Is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for real?

By Boxing News - 06/19/2011 - Comments

Image: Is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for real?By Gerardo Granados: It has been a while now since the first time a saw Canelo fight on an undercard, since then I saw something special in the eighteen years old kid, he was raw but he sure had power and a killer instinct. The reader might find my comments towards Canelo biased but I believe that the kid has something special and is not a hype job. Alvarez has been constantly improving during the time I have followed him and now he seems to be for real and no longer just a promising young prospect.

Soon Alvarez will turn 21 years old, he is the WBC light middleweight champion and already holds the status of a boxing star. He will always be criticized as many fighters are altough the kid has proved to be a talented boxer who fights like a more experienced and mature veteran. He has improved his defense, speed and has corrected a few flaws on his game. He also has room to improve and seems like he does likes to learn, he is disciplined and by the age of 24 he might be reaching his peek.

He is a current boxing star, his fights draw great ratings and is able to fill the boxing arenas, but can he become a dominant force in the light middleweight division?

He is still learning so he better be match properly, not meaning he should hand pick his rivals but he needs to choose the ones that will help him improve giving him rounds of work no matter if they represent a high risk. The IBF champion Cornelius Bundrage would be a veteran from whom he could learn, the WBA regular light middleweight champion Austin Trout has a slick style that would help Alvarez develop his movement and footwork; Kermit Cintron or even the rough veteran Ricardo Mayorga would demand Alvarez to give the best out of him.

Dangerous contender Vanes Martirosyan seems eager to face Alvarez and undoubtedly he deserves a shot a the title, but he might have to improve his defense before he enters the ring against the young champion. The brave Alfredo “Perro” Angulo is also another fighter that will represent a risky fight for Alvarez but Canelo might have the right style to beat him. I believe the toughest test for him in the division is Paul Williams who has the tools to give Canelo a very hard time.

Miguel Angel Cotto is the boss in the light middleweight division and a fight against Alvarez would be a very interesting one. Besides this might be the most lucrative fight for both fighters, imagine the fight taking place at the new Yankee Stadium. Perhaps Canelo needs two more fights before he is ready for the great three division champion.

Time has come for Alvarez to take the big fights, he needs to learn a few more things but the only way for him to learn is to engage against top competition, he has the tools to compete against the best, he has the charisma but he needs to defeat a really big name to be recognized as a force in his division.

A fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr? Only if Floyd is interested, then it would be a fight that could break Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. record at the Azteca Stadium 124,000 audience.

I wont deny that any of the fighters mention before have the talent to defeat the young champion but I am confident that this kid is for real. Is he?



Comments are closed.