I attended Yildirim’s first fight in Miami back in 2015. True story. I was on vacation there and had convinced the old lady to come with me. The venue was a movie studio located in a very gentrified area of Miami, and the boxing event itself looked like a Cuban party, people were getting plates of rice and bottled beers at a food stand by the entrance. I don’t remember it all very precisely as I was absolutely fucking drunk, but the fights were decent. The headliner was Glen Johnson’s last professional bout. He was 45 and gave a good account of himself - as usual - againt young Yildirim, who was like 5-0 back then. People around me were convinced that Johnson was winning but Yildirim outworked him convincingly IMO, an opinion I didn’t voice too loudly. That’s a fond memory. I’ve been having a soft spot for Yildirim since then.
Canelo clubs him like a baby seal, BTW.