Canelo Alvarez becomes 3-divison champion with TKO victory against Rocky Fielding

NEW YORK CITY (DEC. 15, 2018): Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) entered a select list of Mexican fighters to become a three-division world champion as he defeated Rocky Fielding (27-2, 15 KOs) of Liverpool, England via third-round technical knockout in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,112 boxing fans at Madison Square Garden and live on DAZN. The fight was stopped at 2:38 of the third round.

"That was the plan in the gym, to hit the body and then move up, and that's the result. You see the result here," said Canelo Alvarez. I feel very good and very strong at 168 pounds. I didn't have to dehydrate myself to make weight. We'll have to see with what I do next. I have to talk to my team, enjoy the holiday and then I'll talk to my team. But right now, without a doubt, what I want are the best fights. My goal is to make good fights for the people, for the public, and to make sure the name of Canelo Alvarez and of Mexico is held up high."

"It was the opportunity of a lifetime," said Rocky Fielding. "I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this big fight. I think Canelo has the power to face anyone at 168 pounds."

In the co-main event, Tevin Farmer (28-4-1, 6 KOs) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania successfully defended his IBF Super Featherweight World Title against Francisco Fonseca (22-2-1,16 KOs) of San Ramon, Costa Rica via 12-round unanimous decision. Farmer won with three scores of 117-111.

"It was a good performance," said Tevin Farmer. "He was really, really tough. And after a few rounds, we saw that and we started working on things. It's all a road to improve. I say it was a C+, B- performance. Nowadays, I really have a lot of anger built up, good anger though, and I just want to hurt everybody when I'm in the ring. I don't have no sympathy."

"I've been on the road this whole year...I wanted to just let everybody know that I'll be home in Philadelphia in March, I'm bringing everything back home baby. Who wants to fight me? That's the question."

"Is that the fight that I want [against Gervonta Davis]? We've moved past him. Does he want to fight me? Like I said, we active, we getting paid. It's time for him to fight and stay active and then he can come see me."

Sadam Ali (27-2, 14 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York defeated Mauricio Herrera (24-8, 7 KOs) of Riverside, Calif. via unanimous decision in a ten-round welterweight battle. Ali won with scores of 100-90, 99-91, 98-92.

"Honestly, I didn't look good in there," said Sadam Ali. "I felt like I won sloppy. Herrera made me look terrible in there. He's a rugged fighter. And I fell in there that last moment of the fight the same way I fell when I fought Miguel Cotto. I felt like the cards were a lot closer than what the judges said they were."

"It was an okay fight," said Mauricio Herrera. "I had to shake a lot of the rust off, but it was a good pace. Overall, I thought I won the fight. I had him missing a lot in there, and I wasn't that tired.

Ryan Garcia (17-0, 14 KOs) of Victorville, Calif. stopped Braulio Rodriguez (19-4, 17 KOs) of La Romana, Dominican Republic via knockout in the fifth round of a lightweight bout originally slated for ten rounds. Garcia won with a time of 1:14 of the aforementioned round.

"I wasn't looking for the knockout because a lot of people say, if this kid can fight, I just see skills on Instagram," said Ryan Garcia. "I wanted to show them that I can fight and I am for real."

"That was the main thing coming in. We knew from the weigh-ins when [Rodriguez] pushed me that he would try to intimidate me, I think that's what he was trying to do, but I came in here and I was like, that's not going to happen."

"Man, I can't thank them [Eddy and Chepo Reynoso] enough. They took me in like family. They took care of me good. I don't speak Spanish but they took care of me. I don't speak Spanish, but I got the Mexican blood in me. Viva Mexico!"

"When I was first coming up, I made the mistake thinking when I was knocking everyone out that I can conquer the world. I know it's a process and I'm going to trust everyone and trust my team. I'm not scared of nobody."

Katie Taylor (12-0, 5 KOs) of Bray, Ireland defeated Eva Wahldtrom (22-1-1, 3 KOs) of Helsinki, Finland via unanimous decision, defending her IBF & WBA Lightweight World titles in a 10-round fight. Taylor won with three scores of 100-90.

"The goal is to be the undisputed lightweight champion of the world," said Katie Taylor. "Obviously one of the biggest fighters out there is Amanda Serrano, and that's a huge, huge fight. Let's get it on."

