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Philippines, 20 Apr 2024 |
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Canelo delivers as boxing returns with a roar By Cesar Portillo PhilBoxing.com Sun, 09 May 2021  ARLINGTON, Texas -- After being knocked down by the coronavirus pandemic for more than 14 months, boxing came back with a vicious vengeance on Saturday night (Sunday morning RP Time). And it seemed only appropriate that the sport's biggest star was the one standing gloriously in front and center of a blockbuster card put together by Matchroom and sports streaming giant DAZN. Before a record crowd of 73,126 fans, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez put on a dazzling post-Cinco de Mayo performance by scoring an eighth round TKO win over a game but overmatched Billy Joe Saunders of Hatfield, England. The attendance at the AT&T Center, home of the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, broke the previous record of 63,350 fans that showed up for the the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks rematch at The Superdome in Lousisiana way back in 1978.  Canelo hugs his father inside a victorious locker room following his TKO win. The triumphant stoppage added Saunders' WBO belt to Alvarez's WBA and WBC crowns in the 168-pound class. The only missing jewel left to clean up the super-middleweight division is the IBF version held by Demetrius Andrade, who crashed the post-game press conference demanding a fight. A visibly irate Canelo yelled at Andrade to "get the eff out of the room" while mocking the American for asking for a "payday." After a relatively slow start, Alvarez went to work, cut the ring, and leveraged his power to constantly put pressure on the retreating Saunders, who was putting up decent resistance from a distance. But Canelo eventually punished him with 39 body punches and 58 power blows landed. 
A roaring crowd of 73,126 witnessed Canelo's dismantling of Billy Joe Saunders at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Saturday night. The 31-year old Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs), who was previously unbeaten, landed 60 of his 284 total punches thrown. He put together some nice hits in the middle rounds, but his power did not hurt nor faze Alvarez. A devastating right hand in the fateful eighth stanza caused Saunders' right eye to shut close. He did not emerge off the stool to answer the bell for the ninth round. Boos from blood-thirsty fans cascaded throughout the arena but it was the right call. "He's a young man. He's got a family. He lives to fight another day," Saunders' trainer Mark Tibbs told ESPN. At the time of the stoppage, Canelo was up 78-74 on two judges scorecards and 77-75 on the third judge. Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs), still in the prime of his career, pocketed a reported $35 million for the fight while Saunders took home a nice $5 million purse. 
The author (L) poses with boxing man Sean Gibbons. Postscript. P.S. One of the prominent boxing figures that were in the arena included Sean Gibbons, the president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions. Gibbons was rooting for a pug he helps manage, Katsunari Takayama of Osaka, Japan. After a valiant effort, though, the brave 37-year old Japanese (32-9, 12 KOs) lost by a 9th round TKO to the 24-year old defending champion Elwin Soto (19-1, 13 KOs). Photo caption -- Canelo hugs his father inside a victorious locker room following his TKO win. A glimpse of the massive 73,126 fans at the AT&T Center and a photo-op with MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Cesar Portillo.  |
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