Canelo Alvarez unsurprisingly stops Avni Yildirim after three rounds

The fight was never in doubt for Canelo Alvarez, who had an easy time with Avni Yildirim after the fight was stopped after round 3.

Before they stepped into the ring, most assumed that Avni Yildirim would need a miracle to defeat boxing’s pound-for-pound best fighter Canelo Alvarez.

That miracle never came.

Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) made quick work of mandatory challenger Yildirim on Saturday, Feb. 27, from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL. This had all the makings of a stay busy fight for Alvarez, which was part of his two-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing and DAZN.

Yildirim (21-3,12 KOs) never stood a realistic chance of defeating Alvarez. The 29-year-old from Turkey brought a nice record to the ring, as far as records go, but lacked notable wins and lost every time he stepped up in competition.

Yildirim was coming off a 2019 technical decision loss against Anthony Dirrell going into his matchup with Alvarez. Also, he was brutally knocked out in 2017 by Chris Eubank Jr. There was no reason to believe Yildirim would fare any better against Alvarez.

Alvarez, on the other hand, is a four-division champion and an international superstar. Wins over Gennadiy Golovkin, Miguel Cotto, and Erislandy Lara guarantee the 30-year-old from Mexico a future spot in the boxing Hall 0f Fame.

Canelo Alvarez moves on from Avni Yildirim and is poised for Billy Joe Saunders in May

This was Alvarez’s second fight in two months, and he’s looking to stay active in 2021. He’s penciled in to fight in May, most likely in a unification bout with WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. Alvarez possesses the WBA and WBC titles.

Yildirim was never in the fight, which was stopped after the completion of round 3. Alvarez came out fast from the opening bell and took the center of the ring. He quickly went to work on Yildirim’s body with left and right hooks, while Yildirim offered up little resistance.

As the fight went into round 2, nothing changed. Yildirim stood like a statue in a high guard as Alvarez teed off with punches. Yildirim took them but couldn’t let his hands go at all.

In round 3, Alvarez broke through Yildirim’s guard with a left, right combination that dropped Yildirim less than 30 seconds into the round. Alvarez tried to put Yildirim away, but he made it to the bell.

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In the corner after round 3, Yildirim’s trainer Joel Diaz told him he would stop the fight if he didn’t look better. Cameras cut away from the corner, and the referee waved off the fight. It’s hard to tell what transpired, but it looked like Yildirim couldn’t take any more, and the call was made to stop the fight.

It goes down as a round 3 TKO victory for Alvarez. It was the end that everyone expected. Alvarez got paid and stayed active while awaiting an anticipated megafight with Saunders.  Saunders is an undefeated champion who can certainly give Alvarez more to handle than Yildirim. Get ready for May.