Antonio Margarito vs. Ramon Alvarez possible for July

By Boxing News - 05/25/2016 - Comments

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By Dan Ambrose: Former IBF/WBA/WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (39-8, 27 KOs) could be facing junior middleweight Ramon Alvarez (23-4-2, 15 KOs) on July 16 or 30, according to ESPN.com. mx. If the 38-year-old Margarito defeats Alvarez, which would be very likely given the flaws in his game, then Margarito could wind up facing Ramon’s younger brother Saul “Canelo” Alvarez later on in 2016 in a revenge of the brother type of fights.

You have to wonder if this is something that has been planned out by Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya because a fight between Canelo and Margarito is just as much of a circus-like mismatch as the recent Amir Khan vs. Canelo fight that took place earlier this month on May 7 on HBO PPV.

There’s nothing been openly talked about in Margarito facing Canelo, but it seems like a logical move if Margarito defeats Canelo’s 29-year-old brother Ramon in July.

“I would love to beat the brother and then go with Canelo finally Canelo say is the fighter who sells, I think it would be a good fight because I lately I’ve felt better, and I shook off the rust I had and am working better,” said Margarito to ESPN.com.mx.

Margarito recently came off a four and half year retirement to defeat Jorge Paez Jr. by a 10 round unanimous decision last March in Mexico City. Paez Jr. isn’t known for his punching power, but he was still able to drop Margarito in the 6th and badly hurt him. However, Margarito was able to come back from the knockdown to dominate the remainder of the fight. Margarito even had Paez Jr. badly hurt and out on his feet in the 10th round. It looked like the Margarito of old in the final round of that fight. If he’s able to fight Ramon like that, he’ll have no problems stopping him. Ramon is a mediocre fighter who isn’t a top rung fighter in the 154lb division. Ramon defeated James Winchester by a 9th round knockout last January in his last fight. I’ve never heard of Winchester before.

Ramon Alvarez has losses to Mario Alberto Lozano, Daniel Sandoval, Jesus Aceves and Agustin Marquez. The good news for Ramon and his fans is he hasn’t been beaten in four years since his 12 round decision loss to Lozano in October 2012. The bad news is Ramon hasn’t fought anyone with a pulse in the last four years. Ramon has been fighting old timers like Ben Tackie, Vivian Harris and Richard Gutierrez lastly instead of the young lions in the 154lb division like the Charlo brothers and Demetrius Andrade.

Frankly, I cannot even picture Ramon being inside the ring with those type of fighters because it would be too much of a mismatch. Even with Canelo, I think he would lose to Demetrius Andrade and with Jermall Charlo. Jermell looks flawed enough for Canelo to beat him, but I think he would be in a world of hurt against Jermall and Andrade. Those guys are next generation talents. I guess that’s why Golden Boy Promotions hasn’t bothered matching Canelo against them. They’re probably seen as too dangerous for Canelo.

“I would love to beat the brother and then go with Canelo,” said Margarito. “Canelo says he is the fighter who sells. I think it would be a good fight because I lately I have felt better, and I shook off the rust I had and am working better. I must admit he [Canelo] has learned and increasingly looks better, but he’s not as good as he looks,” said Margarito.

If De La Hoya is looking for another over-matched opponent in the same league as Amir Khan for Canelo to smash for his September 17 fight on the Mexican Independence Day holiday weekend, then Margarito might be the perfect opponent. I don’t think that fight sells to the U.S fans on HBO PPV, but I had reservations that Golden Boy could sell a fight between Canelo and Khan to the U.S boxing public.

That fight brought in a reported 600,000 PPV buys on HBO. If fans are willing to watch Canelo beat up on welterweights like Khan, then they might also like to see Canelo fight older former champions like Margarito. For the Canelo-Margarito fight to have a chance of becoming reality, Margarito will need to defeat Canelo’s brother Ramon first. If the Margarito vs. Ramon Alvarez fight gets made for July, I’d say there is a very good chance Margarito beats the brakes off of Ramon.

Margarito is a former world class fighter. Ramon is just a career long 2nd tier fighter. There’s a difference in pedigree between these two guys. Age has nothing to do with it. Ramon, 29, is nine years younger than the 38-year-old Margarito, but he might as well be nine years older than him. Margarito is simply the better fighter.