Canelo Álvarez vs. Rocky Fielding explained

Fight Name:Canelo Álvarez vs. Rocky Fielding
Fight Date:December 15, 2018
Location:Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
Fighter1: Saúl Álvarez
Nickname1:"Canelo"
Hometown1:Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Record1:50–1–2 (34 KO)
Height1:5 ft 8 in
Weight1:167+3/4 lb
Style1:Orthodox
Recognition1:WBA (Super), WBC, The Ring and TBRB
Middleweight Champion
The Ring No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion
Fighter2: Rocky Fielding
Nickname2:"Rocky from Stocky"
Hometown2:Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
Record2:27–1 (15 KO)
Height2:6 ft 1 in
Weight2:167+1/2 lb
Style2:Orthodox
Recognition2:WBA (Regular)
Super Middleweight Champion
The Ring/TBRB
No. 9 Ranked Super Middleweight
Result:Álvarez defeated Fielding by 3rd round TKO

Canelo Álvarez vs. Rocky Fielding was a professional boxing match contested on December 15, 2018, for the WBA (Regular) Super middleweight championship.[1]

Background

On 5 October, Canelo Álvarez wrote on social media that he would next face WBA (Regular) super middleweight title holder, Rocky Fielding on 15 December at Madison Square Garden.[2] 12 days later, DAZN announced that it had signed a five-year, $365 million deal with Álvarez, under which his next eleven fights would be broadcast in the U.S. by the subscription sports streaming service. The deal would begin with Álvarez vs. Fielding and replace his expired contract with HBO (which had also announced its discontinuation of boxing telecasts).[3] [4]

Fielding had won the Regular title by upsetting Tyron Zeuge in Offenburg the previous July by fifth round TKO.[5]

The fight

Álvarez would dominate the bout, with the taller Fielding not attempting to establish the range but instead he was dropped in each of the first two rounds with left hands to the body. Fielding was able to land some combinations of his own but they lacked the power required to trouble Canelo. A right to the jaw again dropped Fielding in round three, prompting the referee to warn the brit that "one more" would end the bout. Later in the round another left to the body dropped Fielding for the fourth time at which point referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped the bout.[6]

According to CompuBox, Álvarez would land 73 of 141 (52%) of his punches against just 37 of 183 (20%) of Fielding's[7] [8]

Aftermath

Speaking after the bout said Alvarez "Fortunately for me he came to attack, that was the error he made and I did my thing in there." Fielding would admit he made a tactical error in trading with Canelo saying that "I stood there too long, thought I could mix it with him and shouldn't have, with my height, I should have kept the fight long, at distance. The better man won."[9]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[10]

Broadcasting

align=center Countryalign=center Broadcaster
Latin America Canal Space
Sky Sports
DAZN

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rocky Fielding vs. Saúl Álvarez . boxrec.com . BoxRec . 15 August 2024.
  2. News: Canelo to challenge super middleweight Fielding. ESPN.com. 22 October 2018. en-US.
  3. News: Canelo signs 11-fight, $365M deal with DAZN. ESPN.com. 18 October 2018. en-US.
  4. News: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez signs 'most lucrative' deal with sports service DAZN. 17 October 2018. BBC Sport. 18 October 2018. en-GB.
  5. Web site: . Meet Rocky Fielding, who struck boxing gold and a fight with Canelo Alvarez . espn.co.uk/ . ESPN . 15 August 2024 . 10 December 2018.
  6. News: Canelo Álvarez knocks out Rocky Fielding for WBA super middleweight title – as it happened. The Guardian. 15 December 2018. 17 December 2018. en-GB.
  7. Web site: . Canelo Alvarez crushes Rocky Fielding, now 3-division titlist . espn.co.uk . ESPN . 15 August 2024 . 16 December 2018.
  8. Web site: Bryan Armen Graham . Canelo Álvarez pours it on in three-round destruction of Rocky Fielding . theguardian.com . The Guardian . 15 August 2024 . 16 December 2018.
  9. Web site: Luke Reddy . 'Canelo' Alvarez v Rocky Fielding: Mexican eases to win at Madison Square Garden . bbc.co.uk . BBC . 15 August 2024 . 16 December 2018.
  10. Web site: BoxRec - event.