In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,112 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Álvarez moved up a weight class and took down Rocky Fielding via third-round stoppage to claim the WBA World Super Middleweight title and join an elite group of three-division Mexican world champions.
The main card bouts featured a fifth-round knockout by Ryan Garcia, a comeback-trail victory for Brooklyn’s Sadam Ali and an impressive title defense by IBF Super Featherweight champ Tevin Farmer. Earlier in the evening, IBF & WBA Female Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor shut out undefeated Eva Wahlstrom.
Canelo Álvarez
On his body attack strategy towards Rocky: “That was the plan in the gym, to hit the body and then move up, and that’s the result. You see the result here.”
How’d he feel at 168? “Very good, very strong. I didn’t have to dehydrate myself to make weight. I feel good and I feel strong.”
Will he go back to 160 or stay at 168? “We’ll have to see. I have to talk to my team, enjoy the holiday and then I’ll talk to my team. But right now, without a doubt, what I want are the best fights.”
What’s your goal right now at this level of your career? “My goal is to make good fights for the people, for the public, and to make sure the name of Canelo Álvarez and of Mexico is held up high.”
Is being an undisputed champion important to him? “What I always want to do is to make the best fight whether they’re for world titles or not. Right now what I can tell you is that I just want to make the best fights for the public.”
Is GGG settled? “For me, I feel like on September 15, I showed that I was best. But it was two great fights and if the people want it, we can make it.”
On his first MSG fight: “I’m happy and I’m grateful to be here. I hope this is the first of many.”
Tevin Farmer
“It was a good performance. He was really really tough. And after a few rounds, we saw that and we started working on things. It’s all a road to improve. I say it was a C+, B- performance.”
“Nowadays, I really have a lot of anger built up, good anger though, and I just want to hurt everybody when I’m in the ring. I don’t have no sympathy.”
“I’ve been on the road this whole year…I wanted to just let everybody know that I’ll be home in Philadelphia in March, I’m bringing everything back home baby.”
“Who wants to fight me? That’s the question.”
Thoughts on a potential fight vs. Gervonta Davis? “Is that the fight that I want? We’ve moved past him. Does he want to fight me? Like I said, we active, we getting paid. It’s time for him to fight and stay active and then he can come see me.”
Ryan Garcia
“I wasn’t looking for the knockout because a lot of people say, can this kid fight, I just see skills on Instagram. I wanted to show them that I can fight and I am for real.”
“That was the main thing coming in. We knew from the weigh-ins when [Rodriguez] pushed me that he would try to intimidate me, I think that’s what he was trying to do, but I came in here and I was like, that’s not going to happen.”
On training with the Reynosos: “Man, I can’t thank them enough. They took me in like family. They took care of me good. I don’t speak Spanish but they took care of me. I don’t speak Spanish, but I got the Mexican blood in me. Viva México!”
On who he wants to fight next: “When I was first coming up, I made the mistake thinking when I was knocking everyone out that I can conquer the world. I know it’s a process and I’m going to trust everyone and trust my team. I’m not scared of nobody.”
Katie Taylor
Who she wants to fight next: “The goal is to be the undisputed lightweight champion of the world. Obviously one of the biggest fighters out there is Amanda Serrano, and that’s a huge, huge fight.”
On what she wants to say to Amanda Serrano: “Let’s get it on.”
On out-landing Eva almost two to one: “I thought it was a very good performance. She’s obviously a fantastic champion and a great, great fighter. I knew it was going to be a great showcase for women’s boxing. It was such a privilege to fight here in Madison Square Garden in front of so many Irish people, so thank you so much for the support.”
On her hand speed being compared to Sugar Ray Leonard’s: “That’s probably the biggest compliment I can get to get, being compared to Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s one of my favorite fighters, I’ve watched a lot of his videos, and my goal is to be as good as him.”
Daniel Jacobs (DAZN live broadcast interview)
“Right now I’m just waiting for this night to end, see what happens after this, and me and my team will make the decision in the near future.”
On Canelo’s decision to move up in weight + his hope for a Cinco de Mayo fight: “It’s one I respect because obviously he’s fighting for legacy and capturing another belt; it’s a great thing for his career. I support him on that. But I do feel that he has a lot of unfinished business in the middleweight division….I think I’m the perfect candidate. I’m a world champion now. And that says a lot. I think now that the fans are wanting the fight, it’s been all over the place now…I’m wishing him the best of luck tonight but let’s do this, maybe Cinco de Mayo in Vegas.”
Anthony Joshua (DAZN live broadcast interview)
On what he’d like to say to Wilder: “April 13th, at Wembley, come see me, we’ll get a deal done, I’ll pay you way more than you’ve ever earned before, I’ll give you the chance at four belts. What more can you want? …I’ve still got another ten years in me, I’m 29, 30 next year. I’m still fresh. I’m just looking forward to cementing my legacy for the long run. How long has [Wilder] got left? That’s why for him, it should be more important for him to fight me now, than later.”
“My gut feeling is I knock out Deontay Wilder when I fight him.”
12-Round WBA Super Middleweight Title Bout @ 168 lbs
Canelo Alvarez vs. Rocky Fielding
Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) defeats Rocky Fielding (27-2, 15 KOs) by TKO at 2:38 of Round 3
12-Round IBF Super Featherweight Bout @ 130 lbs.
Tevin Farmer vs. Francisco Fonseca
Tevin Farmer (28-4-1, 6 KOs) defeats Francisco Fonseca (22-2-1, 16 KOs) by unanimous decision
(117-111, 117-111, 117-111)
10-Round Middleweight Bout @ 147 lbs.
Sadam Ali vs. Mauricio Herrera
Sadam Ali (27-2, 14 KOs) defeats Mauricio Herrera (24-8, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision
(100-90, 99-91, 98-92)
10-Round Lightweight Bout @ 135 lbs.
Ryan Garcia vs. Braulio Rodriguez
Ryan Garcia (17-0, 14 KOs) defeats Braulio Rodriguez (19-4, 17 KOs) by KO at 1:14 of Round 5
10-Round IBF & WBA Female Lightweight Title Bout @ 135 lbs.
Katie Taylor vs. Eva Wahlstrom
Katie Taylor (12-0, 5 KOs) defeats Eva Wahlstrom (22-1-1, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision
(100-90, 100-90,100-90)