Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Saturday stopped Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds to unify three super middleweight titles in Arlington, Texas.
Four-weight world champion Alvarez retained his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles, and seized Saunders’ World Boxing Organization belt when the previously undefeated Briton retired on his stool after taking a beating in the eighth round.
Alvarez won by technical knockout after Saunders’ corner called a halt in front of 73,000-plus fans at the AT&T Stadium.
Photo: AFP / Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing
Saunders sat still, saying that he could not see out of his right eye, which was badly swollen from Alvarez’s repeated and deliberate blows.
Alvarez could sense victory in the eighth round, as he chased the southpaw around the ring.
“I knew it,” Alvarez said. “I think I broke his cheek. He didn’t come out to fight because I broke his cheek.”
Saunders headed from the ring to the hospital to get his injured eye looked at.
Alvarez, who improved to 56-1-2 with 38 knockouts, was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards when Saunders decided not to come out of his corner.
The 31-year-old Saunders, who dropped to 30-1 with 14 knockouts, had argued and won his case to increase the size of the ring from 6m to 7m, but no amount of extra space was going to allow him to escape Alvarez’s devastating punching power.
The victory serves as another step in Alvarez’s quest to dominate the 76.2kg division.
Alvarez’s only career loss to date came as a 23-year-old against the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2013.
The 30-year-old bided his time until he could impose his will on Saunders, who had never faced an opponent of this magnitude.
Everything changed in the eighth inning and the end came suddenly for Saunders, as the fight came down to Alvarez’s power and speed.
However, to his credit, Saunders proved to be a tough opponent for the Mexican champ to catch in the early rounds.
Alvarez had his way in the eighth as Saunders tried to duck and clinch his way through the round, but the punches were too much for the Briton and his right eye was closing fast.
“I said before the fight that it was going to develop by seventh and eighth round,” Alvarez said. “I was winning round by round. I started to adjust really quickly.”
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