Mexican boxer Saul Alvarez is set to face English athlete Billy Saunders in a unification title fight on May 8. The bout will be aired live on DAZN.

Canelo defeated Avni Yildirim and defended the belts

Former WBC International champion Avni Yildirim challenged Alvarez on February 27. Saul wasted no time and ramped up the pressure in the opening round. He landed 13 of 15 punches thrown and did not absorb a single shot. In the second heat, The Turkish Wolf had no answers to Saul’s offensive skills as well. Avni took 17 blows and delivered only 2 punches. Canelo knocked his rival down with a straight right in the third round and outnumbered Yildirim’s shots 14 to 1.

Avni survived the third heat, but his coach Joel Diaz chose to stop the action. As a result, Alvarez scored an easy victory by RTD and retained the WBA (Super), WBC and The Ring belts. The Mexican is currently riding on a 6-fight winning streak and takes first place at super middleweight.

Following the showdown, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced an upcoming contest between Canelo and Saunders scheduled on May 8. The winner of the clash will become the undisputed champion of super middleweight.

Billy is one of the toughest opponents Saul has ever faced. He is an undefeated boxer with an outstanding record of 30-0. Superb turned pro in 2009 and won the WBO middleweight title in 2015. Saunders captured the WBO gold at super middleweight in 2019. He defended it against Marcelo Esteban Coceres and Martin Murray. BoxRec ranks him third in the 168-pound division.