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Mike CoppingerESPN
The quest for greatness continues for four-division champion Canelo Alvarez.
After defeating Caleb Plant by 11th-round TKO in November to become the first fighter in the four-belt era to unify all the major super middleweight world titles, Alvarez is facing WBA light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol with the goal of unifying that division in the future.
Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) has defended his title three times since being elevated to full titleholder in 2019. He has height and reach advantages over Alvarez and hasn’t lost a fight since a defeat to former light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk as an amateur almost nine years ago.
Alvarez (57-1-1, 39 KOs) vs. Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) headlines a boxing card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night (DAZN pay-per-view, 8 ET).
Follow live as Mike Coppinger provides results and analysis.
Fight in progress: Shakhram Giyasov vs. Christian Gomez, 10 rounds, welterweights
Results:
Castro goes the distance for unanimous decision victory
Marc Castro remained undefeated with a shutout decision over Pedro Vicente in a six-round lightweight fight.
All three judges scored the bout identically: 60-54.
The 22-year-old used nonstop pressure round after round to defeat Vicente (7-5-1, 2 KOs), a 33-year-old from Puerto Rico.
Castro (7-0, 5 KOs), of Fresno, California, was coming off a decision win in March; he suffered the first knockdown of his pro career in that bout.
Zhilei demolishes Alexander in first round
Zhang Zhilei made quick work of Scott Alexander in the PPV opener.
The 39-year-old from China drilled Alexander with a left hand in the opening round, and referee Robert Hoyle didn’t bother to count. Alexander lay on the canvas and the bout was waved off at 1:54 of Round 1.
Zhilei (23-0-1, 18 KOs) was slated to fight Filip Hrgovic in a title eliminator in the chief-support bout, but the Olympic bronze medalist withdrew after the death of his father.
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).
Zhilei was fighting for the second time since a draw with Jerry Forrest in February 2021.
Velazquez stops Soto to stay unbeaten
Joselito Velazquez, an Olympic fighter from Mexico, continued his march toward a flyweight title shot.
The 28-year-old hammered Jose Soto with a left hook that floored the Colombian before referee Mike Ortega halted the bout at 1:06 of Round 6.
Velazquez (15-0-1, 10 KOs) won gold at the Pan American Games twice. Soto (15-2, 6 KOs) has now lost two fights in a row.
Silva upsets middleweight prospect Espino
In a battle of unbeaten middleweight prospects, Aaron Silva scored a fourth-round stoppage of Alexis Espino.
Silva, a slight underdog, buckled Espino with a left hook, before a flurry of punches led to referee Celestino Ruiz stopping the fight at 1:17 of Round 4.
Espino (9-1-1, 6 KOs), a 22-year-old from Las Vegas, is trained by Robert Garcia and promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. Silva (10-0, 7 KOs) is a 24-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico.
Still to come:
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Title fight: Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol, 12 rounds, for Bivol’s WBA “super” light heavyweight title
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Montana Love vs. Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, 12 rounds, junior welterweights