In his debut at Madison Square Garden, Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2), the unified middleweight champion claimed the WBA super middleweight title in a third-round TKO against Rocky Fielding (27-2)
In scoring, Alvarez notched four total knockdowns before the sold-out crowd of over 20,000. Ultimately, Canelo's power punches earned him the title on Saturday. Five inches shorter than his opponent, he connected with Fielding's body with 35 shots out of the total 73 that he landed, compared to the 37 that Fielding earned.
This matchup arrives only three months after Alvarez defeated Gennady Golovkin in a decision win, making it the quickest turnaround for the Mexican fighter since 2011.
It marks the first fight in an 11-match, $365 million deal that Canelo inked with the DAZN streaming app. Alvarez, alongside IBF-WBA heavyweight champ, Anthony Joshua, is a part of an overarching strategy from DAZN to become the premier boxing broadcaster in the United States, hopefully parlaying into other sports along the way.
Promotion for this fight and Alvarez included convincing viewers that their $9.99 monthly subscription is superior over the traditional pay-per-view model. The good news is that Alvarez's win on Saturday night marks a great beginning to DAZN's strategy as the young fighter's celebrity only continues to grow.