Canelo Alvarez achieved a convincing victory and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya underlined the significant leverage this gave to the newly crowned ninth three-division champion from Mexico.
?Tonight was a great night for Canelo. He showed he can fight at [middleweight] or [super-middleweight],? De La Hoya said. ?Canelo has a target on his back and everybody wants to challenge him.?
That?s thinly veiled code stressing that no possible future opponent, starting with the front-running International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn, N.Y., is going to be able to press for too great of a purse given the expanded list of others Alvarez can now consider.
Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 knockouts), by moving up to 168 pounds while wearing two middleweight belts Saturday night and knocking down secondary World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight champion Rocky Fielding of England four times en route to a third-round technical-knockout victory, further stamped his name in boxing lore.
At 28, he walked outside Madison Square Garden in New York City, following his debut there that drew a sellout crowd of 20,112, and saw the building lighted by red, green and white streams ? the colors of his country.
Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs), a former WBA middleweight champion who fought former champion and Alvarez rival Gennady Golovkin to a tightly contested loss by decision in 2017, is a free agent like Golovkin who could join Alvarez while fighting for the new streaming service DAZN or go to Premier Boxing Champions, where unbeaten (but far lesser known) middleweight Jermall Charlo resides.
?I?m waiting for this fight to end and to hear what?s said,? Jacobs said during the DAZN broadcast. ?If we can get a big fight with DAZN ? I think I?m the perfect candidate? for Alvarez.
Since Alvarez has made it clear he?d rather wait until September for a Golovkin trilogy fight, Jacobs has the strongest case. But within earshot of Alvarez early Sunday morning in the post-fight news conference room, De La Hoya said this:
?We?ve set aside T-Mobile Arena? in Las Vegas ?for Cinco de Mayo and we have no opponent whatsoever. As a team, collectively, we will decide. There are plenty of challenges. I will have an answer for you after the holidays. The pool has gotten bigger.?
De La Hoya vowed they?ll select a quality opponent, a claim that drew scrutiny only because the promoter previously seemed intent on selecting former middleweight champion David Lemieux, who fell ill in his weight cut and withdrew from Saturday?s co-main event.
?Canelo has been fighting the top guys. Who else fought Golovkin back to back?? De La Hoya said. ?Canelo has proven over and over he wants to fight the very best.?
Alvarez conquered Fielding (27-2), who?s 5 inches taller, by landing 35 body shots that veteran fight observers likened to the punishing work of Mexican great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. Fielding was dropped three times by shots toward the liver (including the final time) and Alvarez also dropped him earlier in the third with a hard right to the head.
Performing so strongly at 168 while making the weight comfortably is something that could keep Alvarez interested in other super-middleweight showdowns, including with two-belt champion Callum Smith, who, like Fielding, resides in Liverpool.
?We don?t know,? Alvarez said when asked if the success of his power at 168 means he?ll remain or return there. ?Right now, we?ll enjoy our victory and see what happens after.?
Alvarez trainer Eddy Reynoso nodded yes to The Times when asked if he expects his fighter to meet Jacobs next, and that selection seems the wisest, given Jacobs? strong reputation after overcoming cancer to become a world champion and his ability to eloquently sell a fight.
?That?s a good fight. I like that fight,? Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez said. ?But we?ve got to sit down and talk as a group like we always do.?
Dominating at 168 ?opens up opportunities, but I feel he gives up advantages moving up so high,? Gomez said.
The work elsewhere belongs to DAZN executives, who won?t divulge how greatly their $9.99 subscription numbers grew with Alvarez?s launch of his 11-fight, $365-million deal with the service.
Since the company, which also offers the fights of three-belt heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, needs to bring its base to at least 650,000 just to pay for two Alvarez fights per year, it?s recruitment of talent like Golovkin and Jacobs that is crucial.
?I was sitting next to? a DAZN executive ?and he said he was so motivated? by the Alvarez spectacle that he?ll ?devote even more money into boxing,? De La Hoya said. ?That was music to my ears.
?Boxing is more alive and well than it?s ever been. All of this man?s resources — he?s going to make any fight happen on his platform. I was very impressed.?
Also on the card, 20-year-old Victorville lightweight Ryan Garcia scored a fifth-round knockout to improve to 17-0 with 14 knockouts. It was his first fight under Reynoso.
?We worked on a lot of things I needed to fix. I wanted to show I was determined to fight,? said Garcia, who took note of Alvarez?s devotion to the grunt work of fight preparation even while possessing film star looks.
?Just watching [Canelo] spar, you can see the mindset. You can see he never thinks he?s too good. He?s always working on traps, other things. It?s a process for me, and I want to savor every step.?
