Rocky Fielding admits it was tactically wrong to try and trade with Canelo Alvarez in brutal KO loss

ROCKY FIELDING ‘dared to be great’ but was ultimately taken apart by one of the best boxers on the planet.

A brave Fielding lost his WBA ‘Regular’ super-middleweight world title as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez stopped the Liverpudlian inside three rounds in New York.

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Despite Fielding's ability to land the jab and connect with hooks on the inside, Canelo's world class punch combinations and speed nullified any physical advantage his opponent carried.

Canelo, 27, rifled his opponents body throughout dropping him in every round, before the contest was stopped - and after the fight Fielding, 31, admitted he made a mistake in his offence.

Fielding said: “He’s strong. I was catching him with some shots but he kept coming forward. The body shots, it was more like the wind was getting took.

“I stood there too long. I thought I could mix it with him and I shouldn’t have. You’ve seen the height of me compared to him, I should have kept it long.

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“But I just stood there with someone who’s elite and who’s strong and he caught me. I gave it everything and the better man won.”

Canelo’s 50th career win secured his place with Mexican boxing legends Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez as three-weight world champions.

The Mexican, who has just one career loss coming against Floyd Mayweather, stepped up from middleweight to challenge the naturally bigger Fielding.

And after Fielding’s first hand experience of fighting the combination punching whizz that is Canelo, the former champion confirmed what we all knew - that Alvarez is an elite fighter.

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Fielding said: “He does everything well. His timing’s good, his shot selections are good. His presence, just being there and making me work when I didn’t have to.

“I knew I shouldn’t switch off and I had to be on my game, I never kept it long. I just stood there. He’s an elite fighter, he’s a great fighter. It was his night.”

As Canelo completed the first of his 11-fight, £300m deal with new streaming service DAZN, Fielding was handed his second career loss.

However, Fielding, who claimed the WBA strap after defeating Tyron Zegue on away soil in July, stated he will bounce back from the crushing defeat.

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He added: “I never shied away from the challenge.

“I dared to be great. I lived the dream but I’ll come again. I’ll come back.”