Canelo Álvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders, billed as Face the Fearless, was a super middleweight professional boxing match contested between WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring champion, Canelo Álvarez, and WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders. The bout took place on May 8, 2021, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Álvarez defeated Saunders via eighth-round corner retirement.[1]
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| Date | May 8, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Álvarez wins via 8th-round RTD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With an official attendance of 73,126, it was reported to have surpassed Leon Spinks vs. Muhammad Ali II as the most-attended boxing event at an indoor venue in U.S. history, as well as the largest U.S. gathering since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Background
editThe fight between the pair was previously planned for May 2, 2020, in Las Vegas, before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the sport to a halt. Álvarez planned to stage his next fight on September 12, again in Las Vegas, with Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith and a Gennady Golovkin trilogy all being possible.[3] However, Álvarez refused to take a pay cut off his deal with streaming service DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions.[4] Unable to agree on an opponent and with DAZN unwilling to pay,[5] Álvarez sued DAZN, as well as Golden Boy Promotion's founder Oscar De La Hoya for breach of contract and sought at least $280 million, the remainder of what he was owed on his deal. According to the lawsuit, De La Hoya would be liable for the money. On 6 November 2020, Álvarez was released from his contract with Golden Boy Promotions after a lawsuit was settled.[6] In December 2020, Álvarez won the unified title against Callum Smith in San Antonio, Texas,[7] and defended it against WBC mandatory Avni Yıldırım in February 2021 in Miami.[8]
In July 2020, Saunders ruled himself out of a September showdown with Álvarez, citing he would not be 'ready' in time.[9]
Canelo vs. Saunders was agreed before Álvarez's fight with Yıldırım, and was officially announced shortly after. The AT&T Stadium in Dallas was announced as a venue a few weeks later.[10]
The fight
editThe fight was close and competitive for the first seven rounds, with most giving the early rounds to Canelo and the middle rounds to Saunders. A right uppercut from Álvarez in round eight reportedly caused a right orbital bone fracture, leaving Saunders unwilling to come out of his corner for the ninth round. As a result Saunders was taken to a hospital post-fight.[11] According to CompuBox, Álvarez outlanded Saunders during the fight, landing 73 of 206 punches (35.4%), with Saunders landing 60 of 284 (21.1%). Throughout the fight, Álvarez landed 52.7% of his power punches.[12]
Aftermath
editAt the post-fight interview, Álvarez made it clear he wanted to become undisputed in the super-middleweight division, calling out IBF titleholder Caleb Plant.[13] During the post-fight press conference, WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade, asked about a potential bout, with Álvarez dismissing the idea. They exchanged heated words before Andrade was escorted out by security.[14]
Fight card
editConfirmed bouts:[15]
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super middleweight |  Canelo Álvarez (c)
|
def. |  Billy Joe Saunders (c)
|
RTD | 8/12 | 3:00 | Note 1 |
| Junior flyweight | Elwin Soto (c)
|
def. |  Katsunari Takayama
|
TKO | 9/12 | 2:44 | Note 2 |
| Super welterweight |  Souleymane Cissokho
|
def. | Kieron Conway (c)
|
SD | 10/10 | Note 3 | |
| Heavyweight |  Frank Sánchez
|
def. |  Nagy Aguilera
|
TD | 6/10 | 1:42 | |
| Featherweight |  Marc Castro
|
def. | Irving Macias Castillo
|
TKO | 4/6 | 2:04 | |
| Lightweight | Keyshawn Davis
|
def. | Jose Antonio Meza
|
UD | 6/6 | ||
| Welterweight | Kelvin Davis
|
def. |  Jan Marsalek
|
UD | 4/4 | ||
| Welterweight | Christian Alan Gomez Duran
|
def. | Xavier Wilson
|
TKO | 2/8 | 2:19 |
^Note 1 For WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles
^Note 2 For WBO junior flyweight title
^Note 3 For WBA Intercontinental super welterweight title
Broadcasting
edit| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Mexico |
Azteca |
References
edit- ^ Kershaw, Tom (May 9, 2021). "Canelo knocks out Saunders to unify WBC, WBA and WBO world titles". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "Canelo TKO's Saunders in legacy-enhancing win". ESPN.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "Canelo-Golovkin 3 reportedly in the works for September 12, AT&T Stadium in Dallas to host". The Ring. March 17, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ Esco, Wil (July 24, 2020). "DAZN wants Canelo Alvarez to take pay cut, delaying fight announcement". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ Rives, T. J. (August 15, 2020). "Looks like Canelo won't fight September 12th- possibly not 2020". Big Fight Weekend. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Canelo Alvarez reaches agreement to part ways with Golden Boy Promotions, DAZN". The Ring. November 6, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Canelo Alvarez puts a beating on Callum Smith to become unified super middleweight champion | DAZN News UK". DAZN. December 20, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ Kasabian, Paul. "Canelo Alvarez Beats Avni Yildirim via 3rd-Round TKO to Retain Titles". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Billy Joe Saunders rules himself out of Canelo fight in September, explains reasons". talkSPORT. July 2, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ Wolfe, Cameron (March 19, 2021). "Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders clash lands at AT&T Stadium; 60,000-plus fans expected". ESPN. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ "BJS taken to hospital after suffering suspected fractured socket in Canelo loss". talkSPORT. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders: CompuBox Punch Stats". BoxingScene.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ Conway, Tyler. "Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant 'The Only Fight' After Saunders TKO, Eddie Hearn". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Esco, Will (May 10, 2021). "Canelo Alvarez exchanges heated words with Demetrius Andrade during post-fight press conference". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".