"He talked a lot of s***" - Canelo Alvarez on the fight he enjoyed the most in 2021
Canelo Alvarez has revealed which 2021 fight of his he enjoyed the most.
In a recent interview with The Ring's Dan Rafael, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez asserted that his stoppage victory over then-undefeated Billy Joe Saunders in May was his most-enjoyed fight of 2021.
Their fight took place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Cinco de Mayo is a huge festival held on 5 May. Mexico celebrates its 1862 win over the French in the Battle of Puebla during the festival.
The Alvarez-Saunders grudge match drew a US indoor boxing record crowd of 73,126 people. Alvarez, the clear fan-favorite, defeated Saunders via an eighth-round stoppage.
Canelo adds another title to his collection 🏆
Alvarez gets the TKO victory after Billy Joe Saunders can’t continue after the 8th round. #CaneloSaunders
(📸: @DAZNBoxing, @ESPNKnockOut) https://t.co/JP2gqDgdGG
The attendance for the fight broke the previous US indoor boxing record of 63,352. This was held by the heavyweight title rematch between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks that transpired at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, in September 1978.
Canelo Alvarez suggested that his undisputed super-middleweight title-winning performance against Caleb Plant in November was important. However, The Mexican pugilist added that he enjoyed the Saunders fight the most in 2021. Alvarez stated:
“I think Caleb Plant was a bigger fight because there was only one more belt left, so the magnitude of the fight was bigger, but the fight I enjoyed a lot was Billy Joe Saunders, because he talked a lot of sh** and we had 73,000 people in the arena.”
Canelo Alvarez on his 2021: "I think Caleb Plant was a bigger fight because there was only one belt left. But the fight I enjoyed a lot was Billy Joe Saunders because he talked a lot of s*** and we had 73,000 people." [@RingMagazine]
Canelo Alvarez also opened up on setting the attendance record in this fight.
“I loved [setting the attendance record], because for me, I’m gonna be in the history books of boxing for that too. So for me it’s huge, and I hope I can break that record soon.” said Alvarez.
P4P king, #boxing's biggest star and undisputed super middleweight champion @Canelo was the easy pick as @ringmagazine 2021 Fighter of the Year, winning it for the 2nd time. I talked to Canelo about his historic year and wrote the story: ringtv.com/632621-canelo-… @CANELOTEAM
Oleksandr Usyk on facing Canelo Alvarez in a super-fight at cruiserweight
Oleksandr Usyk recently opened up regarding a potential super-fight between himself and fellow boxing great Canelo Alvarez. Speaking to FightHype, Usyk said:
“Yes, I can fight him at cruiserweight but with only one thing is, I keep my belts at heavyweight. Then I go back to cruiserweight, I fight him and then I come back to heavyweight.”
Oleksandr Usyk currently holds the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles. The Ukrainian fighter is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who moved up to heavyweight in 2019. The undefeated Usyk won the heavyweight titles by defeating UK star Anthony Joshua in September this year.
Oleksandr Usyk was rumored to be facing Joshua in a rematch next. Nevertheless, it’s believed that ‘AJ’ could step aside to let Usyk fight The Ring and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury next. The winner of a possible Usyk-Fury matchup would become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Meanwhile, Canelo Alvarez is moving up to cruiserweight. He’ll be fighting Ilunga Makabu for the WBC cruiserweight title in May 2022.