"That's probably the biggest compliment I can get to get, being compared to Sugar Ray Leonard [regarding his hand speed]. He's one of my favorite fighters. I've watched a lot of his videos, and my goal is to be as good as him."

Lamont Roach Jr. (18-0-1, 7 KOs) of Washington, D.C successfully defended his WBO title against Alberto Mercado (15-2-1, 3 KOs) of Humacao, Puerto Rico via unanimous decision in a super featherweight battle. Roach Jr. won with scores of 99-91, 98-92, 97-93.

"I controlled most of the fight, and felt like I hurt him in almost every round," said Lamont Roach. "I am proud of the fight that I had tonight - most fighters don't take the type of fights I say yes to. I'll do what it takes to make it to the top and that means fighting skilled fighters."

"I feel good, but it's a bummer going 10 when I know can end it earlier and go less. Other than that, the fight was tough. I dominated in everyone and I hurt him in everyone. I know who the WBO and WBA champions are. [Masayuki] Ito and Alberto Machado.  I'll fight any of them. But I'm in line to fight for the WBO Title, so I really hope that happens next."

Yves Ulysse Jr. (17-1, 9 KOs) of Montreal, Canada won against Maximiliano Becerra (16-3-2, 8 KOs) of Santa Ana, Calif. via unanimous decision in a eight-round super lightweight bout. Ulysse Jr. won with scores of 79-71, 78-72, 78-72.

"It was truly a dream coming true to fight at the Madison Square Garden," said Yves Ulysse Jr. "All the best fighters have fought here and the atmosphere is really unique. I felt like home in the ring. I'm happy about my performance: I've stick to the game plan, was patient to get the openings and hurt him."

Bilal Akkawy (19-0-1, 15 KOs) of Sydney, Australia defeated Victor Fonseca (17-9-1, 14 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico via TKO in the seventh round in a super middleweight fight originally scheduled for eight rounds. Akkawy won with a time of 2:53 of the aforementioned round.

"There is a lot of room for improvement," said Bilal Akkawy. "I wasn't myself in there, but I'll be working on that when I get back to the gym. It's an honor to have fought here [Madison Square Garden]. The plan now is to enjoy the holiday and then head to Mexico so I can get ready for my next fight."

Wilder, Fury fight to a draw

After all the trash talk you could imagine during the build-up of the fight, it ended up with huge respect. That's boxing.

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder fought to a draw on Saturday night at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles. It was an entertaining action fight that produced breathtaking knockdown. A match-up of two different interesting styles.

Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) scored two crucial knockdowns that saved him from a clear decision loss. Wilder knocked Fury down in Round 9 and Round 12.  Judge Alejandro Rochin scored 115-111 for Wilder. Robert Tapper saw it 114-112 in favor of Fury, while Phil Edwards scored 113-113, a draw.

It was a sweeping first three rounds for Fury, (27-0-1, 19 KOs) as he landed clear combinations, while Wilder is looking for a home run shot. Fury was able to duck, feint and roll those heavily loaded shots from Wilder. He was quick and not committing so much with his punches to avoid counters.

Wilder, most likely took Round 4 as he connected clear right hands He lanced a hard shot that blooded Fury's nose in the same round. But the succeeding four rounds could be all Fury as he landed double jabs and short hooks to the head.

In Round 9, Wilder landed a hard right knocking down Fury. The knockdown was really a confidence booster for Wilder as he's obviously behind the scorecards. But that was certainly not enough.

In the 12th Round, Wilder dropped Fury with a huge right hand and followed it up with a left while Fury was on his way down. From the looks of it, it was certainly over. He fell heavily on the floor, but Fury stood up like the "Undertaker" and continue to wrestle.

In the end, all three judges had different conclusions and resulted in a split draw.

"I think with the two knockdowns, I definitely won the fight," Wilder said. "We poured our hearts out tonight. We're both warriors, but with those two drops, I think I won the fight."

Fury also felt he won the fight.

"We're on away soil. I got knocked down twice, but I still believe I won that fight," Fury said. "I'm being a total professional here. I went to Germany to fight Klitschko, and I went to America to fight Deontay Wilder. God bless America. The 'Gypsy King' has returned.

"That man is a fearsome puncher, and I was able to avoid that. The world knows I won the fight."