By Alex Sharp: I wrote an article a few months back about how I did not believe that punching power and size were the key attributes to beat Canelo Alvarez.
Obviously, if Canelo keeps moving up the weights, he might end up fighting someone with too much size, but for me, in and around his natural weight, nobody is knocking him out anytime soon.
The only man to ever beat him in a ring was, in fact, an elusive welterweight named Floyd Mayweather Jr. Did he win the fight by hurting Canelo? In fact, it was his brain that won that fight. He out thought the Mexican and confused him with his movement.
No matter what he did, Canelo could not pin him down to get his hurtful shots off. Now I totally agree that Canelo has improved in the last 8 years, but I would also note that the only other fighter that has used movement since then was Erislady Lara, and that was a close call and a fight that he struggled in.
As Canelo (55-1-2, 37 KOs) has moved up in weight, he has been fighting bigger, stronger guys. As a result, he has been able to use his speed and land his eye-catching counter punches with ease against most.
Alvarez struggled in the first fight against Gennadiy Golovkin, and I believe he lost that fight, but again it was his eye-catching shots that deservedly won him the second fight, but again Golovkin was always there to be hit.
It was so easy for Canelo to look good against Rocky Fielding, Avni Yildrim, and Callum Smith; those guys were just punching bags and could not deal with the speed that the smaller fighter brought to the table.
Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) is a master boxer who has never been beaten or even touched the canvas. He is a bit like Tyson Fury in the way he has had some performances that have been well under par against lesser opponents, and he has not always lived the life outside of the ring, but when he is 100% is a really good intelligent boxer.
Remember, nobody gave Fury a chance against Wladimir Klitschko, and he boxed his head off. I don’t believe he will be fazed by the occasion or what he is facing in the ring he has been fighting his whole life.
It’s an intriguing fight, but I disagree with many people who say it will be an easy victory for Canelo. He is undoubtedly the favorite. He is an amazing fighter and rightfully number one in the world, but at the same time, I don’t believe there are many boxers out there who possess the skills and heart Saunders has.
I believe it’s a massive test for both fighters. One because he has never been at this level, and one has the chance to show the world he can deal with any style of boxing an opponent can bring to the ring.