By Dan Ambrose: 45-year-old former three division world champion Shane Mosley says he thinks the size of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) could be a big problem for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) in their fight on HBO PPV on May 6. Mosley thinks that Canelo could come into the fight at 172 pounds, and Chavez Jr. around 190.
The near 20 pound weight advantage for Chavez Jr. could help him in getting the better of Canelo. Mosley still thinks Canelo could outpoint Chavez Jr., but he’s entirely sure about that. The size of Chavez Jr. is the hard thing for Mosley to overlook in this fight, because Canelo will be giving away so much height, reach and weight.
Canelo is used to being the heavier guy in his fights, and this will be a rare one where he’s not heavier. Of course, the boxing fans no longer know how much Canelo weighs at this point in his career. He’s not being weighed in before his fights. Mosley obviously remembers Canelo when he was still rehydrating to the 170s, but that was when he was still being weighed by HBO the night of his fights. We don’t know how much Canelo weighs now.
For all we know, Canelo could be rehydrating into the 180s for his fights. If Canelo at 185 and Chavez Jr. 190 on the night of the fight, then Chavez Jr. won’t have too much weight advantage.
Mosley said this to Thaboxingvoice.com about the Canelo vs. Chavez Jr. fight:
“I think Canelo, but Chavez is too big,” said Mosley. “I think before Canelo is 172 and Chavez goes to 190. It’s a tough fight. I think Canelo has the better skills. He’s more hungry and he’s younger, and he’s very sharp. I think Chavez is a bigger guy, so I don’t know. Maybe Canelo can outpoint him, because Chavez has to come forward. So maybe Canelo can outpoint him, but it is a tough fight because Chavez is bigger,” said Mosley.
It would be a big win for Chavez Jr. if he can beat Canelo on May 6. It would be a shock to the boxing world as well. I think it would help the sport because it would lead to a rematch between them that the casual boxing fans would be interested in seeing. I don’t know how much fans interest from the regular U.S boxing fans there will be for the Canelo-Chavez Jr. this time around. It’s not a great fight unless you’re a big Hispanic boxing fan. But if Chavez Jr. beats Canelo, then I think the fans in the U.S will start to show interest in the rivalry and will want to see the second fight.
I don’t agree that Canelo is hunger than Chavez Jr. I think Canelo has been busier with his career in the last five years, but he’s only had two quality opponents during that time in Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Erislandy Lara. All the rest of the guys were easy showcase fights against guys like Liam Smith, Amir Khan, James Kirkland, and Alfredo Angulo. For this fight between Canelo and Chavez Jr, I don’t think there’s a difference at all between the two fighters when it comes to one guy being hungrier than the other. I think Chavez Jr. wants the win just as much as Canelo.
The size of Chavez Jr. is still going to be a big problem for Canelo even if he rehydrates to the same amount as him. Canelo has gotten too big for his own good. I don’t know how he’s able to take off so much weight and put it back on so quickly without it hurting him. It’s got to be very hard for Canelo to make weight. He’s never tested positive for a banned drug like Chavez Jr. It’s got to be hard on Canelo to make weight. For this fight, Canelo will have more weight to play with due to the fight being at a catch-weight of 164 ½ pounds. That’s nine pounds more than what Canelo has been fighting at routinely with his catch-eights of 155lbs.
In speaking about Canelo not being put in with middleweights like Gennady Golovkin, Mosley said, “He’s picking his battles now. His team doesn’t think he’s ready for Gennady Golovkin. I’m sure Canelo wants to get in with Gennady Golovkin, but they want to make it really big,”
What a lot of boxing fans believe is that Golden Boy isn’t waiting to make the Canelo-Golovkin fight bigger. They’re waiting for the 34-year-old Golovkin to age enough to where they feel dead certain that they can put the 26-year-old Canelo in with him to get an easy victory. It’s a gamble though, because Canelo has already stopped improving and he’s now just growing bigger and bigger in size. Golovkin isn’t getting weaker. You don’t get weaker in your mid-30s. A person doesn’t start losing power until the hit their 40s. Golden Boy is wasting time if they think Golovkin will lose his power. He’s still going to be a huge puncher. Golovkin doesn’t win on speed. He wins his fights based on power and precise punching. I don’t think that’s going to change no matter how long Golden Boy delays the Canelo-Golovkin fight.
When asked if he thinks Canelo can beat Golovkin, Mosley said, “I think it’s possible. I sparred with both guys. Triple G is the heavier hitter. He’s definitely the heavier hitter, but Canelo is very sharp and very good and he has ring generalship. He’s really good,” said Mosley.
Canelo can possibly beat Golovkin, and vice versa. Mosley didn’t say that though, but it goes without saying. Golovkin could possibly trap Canelo against the ropes and knock him out with a body or a head shot. Golovkin could take the judges out of the equation, which he would be smart to do. Golovkin cannot afford to let the judges have a say so in his fight against Canelo, because the Mexican fighter means too much for boxing.
I don’t think anyone will have an easy time getting a decision against Canelo. That includes Chavez Jr. If Chavez Jr. wants to make sure he wins on May 6, he’d better take the judges out of play because I don’t think he’ll be given a decision unless he knocks Canelo down four or five times and makes the fight so one-sided that the judges can’t help but to give him the victory.