By Jim Calfa: WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu 29-2, 25 KOs) warns that he’ll knock out Canelo Alvarez if he dares to come up in weight to challenge him for his title next May.
Makabu took care of the last hurdle blocking his path to a lucrative fight against superstar Canelo last Saturday night with a 12 round split decision win over his WBC mandatory challenger Thabiso Mchunu (26-3, 14 KOs) at the Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio.
The scores were 116-112, 115-113 for Makabu, and 115-113 for Mchunu. While some boxing fans believed that the 33-year-old Mchunu did enough to deserve the win, two of the judges felt Makabu did enough to hold onto his WBC title.
Makabu, 34, says he chose to box Mchunu rather than use his power to try and score a knockout because he wanted to prepare for his fight with Canelo. The WBC champion Makabu feels that his fight with Canelo will involve a lot of boxing, so he wanted to get practice against Mchunu.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) chose not to attend the fight, and he’s not made any comments on whether he plans on facing Makabu next. I
Makabu warns Canelo
“I’m going to knock him out,” said Makabu during last Saturday night’s post-fight press conference in talking about Canelo.
“Did you hear what he said? He said he’s going to knock him out,” said Makabu’s promoter Don King in echoing what Ilunga had told about his plans for Canelo. “Knock out, that’s what he said.
“It’s a big mistake he’s making,” said Makabu about Canelo calling him out at cruiserweight. “He wants to play and make a big joke with the boxing. Boxing is a dangerous game.
“If he [Canelo] comes up to cruiserweight, he’s going to get knocked out badly. That’s what I can tell you. I can box, I can knockout. Canelo, if he thinks he’s a hard puncher, he’s making a big mistake.
“We came to box [against Mchunu] because my next fight between me and Canelo, it should be boxing,” said Makabu. “I wanted to show people that I can box besides power.
“I didn’t look for a knockout. I come to box because this is boxing. We showed them we can box, and I beat him. Canelo is making a big mistake if he comes up to cruiserweight because he’s not a cruiserweight.
“If he thinks he can fight and knockout a cruiserweight in Junior Makabu, he’s making a big mistake. I’m waiting for you and ready for the way you fight. I want Canelo.
“I’m a champion, and my manager will work on something to do. I’ll fight anyone that stands in my way,” said Makabu on who he”ll face if he can’t get the fight against Canelo next.
Canelo may have changed his mind about wanting to move up to cruiserweight to challenge Makabu for his WBC title. In the last two weeks, there’s been talk of Canelo facing Jermall Charlo next.
Saul’s manager/trainer Eddy Reynoso also mentioned Charlo as one of the possibilities for Canelo’s next fight in May.
However, Reynoso also said Gennady Golovkin, Artur Beterbiev, Joe Smith Jr, Dmitry Bivol, and David Benavidez are all possibilities.
Reynoso is keeping things secret on who Canelo fights, and, likely, they’ve already picked out his next opponent. At this point, it doesn’t look promising for Makabu in terms of him getting the fight with Canelo.
Don King says Canelo must fulfill the promise
“When you’re a fighter like Canelo, he’s been a light heavyweight champion, a super middleweight champion, he’s been a middleweight champion, and he’s went down the ladder of all these multiple world titles,” said Promoter Don King to Fight Hub TV.
“Now he’s reaching for the fourth title [correction: fifth title], which will make him immortalized and especially in Mexico,” King continued. “So, therefore, he wants to be in there and have the opportunity to gain that immortality.
“So he challenged [Makabu]. Makabu did not call out Canelo. He never had no desire to fight Canelo. He was just going out there trying to win his cruiserweight championship, and Canelo, Eddy Reynoso, is the manager. He graciously called him [Makabu] out at the WBC convention.
“So, they gave him the opportunity to do so. So now, he’s [Canelo] got to fulfill his promise. If he does, Makabu will fight Canelo. If he doesn’t, Makabu will continue to fight whoever. He doesn’t have any say on who he’s going to fight. I have that say.
“I’ll make the fights for him, and I’m going to find the best whatever it is that’ll give him the opportunity to do that. Canelo calling him out like he did; it added a lot of spice to the show. We want to add that spice to all the rest of the world and see if Canelo can capture that cruiserweight title.
“Reynoso, Canelo, and me, we got to go out there and take it to the world. Whatever it is, win, lose or draw. We’ve got to be able to demonstrate that type of integrity, the type of responsibility, the type of loyalty, and keeping your word. A man is only as good as his word.
“People live by their word. I don’t care if you have a trillion dollars. If you’re a liar and unreliable, you’re just a lying trillion-dollar MF. We deal with what is real. So I’m looking forward to hearing from Eddy Reynoso, and we get the show on the road,” said King.