By Jim Dower: After beating WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs) last Saturday night by a 9th round knockout, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) proclaimed himself to be the best fighter in the world, and he immediately called out Kazakhstan star Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) for a fight.
Unfortunately for Canelo, the boxing public seems to be siding with Golovkin as being the best fighter in the sport right now. Canelo has a large fan base that follows his fights, but the fans in general don’t see Canelo as better than Golovkin. For Canelo to prove that he’s better than Golovkin, he’s going to need to negotiate a fight against him so that he can take his position as the No.1 fighter in boxing.
Canelo hasn’t shown the ability that would suggest that he could beat Golovkin. Last night’s fight against Liam Smith was a perfect example. Canelo looked tired much of the time, and was forced to retreat to the ropes and fight off the ropes. It worked for Canelo to fight off the ropes against Smith, because the British fighter didn’t have the punching needed for him to take advantage of Canelo’s need for frequent rest breaks. But a good fighter at 154 or 160, would have taken Canelo apart if he had kept backing up against the ropes against them. Golovkin would have had Canelo at his mercy if he kept backing up against the ropes against him, which is why it’s hard to favor Canelo against him.
“I’m going to see the doctor. I’m going to go get it checked out right now,” said Canelo about his injured knuckle on his right hand. “I can’t say [if he’s going to fight in December]. I’m going to see if I’m fine. Let’s see what the prognosis is from the doctor, and then we’ll make a decision about the fight. We’re going to decide. But right now with the way I feel, this is probably the last fight at 154. I want to make history. That’s the most important thing. I’ll fight the best, all the best champions at 160. I always want to fight the best. I know a lot of people might not agree with this, but I feel like I’m the best.”
Canelo is a good fighter, but it’s hard to argue that he’s the best fighter at 154 or 160, let alone in the entire sport of boxing. Canelo definitely has a place in the rankings, but you can’t put him at the top in either of those two divisions.
At 160, I would put Canelo behind Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs. At 154, I have Canelo behind Jermall Charlo, Erislandy Lara, and Demetrius Andrade. I think all those guys beat him as long as the judges are scoring the fights accurately. Canelo would have his hands full against guys like Jermell Charlo and Julian Williams. Those would be tough fights for Canelo, but he might win.
It’s not a surprise that Canelo is moving out of the 154lb division. It’s no secret that he has to battle hard to make weight last Friday night. But more importantly, if Canelo were to stay at junior middleweight, he would be soon forced to fight #2 WBO Demetrius Andrade. That would be a very, very tough match-up for the 5’9” Canelo to deal with the height, reach, power and boxing ability of the 6’1” Andrade.
I’m sure Canelo doesn’t mind too much him being able to steer around the Andrade fight, because if he wanted that fight, he would have taken it instead of the easier one against Smith. Andrade is a former Olympian with great talent and former WBO 154lb champion before being stripped by the WBO for failing to defend his title in time.
Canelo hasn’t been fighting the best in the sport ever since he was burned by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013. That might have been a painful lesson for Canelo, because he’s backed off from fighting the best. Canelo’s fight against Liam Smith was a perfect example of him NOT fighting the best. Smith is a good fighter, but most boxing fans agree that he’s rated below the likes of Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, Erislandy Lara, Jermell Charlo, and Julian Williams. Liam Smith was just a guy that won the World Boxing Organization 154lb title the easy way in beating former ESPN fighter John Thompson to win the belt last year.