the fight.
“I had to fight Yildirim to have the opportunity to unify at 168 pounds, I had to do it to keep my championship,” said Alvarez, sounding almost apologetic.
Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) won the WBA and WBC titles with a one-sided decision over Callum Smith only two months ago but wanted another fight before Cinco de Mayo weekend. He was obliged to face Yildirim anyway so he took the fight, such as it was.
The Turk gave a solid performance against Anthony Dirrell in his most-recent fight, losing a technical decision after Dirrell was cut two years ago. However, there was a reason that Alvarez was around a 20-1 favorite on fight night, according to BetMGM.
The Mexican star came out pounding – and damaging? — Yildirim’s body from the opening bell and never let up. And he mixed in more and more hard, accurate shots to the head – including several eye-catching uppercuts – as the short fight went on.
Meanwhile, Yildirim, known as an aggressive fighter, became a spectator himself. He threw his jab here and there and only a few futile power shots, meaning Alvarez essentially faced no resistance.
Thus, the result couldn’t have been more predictable.
Alvarez was in the process of delivering the beat down about a minute into Round 3 when he landed a left jab and followed with a straight right between the gloves that knocked Yildirim onto his side.
The challenger, not seriously hurt, smiled as he got up. And why not? It was clear by that time that the fight was more of a joke than a genuine sporting event.
In the corner after the round, Yildirim’s new trainer, Joel Diaz, yelled that he would stop the fight unless his protégé demonstrated that he could be competitive. Yildirim evidently signaled in some way that he couldn’t and the fight was stopped.
The beating delivered by Alvarez certainly was emphatic, which will add to his legacy. However, the fight might be remembered more for Yildirim’s pathetic effort.
“I wanted to have a great fight,” Alvarez said. “This is what I had to do. I needed a knockout. That’s what I had to do. … I come to do my job, I come to win, I come to make history.”
Alvarez will be a significant favorite over Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) too, but it’s unlikely he will fold as Yildirim did.
The British champion, whose last fight was a near-shutout victory over Martin Murray on Dec. 4, is a level above Yildirim. He isn’t much of a puncher but he’s a slick, seasoned boxer with an impressive ring IQ.
Canelo’s plan is to take Saunders’ title and then do the same against IBF beltholder Caleb Plant to become undisputed 168-pound champion.
Why make that his mission?
“Because in Latin America it has never been done,” he said, referring to one fighter holding all four major titles. “And in the world only the very best [have done it]. I want to make history, I want to be one of the best in the world.”
Alvarez has already demonstrated many times over the years that he’s one of the best on the plant. Sadly, for those who were hoping for a decent fight on Saturday, Yildirim clearly is not.
