By the end of the eighth round, during which Alvarez punished him with right hands to the face, Saunders’ right eye was swollen closed and trainer Mark Tibbs eventually motioned to referee Mark Calo-oy to stop the fight. “He really doesn’t care, because he can only do what he can do,” Charlo’s trainer Ronnie Shields said in June. He’s at the point now where he’s like, 'We’ve been trying and trying and trying to get this fight, the guy doesn’t want to fight us, so look, I’m moving on with my career.' You can’t sit back and wait on a guy and the guy doesn’t want to fight. “He can’t force somebody to fight that doesn’t want to fight. “I feel great. I feel blessed, because at the end of the day, I want to make history in my career. It’s a great fight. “Everything is possible, if Canelo want fight to happen in Congo, it is my country, it’s a big jungle.
“For me it’s an honor. I do this because I love boxing, and whatever is coming is an honor for me,” Alvarez told The Ring. “It’s a bonus for me because I love this sport. “He’d love to fight in the UK, I think his popularity here is through the roof. I’m going to stay here and reign here,” Charlo said in the ring after his victory. No matter where, America, Mexico, I’m able to make it,” said Ilunga Makabu. “And I’m sorry for everything. After Canelo Alvarez drove Caleb Plant to the canvas for the second time in the 11th round with three brutal right hands to the head, and referee Russell Mora immediately waved off the fight, the pound-for-pound king raced across the ring and climbed the ropes in victory. Ilunga Makabu vs Canelo Alvarez: Rumble in the Jungle 2? No Mexican-born boxer has ever won a title in five different divisions - @Canelo could make history if he fights and defeats cruiserweight champ Ilunga Makabu in 2022. pic.twitter.
The four-division titlist and future Hall of Famer broke his own record as the oldest fighter to hold a bantamweight title, scoring a shockingly one-sided fourth-round knockout of unbeaten WBC bantamweight titlist Nordine Oubaali (17-0, 12KOs at the time) last May 29. The legendary Filipino made the first defense of his third title reign in similar fashion, halting unbeaten countryman Reymart Gaballo inside of four rounds last December 11. Donaire is gunning for a rematch with WBA/IBF champ Naoya Inoue in 2022, as well as a long-desired showdown with countryman and WBO titlist John Riel Casimero. Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs), a four-division champion, landed a career-low 84 punches overall overall 12 rounds as Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) relied on his defense and accurate punching to pull the upset via unanimous decision inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alexander (16-5-2, 8 KOs), 33, of Los Angeles, accepted the fight on short notice and suffered his second consecutive loss (the other to Carlos Negron in May). This past May he broke Billy Joe Saunders' face with a right uppercut. Now, it sounds like that fight may not happen after all, and instead, he may give Houston fight fans the matchup against Jermall Charlo that they've been wanting.
The 31-year-old Charlo, who grew up in Alief and lives in the Houston area, has been calling out Canelo for a long time. Canelo sitting against them and letting him prod with jabs. Although Charlo has often brought up his desire to fight Canelo, he took a different approach before his last fight - a unanimous decision victory over Juan Macias Montiel in June at Toyota Center - when he said he no longer cared about Canelo because he was tired of chasing someone who didn’t want to fight him. Alvarez, who had predicted he would break Saunders down and stop him between the eighth and 10th rounds, said he felt a powerful right uppercut dig into Saunders’ face. Former pro-boxer Tim Bradley has suggested that Canelo Alvarez will not be able to stop Dmitry Bivol. If there's an interested spectator above all others entering Saturday's super middleweight undisputed championship bout pairing Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant in Las Vegas, it's the man who hopes to get the call to face the winner.