By Sean Jones: Danny Garcia thinks Saul Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs) is taking a dangerous fight this Saturday against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (34-3-1, 29 KOs) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The size of Kovalev makes Garcia concerned about Canelo, and he says he thinks he’s going to get hurt by the big 6’0″ Russian early in the fight. However, Garcia believes that Canelo might be able to come back and possibly win the fight.
Saul Alvarez looking to win his fourth division world title
Canelo is looking to expand his legacy by moving up two weight classes to challenge Kovalev for his WBO 175-lb belt. It’s a weight class that Canelo has never fought at. Alvarez did fight once at 168, but it was against a hand-picked opponent in Rocky Fielding last December. That was a sure thing win for Canelo. So you can’t say that Canelo has actually fought at 168, because his opponent was so dreadfully bad. Canelo is coming into the fight with Kovalev with no experience at 168 or 175, and that could be his undoing.
Kovalev is a DANGEROUS fight for Canelo says Garcia
“That’s a dangerous fight [for Canelo] because of the size,” says Garcia about Canelo’s fight this Saturday. “Kovalev can punch.I can see Canelo winning a close decision, but I think he’s going to get hurt in that fight. I think he’ll get stunned by the third or fourth round and come back.”
The hand speed and stamina of Kovalev isn’t what it used to be, but he can still punch. Andre Ward said last Saturday that Kovalev isn’t “The Krusher” anymore due to his advanced age, but his power makes him still dangerous. Moreover, Kovalev’s combination punching is still better than anyone that Canelo has fought recently.
Canelo’s huge contract with DAZN creates pressure on him
The boxing public doesn’t understand why Canelo is moving up to light heavyweight to take on the still dangerous 36-year-old Kovalev. The reason is simple. Canelo’s 11-fight, $365 million contract with DAZN means he’s got to fight good opposition that will bring in the subscribers. Since Canelo isn’t interested in fighting Gennadiy Golovkin fight now, he has to face someone popular enough to bring in the subscribers. That’s why Kovalev was picked.
If it wasn’t Kovalev, then Canelo would have to face the likes of GGG, Demetrius Andrade, Billy Joe Saunders or Demetrius Andrade. DAZN would give the green light to Canelo fighting IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, but that guy is arguably too good for him.
Unlike Kovalev, Beterbiev is still in his prime, and he knows how to fight on the inside. Canelo couldn’t count on taking the action to the inside to beat Beterbeiv, because the two-time Olympian from Russia is a better fighter than him in close. Canelo has a reputation for being the best inside fighter in boxing, but Beterbiev is clearly a better fighter than him on the inside. We just saw that with his knockout win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Danny Garcia talks about WBC Franchise tag
“Ain’t nobody ever gave me a belt,” said Danny Garcia about the WBC giving Lomachenko and Saul Canelo Alvarez a Franchise tag. “I like the fact that they’re doing it. But I don’t like the fact that they’re just giving people belts. That don’t make sense to me. I think every fighter should fight for a belt, and earn it like a true champion. It’s just the politics for the sport. Somebody is getting paid off. Somebody is getting an extra sanctioning fee. Paying 10 percent instead of 3,” said Garcia.
As you can tell, Garcia doesn’t think too highly of the WBC’s decision to give the Franchise tag to Vasiliy Lomachenko and Canelo Alvarez. The biggest problem with the WBC Franchise belt is it’s non-transferable, which means that a champion can’t lose the title even if they get beat.
Garcia waiting to see if Pacquiao calls his name
“They’re just saying it to cause hype, but when it comes down to it, they don’t want to fight,” said Garcia when asked about fighters calling him out. “Pacman [Manny Pacquiao] said it and then he fought [Keith] Thurman. Now he’s saying it again. Let’s see. If it was real, I would have heard something. So I’m here, and I’m ready for whatever. So it really doesn’t matter. They need me.
“I deserve it [to fight on pay-per-view]. I have a better resume than all the fighters in two different weight classes. And I fought the best at 140, and I fought the best at 147. It’s all about timing. I’m letting nature take its course, but I’m here and I’m not going nowhere,” said Garcia.
Danny has an excellent chance of getting a fight against WBA Super World welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in the near future. Pacquiao needs beatable guys after winning the World Boxing Association belt from Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman last July, and he’s probably not going to fight too good.
Garcia has an advantage over the likes of Errol Spence Jr., Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter due to him being arguably more beatable. It would be surprising if Pacquiao doesn’t pick Garcia, because he’s popular and vulnerable. He won’t be an easy fight for Pacquiao due to his power, but he’s still beatable.
Danny says it’s pointless to talk about Spence fight now
“I’m just happy he’s okay. We haven’t heard anything about him,” said Garcia about Spence. “To talk about the fight is pointless because the man is still recovering. Let him recover, and then ask him. He beat [Shawn] Porter, and he’s a tough guy to look good against. But he gave him everything he could handle, and gave him a close fight,” said Garcia about Spence beating Porter.
The car accident that Spence was involved in earlier this month definitely has the Garcia fight in jeopardy. Those two were supposed to be fighting in January, but it’s not looking like that’ll happen. The lack of news about Spence’s physical condition after his car crash has a lot of boxing fans speculating that he may be more hurt than what was earlier thought.
Unfortunately for Garcia, he’s in limbo right now, waiting to hear what’s going on with Spence. At some point, Garcia will need to move on and let Spence slowly recover from the accident.
Garcia talks about Crawford fight
“They never offered me nothing. I never got on the phone,” said Garcia about the rumor that Top Rank offered him a fight against Terence Crawford. “And they said that they offered me $3 million. It just to show that they throw a low-ball offer to make it seem like they offered you something, and that you’re scared.
“They then go and fight someone else. ‘Ah, they didn’t want to fight because they’re scared.’ It’s just a tactic they use in boxing in offering you something small just to say they offered you something just to say they offered you a fight,” said Garcia.
It’s hard to believe that Top Rank Boxing would give Garcia a low-ball offer to fight WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford. They need recognizable names to put in with Crawford, because he’s basically been fighting no-names for most of his 11-year pro career. Recently, Top Rank signed passed his best welterweight Amir Khan to fight Crawford, and that fight turned out to be a poor one. Crawford hit Khan low in the 6th, and his trainer Virgil Hunter immediately pulled him out of the fight. It was a horrible mismatch, and Crawford didn’t come off looking good with the way the match ended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3dpmztpceE