SAUL ‘CANELO’ ALVAREZ made light work of Liverpool’s Rocky Fielding on his both fighters’ Madison Square Garden debut, dropping the larger man in every round en route to a TKO3.
Making his first appearance as part of a $350m deal with new streaming service DAZN, the Mexican superstar relieved Fielding of his secondary world title in front of an ecstatic pro-Mexican crowd in New York.
Canelo didn’t rule out remaining at super-middleweight in his search for the biggest fights moving forward, and sent a message to the top dogs in two divisions as he outgunned the larger man with consummate ease.
It was almost curtains in the opener: Canelo lifted Fielding with a right uppercut before delivering a bullet-like left hook under the Englishman’s elbow. The pain registered on Fielding’s face before it did his legs, which seconds later gave way to his huge frame.
‘Rocky from Stocky’ beat the count but took a minute’s worth of physical abuse for his troubles, another sharp left to the body almost putting him down once more.
After more punishment for two minutes and 40 seconds of the second, Fielding was down again — another left hook to his right-hand side sucking the wind from his sails.
He survived the round and retreated slowly to his stool, where he took a rollicking from trainer Jamie Moore for sticking in the pocket for too long.
Canelo again poured it on in the third, and when Fielding did attempt to respond he was usually beaten back into his shell.
With Fielding backed to the ropes, the middleweight champion dropped him again — this time with a thudding right hook to the head.
The Liverpudlian once more rose to his feet, but there was an inevitability about the left hook to the body which felled him almost immediately upon the resumption.
That was one too many for referee Ricky Gonzalez, who waved off the contest with Fielding still grounded.
Tevin Farmer also successfully defended his title on the MSG card with a points win, as did Ireland’s Katie Taylor who dazzled in inflicting a first defeat on former amateur rival Eva Wahlstrom.
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Eddie O’Sullivan preview another big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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