‘Insane’ knockout stuns boxing world

Alvarez became the first man to ever unite the super middleweight division with his 11th round KO of the previously undefeated Caleb Plant.Watch Boxing Live & On-Demand on Kayo. Selected international fights, classic bouts and more. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >But before the main event got underway, fans were treated to one of the KOs of the year from 37-year-old Anthony Dirrell.While Dirrell appeared to be starting to age out of the sport after a loss to David Benavidez and a draw to Kyrone Davis in his last two fights, the two-time world champion showed he wasn’t a spent force against Marcos Hernandez.In four dominant rounds, Dirrell hit his opponent at will before he unleashed a blistering finishing move.Landing the uppercut up the middle, it connected right on the button and left Hernandez in la-la land.While Hernandez made it back to his feet, he wasn’t stable on his legs and referee Celestino Ruiz waved off the fight.“I had to slip and put it right on the button,” Dirrell said. “We practised that in the gym and it worked.”The celebrations began as soon as the punch landed for Dirrell, who capped it off with a flip.He said he knew he won when he saw Hernandez on the canvas.“He started twitching on the floor but he got up,” Dirrell said. “I think it should have been over with him on the ground just to keep him calm because when you get up from stuff too fast, it makes it worse. I knew he wasn’t going to continue after that.”While the boxing world was waiting for Canelo-Plant, social media erupted over the stunning finish.CBS Sports writer Brian Campbell wrote: “Hell of a finish from Dirrell”.Dan Rafael tweeted: “In a superb performance, @Anthonydirrell scored a spectacular one-punch uppercut KO of Marcos Hernandez. Dirrell hopes to land a shot with the #CaneloPlant winner.”After the fight, Dirrell called out Canelo and admitted he would retire if he can’t get the big fight. Even before his bout he was making noises about the Mexican.“I want Canelo, the big head honcho,” Dirrell said. “I think everybody wants him. Everybody wants to dethrone him, hopefully I made a big enough statement to get him, that’s the plan. “I’m 37-years-old, if I can’t fight for something, I’m fighting for nothing. That’s every boxer’s dream, to be undisputed champion. So at least let me fight for it and see. If I can’t, I’m getting to old for this man and I can’t keep doing it.”

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November 08, 2021 at 12:03AM
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Alvarez became the first man to ever unite the super middleweight division with his 11th round KO of the previously undefeated Caleb Plant.Watch Boxing Live & On-Demand on Kayo. Selected international fights, classic bouts and more. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >But before the main event got underway, fans were treated to one of the KOs of the year from 37-year-old Anthony Dirrell.While Dirrell appeared to be starting to age out of the sport after a loss to David Benavidez and a draw to Kyrone Davis in his last two fights, the two-time world champion showed he wasn’t a spent force against Marcos Hernandez.In four dominant rounds, Dirrell hit his opponent at will before he unleashed a blistering finishing move.Landing the uppercut up the middle, it connected right on the button and left Hernandez in la-la land.While Hernandez made it back to his feet, he wasn’t stable on his legs and referee Celestino Ruiz waved off the fight.“I had to slip and put it right on the button,” Dirrell said. “We practised that in the gym and it worked.”The celebrations began as soon as the punch landed for Dirrell, who capped it off with a flip.He said he knew he won when he saw Hernandez on the canvas.“He started twitching on the floor but he got up,” Dirrell said. “I think it should have been over with him on the ground just to keep him calm because when you get up from stuff too fast, it makes it worse. I knew he wasn’t going to continue after that.”While the boxing world was waiting for Canelo-Plant, social media erupted over the stunning finish.CBS Sports writer Brian Campbell wrote: “Hell of a finish from Dirrell”.Dan Rafael tweeted: “In a superb performance, @Anthonydirrell scored a spectacular one-punch uppercut KO of Marcos Hernandez. Dirrell hopes to land a shot with the #CaneloPlant winner.”After the fight, Dirrell called out Canelo and admitted he would retire if he can’t get the big fight. Even before his bout he was making noises about the Mexican.“I want Canelo, the big head honcho,” Dirrell said. “I think everybody wants him. Everybody wants to dethrone him, hopefully I made a big enough statement to get him, that’s the plan. “I’m 37-years-old, if I can’t fight for something, I’m fighting for nothing. That’s every boxer’s dream, to be undisputed champion. So at least let me fight for it and see. If I can’t, I’m getting to old for this man and I can’t keep doing it.”