Canelo Álvarez defends his belts against Avni Yildrim in Miami

02/27/2021 11:43 PM

• Clarín.com

• sports

Updated 02/27/2021 11:43 PM

During the night of this Saturday,

Saúl

Canelo 

Álvarez

 faces

Avni Yildrim

with the firm goal of retaining his unified super middleweight title from the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the World Boxing Council (WBC).

The fight between the Mexican and the Turkish is the final act of an evening that began at 9:00 p.m. (Argentine time) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, in front of 15,000 spectators.

The clear favorite of the fight is Canelo (54-2-1, with 36 knockouts), who, if he defends his belts, will be ready for more ambitious challenges: winning the titles of the World Organization and the International Federation.

In his last bout, on Dec. 19, Alvarez scored a convincing points victory over Callum Smith, which gave him his second super middleweight title and ended a 13-month inactivity.

Saúl Canelo Álvarez during his arrival at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Photo EFE.

For his part, Yildirim (21-2, 12 knockouts) has not played an official fight for more than two years and inactivity could be a determining factor in the result.

The last time he stepped into the ring was on February 23, 2019, when he was defeated by American Anthony Dirrell (33-2-1, 24 KO) for the WBC super middleweight title with a split technical decision.

"I know what Yildirim has. He is a strong fighter, with a lot of desire to succeed. But I came prepared to win, to do my job and continue to make history," said the Mexican at a press conference.