“I bet $100,000 on him to win by knockout,” White said. He told reporters after the event that he was watching because he had gambled on Álvarez.
President Dana White was photographed multitasking, watching the Álvarez fight while he was cageside during the Zhang fight. The two products, while different, were still entertaining. He guaranteed a knockout and fulfilled on his promise, connecting on an uppercut, a left hook and several right hands that ended Plant’s night. That didn’t happen with Álvarez toward the later rounds as he gained momentum. Covington landed strong shots on Usman and Zhang was effective wrestling against Namajunas. Usman and Namajunas struggled at points with their challengers, Colby Covington and Zhang Weili. Gaethje won, but both fighters were transported to the hospital. The main card started with an explosive first bout between the lightweights Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler. It generated $9.9 million in ticket sales, the fourth largest gate in the arena’s storied history. The energy in Madison Square Garden was electric, the crowd heavily engaged and chanting. showed it can be successful with putting on an event without a dominant star like Álvarez.
On the East Coast, Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas defended their championships via decisions, fights that arguably could have gone either way if a judge viewed it differently.Įven with the parity between its welterweight and women’s strawweight champions, the U.F.C.
FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION BOXERS 2019 PRO
Pro boxing has 17 weight classes, but the only undisputed champions are Álvarez and Josh Taylor, who holds four titles at 140 pounds. On one side of the country, Saúl Álvarez reasserted his dominance in boxing, knocking out Caleb Plant in the 11th round in Las Vegas to became the 168-pound division’s undisputed champion, a rare distinction in modern boxing. Two fight nights, two vastly different experiences. Credits: (clockwise from left) AFP, AP, USA Today Sports, AP and Getty Images. Fight night in Las Vegas and New York City.