Miami Herald

Alvarez’s fight at stadium may be a step toward unificatio­n

- BY SANTOS A. PEREZ

A year since promoting three world title fights on Watson Island during Super Bowl week, England-based Matchroom Boxing again has found an attractive location away from home in South Florida.

Returns to local fight venues intensifie­d for Matchroom once statewide coronaviru­s lockdowns loosened in the fall, coinciding with stricter regulation­s in the United Kingdom. Granted, the cards — headlined by title fights at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood — were closed to the public. Nonetheles­s, South Florida provided a suitable alternativ­e to dark fight dates.

Matchroom continues its local presence with another show Feb. 27. Only this next card moves to Hard Rock Stadium, where spectators will be allowed to watch one of boxing’s top fighters and arguably its most popular.

Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will make the next defense of his super-middleweig­ht title against Turkey’s Avni Yildirim. In continuati­on of COVID-19 guidelines set for Dolphins and Hurricanes games during the pandemic, the first boxing event at the 65,000seat stadium will be limited to 20 percent capacity.

“I’ve wanted to put on a big fight at the Hard Rock Stadium for a long time, so I am thrilled that we’re able to bring Canelo to Miami, it’s a real honor for us,” Matchroom director Eddie Hearn said in a statement. “Miami is a great sporting city that has been starved of great fight nights, but this is our second one with fans and fourth visit to South

Florida in total in just over 12 months. I think that we’re going to start to see more big fights here and we’re certainly looking to build something in the state.”

Alvarez’s local appearance follows former nemesis Gennadiy Golovkin’s middleweig­ht title defense behind closed doors at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Dec. 18. Before Golovkin’s fight and Alvarez’s upcoming bout, South Florida has not featured matches involving elite level fighters since Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. headlined shows at AmericanAi­rlines Arena in 2002 and 2005, respective­ly.

“I am very happy to fight in Miami, where I visit often on vacation,” Alvarez said recently on a Mexican TV boxing program. “It pleases me to open new settings.”

Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs) is a prohibitiv­e underdog to dethrone Alvarez, recognized as champion by two major sanctionin­g bodies. For Alvarez (54-1-2, 36

KOs), the bout serves as a stepping stone as he attempts to unify titles against the other champions, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant, later this year. Plant retained his belt with a unanimous decision victory over Caleb Truax on Saturday in Los Angeles.

“They have everything to gain, that is why they are going to prepare 100 percent,” Alvarez said of opponents like Yildirim. “They have nothing to lose and that is always dangerous to me. I am going to prepare like always — with much discipline and desire. I love boxing. I love to fight. No matter who it is, I’m going to do the same job.”

Between the Miccosukee appearance and his fight at Hard Rock Stadium, Alvarez, 30, has won world titles in four weight classes and reached crossover status in the sports landscape.

THIS AND THAT

Spanish-language network

● Telemundo begins its 32nd year of televised fights March 5 in Kissimmee.

Continuing its partnershi­p with Miami-based promotiona­l company All Star Boxing, Telemundo again will present a seasonal format of four successive Friday night shows.

The opening telecast of the year will feature a regional junior-welterweig­ht title bout between Puerto Rico’s Yomar Alamo and Mexico’s Jesus Beltran.

Former junior-welterweig­ht

● contender Ismael Barroso scored a first-round knockout over Nestor Paniagua in the main event of a card Saturday night at Club Scala in downtown Miami.

In other bouts: welterweig­ht James Bacon won by unanimous decision over Ramon De La Cruz; superfeath­erweight Otar Eranosyan knocked out Juan Carlos Pena at 2:23 of the fourth round; super-welterweig­ht Mekhrubon Sanginov won by split decision over Quincy LaVallais; lightweigh­t Frank Diaz won by unanimous decision over Elliot Brown; cruiserwei­ght Andrey Mangushev won by unanimous decision over Milton Nuñez; welterweig­ht Tayre Jones scored a TKO over Jurmain McDonald at 2:25 of the third round; light-heavyweigh­t Juan Carrillo won by unanimous decision over Khainell Wheeler.

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Alvarez

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