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WBC President Apologizes for Putting Avni Yildirim Against Canelo Alvarez

Published 03/01/2021, 3:59 PM EST

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Canelo Alvarez annihilated Avni Yildirim and knocked him out in the third round of their 12-round battle to defend the WBC and WBA super-middleweight titles. Although Alvarez was already the favorite, several fans envisioned seeing some sort of action from Yildirim.

However, the Turkish representative couldn’t offer much and remained on the wrong end of a lopsided beat down. So, it was clearly a mismatch and WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has shed his opinion on it.

He didn’t go harsh on Yildirim after the fight and claimed of being sorry. Meanwhile, he also hinted at changing the structure of determining the mandatory challengers. Despite mandating their title slots, several fighters fall short inside the ring.

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In a chat with Boxing Social, he said, “I’m sorry for Avni. The paper sometimes doesn’t reflect the actions, and it was very unfortunate. We had great expectations, and it’s just a matter where we [at the WBC] need to look into the process that is not working in some roads,” 

He added, “Definitely, there are things that we have to go back and look at what is happening and how things evolve and ss I say, he [Canelo] was tremendously successful, he was in great shape, and that stage should have been for a much greater fight.”

Canelo Alvarez Not Concerned About Billy Joe Saunders’ Trash Talk: “I Am a Very Mature Fighter”

WBC President has his love for Canelo Alvarez

On the other side of being sorry for Yildirim, Sulaiman has praised the P4P king for unveiling another blockbuster fight. Canelo didn’t have to struggle in decoding his rival’s weakness. The Mexican emerged with all the action and mauled Avni Yildirim until flooring him with a right hand.

via Getty

He continued, “Tremendous, he’s got a sight on unifying the whole division. That’s a process in how it begins. I think we can see a very active year, and hopefully, it’ll continue to be like that for Canelo and boxing.

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When asked about what he made of that fight, Sulaiman said, “A tremendous match, it’s going to be a sensational fight.”

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VIDEO: Canelo Alvarez Asks a Jake Supporter to Leave the Ring

Following the win, Alvarez will face WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders in a super-middleweight title unification clash on May 8. The fight is confirmed and already has people’s attention. So, it’s safe to state that the P4P king is in no mood to get away from the spotlight anytime soon.

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Do you think Canelo Alvarez will surpass Billy Joe Saunders?

Mike Tyson Shows up in a Unique Outfit for Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim – Fans React

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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One take at a time

A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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