Canelo Alvarez vs Avni Yildirim Fight Preview, Breakdown & Prediction

Canelo Alvarez vs Avni Yildirim

Fight fans are gifted with yet another appearance from the reigning, defending WBC & WBA Super Middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez withing three months of his previous fight. Callum Smith fell victim to Alvarez back in December; meanwhile, mandatory challenger Anvi Yildirim has different plans to Smith.

The world will be watching, and with the majority are expected to side with Canelo, the one-punch power of elite boxers can shock the world at any time. With that said, let us take a deeper dive into the main event fighters in question.

The event takes place on the 27th of February inside the Hard Rock Stadium, Florida, with all the live-action covered by DAZN.

Canelo Alvarez

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Standing in at 5’8″ tall, the defending champion Canelo Alvarez is currently riding a 13-fight win streak. His singular career loss to Floyd Mayweather burnt Alvarez’s desire to take his career to the next level and hold titles in multiple weight classes. He’s taken out some of the biggest names in boxing today, such as Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin (GGG), Sergey Kovalev & Callum Smith.

Alvarez technical ability, both offensively and defensively, has created an unstoppable force in boxing today that only one of the greatest boxer’s in history (Floyd Mayweather) could accomplish in defeating.

Mexican born, holding championships in four weight classes and proving inactive critics wrong, Alvarez has already etched his name into the history books, but who is the opponent this weekend? And why does Avni Yildirim deserve his opportunity?

Anvi Yildirim

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Anvi Yildirim Is a Turkish born boxer who was a standout in the Amateur scene of his country before making his claim on the big stage.

During his time on the amateurs, he held a 120-12 record and won the national championship on five occasions. After competing for Turkey at the World Championships, he decided to turn pro.

Yildirim made his professional debut by dominating Davit Ribakoni on the judge’s scorecards. A run of 16 victories gave the Turkish star a perfect start, and ten of those fights ended via knockout or TKO. He then competed in the World Boxing Super Series, where he suffered defeat for the first time. Chris Eubank Jr gave Yildirim no room; absolute pressure and output knocked the Turk out during the third round.

After the loss, five consecutive wins for the Turk within twelve months was the perfect comeback. He earned the right to face Anthony Dirrell for the vacant WBC 168lb title in February 2019. Yildirim fought strong, but it wasn’t enough to claim the title, eventually losing the scorecards.

Yildirim has not fought since Alvarez’s right to face is mandatory – due to him being the WBC mandatory challenger.

Canelo vs Yildirim Prediction

If you’re a gambling man and looking for the best bet today, Canelo Alvarez is a no-brainer in this spot.

The champ’s path to victory is simple, stick to what he knows and excel through elite movement and offence. Canelo loves to lure the opposition, annoying their flow to the point of unwanted aggression leads them astray. He controls the distance with his jab, and if you get too close, his counterpower strikes will leave the opposition gazing at the stars.

Yildirim has found success in taking his opponents the distance, something that Canelo is all too familiar with. Attempting to drain Canelo’s energy could end in a long night for Yildirim; we have witnessed countless Canelo victims lose their will to fight after failing to connect early on. So, maintaining his composure will be necessary to stand a chance, at least.

Cutting to the chase, it is challenging to envision any other outcome than Canelo Alvarez defending and retaining his championship this weekend. Coming off a loss to a lesser fighter to go ahead and fight one of the greatest ever is a tough ask. 

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