Canelo Álvarez vs. Rocky Fielding
2018 boxing match
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Canelo Álvarez vs. Rocky Fielding was a professional boxing match contested on December 15, 2018, for the WBA (Regular) super middleweight title.[1]
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| Date | December 15, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA (Regular) Super Middleweight title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Álvarez wins via 3rd-round TKO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tevin Farmer |
Francisco Fonseca |
IBF World Super featherweight title | Unanimous decision |
| Sadam Ali |
Mauricio Herrera |
Welterweight (10 rounds) | Unanimous decision |
| Ryan Garcia |
 Braulio Rodriguez |
Lightweight (10 rounds) | 5th round KO |
 Katie Taylor |
 Eva Wahlström |
IBF World Lightweight title | Unanimous decision |
| Lamont Roach Jr. |
 Alberto Mercado |
WBO International Super Featherweight title | Unanimous decision |
 Yves Ulysse Jr. |
Maximilliano Becerra |
Super lightweight (8 rounds) | Unanimous decision |
| Preliminary bouts | |||
 Bilal Akkawy |
 Victor Fonseca Calderas |
Super middleweight (8 rounds) | 7th round TKO |
Broadcasting
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Latin America | Canal Space |
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
| United States | DAZN |