Schaefer: Canelo could have made weight for Angulo fight if a title were up for grabs

By Boxing News - 03/08/2014 - Comments

02 Canelo and Angulo IMG_1618(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer explained away his fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s inability to make weight for his fight tonight against Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) by saying that Canelo could have made the 154 lb limit had a title belt been on the line. To Schaefer, Canelo would have made the effort to get down to the junior middleweight limit if he had a reason to. Canelo now has to make the 168 lb re-hydration limit for today otherwise he’ll need to give Angulo a little more money. Canelo gave Angulo $100,000 yesterday for having the weight moved up from 154 to 155.

If Canelo can’t make 168, then one would guess that Angulo will get another chunk of change to make it worth his while to be facing a guy heavier than him. Canelo rehydrated to 172 for his junior middleweight fight last year against Austin Trout, so that gives you an idea of how heavy he can bulk up to after he hydrates following a weigh-in. For those who aren’t up weight classes, 172 lbs is a light light heavyweight. In other words, Canelo walked into the fight against Trout three divisions above the junior middleweight weight class. Why Canelo simply doesn’t move up to middleweight or super middleweight is unclear, because it would seem like an obvious move for him to take.

“Both guys agreed to the change the weight to 155,” Schaefer told ESPN. “And the parties agreed to the 168 limit and Angulo got extra money. If it would have been a title fight I think Canelo would have made 154. But it’s not and everybody is happy with the arrangement is made.”

Canelo looked pretty drained for his last fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September in their fight at junior middleweight. Could Canelo have made weight for the Angulo fight? It’s possible, but it’s equally realistic to assume that getting down to the weight limit for the 154 lb weight division would have weakened Canelo to the point where Angulo would have a better chance of beating him tonight. Having the weight moved up a point definitely saves Canelo, and it might be enough to save his hide from being knocked out by Angulo. But then again, it might not. The re-hydration limit was a stroke of genius by Angulo’s camp, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Angulo’s trainer Virgil Hunter choose to go with this plan. If Canelo can’t rehydrate to the 170s like he did in the Trout fight, he might be drained by fight time.

The weigh-in is at 3 p.m. Pacific Time, and that obviously gives Canelo time to rehydrate even more from 168 to the 170s, but when you move that amount of water in a short period of time, it’s not a good thing for a fighter to do. Canelo could be sluggish and tired after the first 4 rounds of the fight just like he was in the Trout fight. If Angulo is able to make the red-haired Canelo work hard for the full three minutes of every round in the first six rounds, we could see Canelo turn red in the face and be an exhausted fighter during the second half. If that happens, it’ll give Angulo a good chance of scoring a stoppage.



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