Hall Of Fame Trainer Criticizes Canelo Alvarez's TKO Win Over Avni Yildirim

Renowned boxing trainer Teddy Atlas thinks Saul “Canelo” Alvarez should have taken on a better opponent than Avni Yildirim.

It was just another day at the office for Alvarez as the multi-division world champion added another glitter to his name on Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

Contrary to what some expected, Alvarez dismantled Yildirim in three rounds. The Turkish fighter’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the third round, making the Mexican pugilist the winner via TKO to retain his WBC and WBA super middleweight belts.

While some believe that Alvarez put on another tremendous performance, Hall of Fame trainer Atlas wasn’t completely amused of what he had witnessed.

In a series of tweets, Atlas pointed out that Yildirim was way out of Alvarez’s league, emphasizing that a “sparring session” would have been more intense than the said title tilt.

“That wasn’t even a sparring session,” Atlas wrote of Alvarez vs. Yildirim. “Truth be spoken, you would send him home in camp because you’d get nothing out of it.”

“The commentators are speculating what it will take to beat Canelo, I have an idea; start with better opposition,” he added. “I love Canelo, but in these type fights he can just do whatever he wants, as if you were in gym hitting the bag.”

Looking at Alvarez vs. Yildirim bout, it appears that Atlas was somewhat right. The Mexican boxing superstar dictated the fight the entire three rounds.

Early in the fight, Alvarez unloaded devastating looping hooks around Yildirim's high guard that softened the Turkish fighter's body.

With over two minutes remaining in the third round, Alvarez floored Yildirim with a powerful straight right hand that penetrated through the 29-year-old’s defense.

Speaking after his first victory of the new year, Alvarez bared that he was really eyeing a knockout win.

"I wanted to have a great fight here," Alvarez said in the post-fight interview, "I needed to knock [him] out, and that's what I did. That's what I had to do."

Aside from more spectacular wins, the 30-year-old is also sticking to his long-term goal.

"I want to make history," the Guadalajara native pointed out. "I want to be one of the best in the world."

Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn confirmed that Alvarez’s next fight will be against WBO titleholder Billy Joe Saunders in a unification bout on May 8, but the location is yet to be announced.