Fast Results from the Big Apple: Canelo Collapses Fielding in Three

Tonight Mexican mega-star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the biggest draw in boxing, performed at Madison Square Garden before thousands of delirious fans. In the opposite corner was Liverpool’s Rocky Fielding who was making the first defense of the WBA 168-pound title he won with a fifth round TKO over favored Tyron Zeuge in Offenburg, Germany.

Canelo was moving up in weight after winning titles at 154 and 160 pounds but yet was heavily favored. Bryan Arman Graham, covering the event for the London Guardian, hit the nail on the head when he wrote that Canelo’s Big Apple debut “(had more) the feel of a promotional appearance and brand-building exercise for Canelo than a legitimate world title fight.” An impressive showing by the redhead would redound well to DAZN, the global live-streaming platform which signed Canelo to an 11-fight deal worth a reported $365 million.

Following three national anthems and the obligatory long-winded introduction by Michael Buffer, it was closing in on midnight when the match commenced. And it was only a few minutes after midnight when the match ended.

At the weigh-in, Fielding looked at least six inches taller than Alvarez. But that would have been an advantage to him only if the bout was fought at long range.  What it did was give Canelo, a great body puncher, a bigger target.

The bout was barely a minute old when Canelo dropped him with a left hook. Another left to the body put Fielding down with 20 seconds remaining in the second round and he was dropped twice in the third stanza — first downstairs and then upstairs — before the referee waived it off.

It was a bravura performance by boxing’s biggest star.

FARMER-FONSECA

In the semi-windup, Philadelphia southpaw Tevin Farmer successfully defended his IBF 130-pound belt with a unanimous decision over Costa Rica’s gritty Francisco Fonseca. All three judges had it 117-111.

A late bloomer, Farmer (28-4-1) is undefeated in his last 22 starts with one no-decision.  Fonseca (22-2-1) was a willing mixer and never stopped coming, but Farmer landed the cleaner shots.

UNDERCARD

In a dreary 10-round welterweight match, Sadam Ali  (27-2) turned away Mauricio Herrera (24-8) by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. Ali was back in the building where he scored his most noteworthy win, sending Miguel Cotto off into retirement, but the Brooklynite did nothing to win back the fans that deserted him when he was manhandled by Jaime Munguia.

Baby-faced assassin Ryan Garcia, a coveted young prospect in the Golden Boy stable, rebounded from a lackluster performance in his last outing with a smashing fifth round knockout of Braulio Rodriguez. Garcia (17-0, 14 KOs) dropped Rodriguez with a massive left hook near the end of the opening round and finished him off in round five with a combination climaxed with another left. Rodriguez, from the Dominican Republic was a strange cat. He entered the ring wearing a mask and smiled throughout the contest while taking a beating. It was his third straight loss, bringing his record to 19-4.

Katie Taylor continued to press her case that she, not Cecilia Braekhus or Claressa Shields, is the top pound-for-pound fighter in women’s boxing. From Vernon, Connecticut, via Bray, Ireland, Taylor (12-0) pitched a shutout over former WBC 130-pound  female title holder Eva Wahlstrom, winning every round on all three scorecards to retain her IBF and WBA world lightweight title belts.  It was the first defeat for Wahlstrom, a 38-year-old Finn, who brought a 22-0-1 record and showed a great deal courage in lasting the distance. At the final bell, her face was covered in blood.

The 10-round junior featherweight contest between Lamont Roach and light-hitting Puerto Rican southpaw Alberto Mercado figured to go the distance and that proved to be the case.  Roach (18-0-1) kept his unbeaten record intact via a unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 97-93). Mercado falls to 15-2-1.

Montreal’s Yves Ulysse (17-1, 9 KOs) scored knockdowns in the sixth and seventh rounds en route to winning an eight round decision over Maximilliano Becerra. The scores were 79-71 and 78-72 twice. Ulysse is ranked #6 by the WBA in the talent-laden 140-pound division. Becerra had fought much softer competition but came in riding an 8-fight winning streak.

In the first bout of the evening, Australian super middleweight Bilal Akkaway (19-0-1, 15 KOs) stopped Tijuana’s Victor Fonseca (17-9-1) in the seventh round. Akkaway served as Canelo Alvarez’s sparring partner for Canelo’s maiden voyage at 168.

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