Unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez returns to fight in Miami on Saturday for the first time since 2008, when he becomes involved with the mandatory WBC challenger, Avni Yildirim, inside the Hard Rock Stadium.
A crowd of 15,000 fans, seated socially apart, will see Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) defend his WBA and WBC titles at 168 pounds, while making a quick turnaround just two after he largely outpointed undefeated Callum Smith.
Alvarez, 30, is looking to stay so active he must defeat Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs), a former sparring partner. The Mexican superstar hopes to fight four times in 2021 with the goal of becoming the first undisputed champion in the super middleweight division.
The main co-event will see McWilliams Arroyo face Abraham Rodriguez for the provisional WBC flyweight title after champion Julio Cesar Martinez was forced to retire with a hand injury earlier in the week. The fight was only made official on Saturday morning, after being approved by the commission. Arroyo has won three consecutive wins, while Rodriguez in a four-game winning streak.
CBS Sports will be with you all the way on Saturday, so be sure to follow the live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Canelo Alvarez (c) vs. Avni Yildirim, WBC and WBA super middleweight titles
- McWilliams Arroyo (ic) defeated Abraham Rodriguez by TKO in the fifth round (stoppage of reference)
- Zhilei Zhang vs. Jerry Forrest declared majority draw (95-93 Forrest, 93-93, 93-93)
- Diego Pacheco won. Rodolfo Gomez Jr. by unanimous decision (79-73, 79-73, 79-73)
- Marc Castro defeated John Moraga by TKO in the second round
- Aaron Aponte won. Harry Gigliotti via unanimous decision (40-34, 40-34, 40-34)
- Keyshawn Davis won. Lester Brown by TKO in the second round
- Alexis Espino won. Ashton Sykes by TKO in the fifth round