Rocky Fielding admitted he got his tactics wrong after suffering his second professional defeat.
The former British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion succumbed his WBA ‘regular’ title to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
Fielding took on the 28-year-old Mexican superstar at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.
And after being dropped four times en-route a third-round stoppage defeat, exclusively live on Sky Sports in the U.K. and on DAZN Stateside, the 31-year-old conceded that he got it all wrong in there.
“He’s an elite fighter, Canelo, and I went in there and I went in there, trying my best, and that’s what elite fighters are like,” the father-of-two said afterwards.
Fielding was dropped three times from body shots and once with a head shot before the referee, Ricky Gonzalez, called a halt to proceedings having seen enough after two minutes and 38 seconds of the third at the Mecca of Boxing.
“The body shots were more like the wind was getting taken out of me. It wasn’t like I was being hurt to the ribs, the wind was just being taken from me.
“He placed his shots well and he caught me, but I stood there too long and I thought I could try and mix it with him when I shouldn’t have.
“I should really have kept it long, using my height advantage, but I just stood there with someone who’s elite, who’s stronger than me and he caught me.”
‘Canelo’ is now one of a select group of Mexican fighters to have won world championships in three different weight classes, having clinched global honours at super-welterweight, middleweight after beating Gennady Golovkin back in September and now the 168-pound division.
Fielding will be able to hold his head up high despite the dream being cut devastatingly short by a special fighter in the shape of Alvarez, who moves to 51-1-2 with 35 early, while Fielding now holds a record of 27-2 (15 KOs).
“I gave it everything and the better man won. I dared to be great, I lived a dream, but I’ll come again and I’ll come back.”
Article by: Elliot Foster