Canelo vs Saunders

Who won Canelo vs Saunders?

Canelo Alvarez beat Billy Joe Saunders by technical knockout in the 8th round on Saturday, May 8th, 2021, at AT&T Stadium, Arlington.

The scorecards were announced as 78-74, 77-75, 78-74 in favor of winner Canelo Alvarez.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 168 pounds (12 stone or 76.2 kg).

This contest was for the undisputed super middleweight championship of the world, with the WBC, WBA, WBO, and The Ring belts on the line.

Also on the undercard Elwin Soto was victorious over Katsunari Takayama for the WBO World Junior Flyweight championship, Souleymane Cissokho beat Kieron Conway, and Frank Sanchez defeated Nagy Aguilera.

Canelo vs Saunders stats

Back in May 2021, Canelo Alvarez stepped into the ring with a record of 55 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws, 37 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Billy Joe Saunders made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 30 wins and 0 draws, with 14 of those by knockout.

The stats suggested Canelo had an advantage in power over Saunders, with a 67% knockout percentage compared to Saunders' 47%.

Canelo Alvarez was the younger man by 1 year, at 31 years old.

Saunders had a height advantage of 2 inches over Canelo. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Canelo Alvarez fought out of the orthodox stance, while Billy Joe Saunders was a southpaw.

Canelo was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 28 more fights, and made his debut in 2005, 3 years and 3 months earlier than Saunders, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 286 more professional rounds, totaling 508 compared to Saunders' 222.

Canelo vs Saunders form

Canelo had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Avni Yildirim on February 27, 2021, by technical knockout in the 3rd round in their WBC World Super Middleweight, WBA Super World Super Middleweight and The Ring Super Middleweight championship fight at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida, United States.

Prior to that, he had defeated Callum Smith on December 19, 2020, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Super Middleweight and WBA Super World Super Middleweight championship fight at Alamodome, Texas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Sergey Kovalev on November 2, 2019, by technical knockout in the 11th round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had won against Daniel Jacobs on May 4, 2019, by unanimous decision in their IBF World Middleweight, WBA Super World Middleweight, WBC World Middleweight and The Ring Middleweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had beaten Rocky Fielding on December 15, 2018, by technical knockout in the 3rd round in their WBA World Super Middleweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Saunders had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Martin Murray on December 4, 2020, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Super Middleweight championship fight at Wembley (SSE) Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had defeated Marcelo Esteban Coceres on November 9, 2019, by knockout in the 11th round in their WBO World Super Middleweight championship fight at Staples Center, LA, United States.

Going into that contest, he had won against Shefat Isufi on May 18, 2019, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Super Middleweight championship fight at Lamex Stadium, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had defeated Charles Adamu on December 22, 2018, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Manchester Arena, Manchester.

He had beaten David Lemieux on December 16, 2017, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Middleweight championship fight at Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Canelo Alvarez had been fighting more than Billy Joe Saunders.

Going into this contest, Canelo Alvarez had last fought 2 months and 11 days ago, while Billy Joe Saunders' last outing had been 5 months and 4 days ago.

Canelo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 23 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 5 months and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 41 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.2 rounds on average.

Saunders' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 4 months and 22 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 51 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.2 rounds on average.

What time did Canelo vs Saunders start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PM PST at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States, which was around 4:00 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Canelo vs Saunders?

The DAZN show began at 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST. The DAZN Global broadcast of the card started at 1:00 AM (BST).

What were the odds on Canelo vs Saunders?

Canelo Alvarez was a 1/5 (-500) favorite going into the contest, while Billy Joe Saunders made his way into the ring at 4/1 (+400) with oddsmakers.