CANELO ALVAREZ KNOCKS OUT SERGEY KOVALEV

CANELO ALVAREZ KNOCKS OUT SERGEY KOVALEV

With a devastating knockout in Round 11, pound-for-pound boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) defeated Sergey Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) to become the new WBO Light Heavyweight Titlist. With this victory, Canelo once again makes history by becoming a four-division world champion and only the second Mexican fighter ever to capture the 175 pound title.

Earlier in the evening, Ryan Garcia (19-0, 16 KOs) brought the early fireworks and maintained his perfect record with a spectacular knockout of Romero Duno (21-2, 16 KOs) in Round 1. Seniesa Estrada (18-0, 7 KOs) ultimately won the highly-anticipated clash against Marlen Esparza (7-1, 1 KO) by technical decision after an accidental headbutt in Round 5 led to a nasty gash on Esparza’s forehead that ultimately halted the fight at the end of Round 9. Also, Blair Cobbs (13-0-1, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after a stoppage over Carlos Ortiz (11-5, 11 KOs) at the end of Round 6, in a battle where both men hit the canvas.

Here’s what the fighters had to say:

Canelo Alvarez

“I’m very thankful. This is just a step in my career, in my history, and all I ask of you, is to be patient because Canelo will make history. That’s a guarantee.”

“The plan overall was patience, that was basically it – to have patience. We knew it was going to be five, six rounds and it was going to take some time for me to get him. But honestly he’s a great fighter. I’m new at this weight, new in this division. Much credit to him, he’s a great fighter, but we stuck to our game plan. It was delayed a little bit but overall it was successful.”

“It was a very close fight because he was defensive, he was closing up his guard. All he was doing was try to establish points, but we knew what was coming. Inevitably it would come, and everything came out the way we had planned.”

“[After this] the plan was to go down to 160, 165, but why not – maybe 175 again.”

“We have to see what happens. We have to do what’s best for us. We have to look for the best fights, the big fights, but obviously give the victories to Mexico.”

On GGG: “It’s really not a challenge to me. We’ve fought 24 rounds and I beat him. It’s really not a challenge for me, but if it represents business, why not?”

Sergey Kovalev

“I was tired after round 6, because I had my last fight very close to this one, but it’s okay, it’s a new experience for me. Canelo is really a great champion. A little bit right now, I didn’t recover from my last fight. But it’s okay. Thanks for the fight Canelo, I have big respect for him. He made history.”

“To open my body less, I had to use more jabs, more safe. I’ll be back. I’ll be back much stronger.”

“I know that I can be a unified champion, let’s make a unification fight. But nobody wants to fight me in my division. This guy is more fresh, he came into my division more fresh. He has more stamina, but it’s okay, it’s a good experience for me.”

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott / DAZN