By Ken Hissner: Just how good is WBO, WBA, WBC, and IBF Super Middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez? Is he P4P No. 1 or overrated? On paper, Canelo is great! I felt Mayweather, and not a fan, won all twelve rounds, and Alvarez still in the final round not opening up.
Golovkin chased Alvarez for the last seven rounds and only got a draw? Judge Adalaide Byrd, who called it 118-110 for Alvarez, was suspended for thirty days from what I know and should have had her license pulled forever.
There shouldn’t have been a rematch, but only due to a draw decision. Golovkin gave him one but couldn’t get one in return after his loss to Alvarez.
The press has fawned all over Alvarez since the second match, close enough to be a draw for that one. If Golovkin hadn’t changed trainers and boxed instead of being the boxer-puncher he was in their first fight, how different would the outcome have been?
Alvarez moved up to win WBA super middleweight title from Rocky Fielding, 27-1 and moved back for one more fight at middleweight. Was it against Golovkin? No, against Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, who lost a close battle to Golovkin.
Alvarez moves up to light heavyweight and takes eleven rounds to stop Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, who Andre “S.O.G.” Ward stopped in five rounds, Eleider “Storm” Alvarez stopped in seven prior to this.
Alvarez goes on to beat good record boxers Callum “Mundo” Smith, 27-0, over 12 rounds. Then he stops Turkey’s Avni “Mr. Robot” Yildirim, 21-2, who was coming off a loss to Anthony “Dog” Dirrell.
Alvarez then stops Billy Joe “Superb” Saunders, 30-0, and Caleb “Sweehands” Plant, 21-0, to unify all titles at super middleweight. Nice accomplishment.
Now Alvarez is talking about moving up to cruiserweight to fight WBC champ South Africa’s via the Congo, Ilunga Junior Makabu, 28-2 (25). The only name that never comes up is Golovkin, who walks around at 163 pounds and is not moving up in weight to meet Alvarez.
Alvarez could certainly shed eight pounds from his body to make middleweight again but chooses to go up in weight and down again in his fights.
At 57-1-2 with 39 stoppages, Alvarez is very impressive. It will take a knockout to beat him, especially in Las Vegas. It’s been over three years since the Golovkin rematch. With the latter turning 40 soon, Alvarez knows time is on his side, not Golovkin’s.
Both David “El Bandera” Benavidez, 25-0 (22), and Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade, 31-0 (19), WBO World middleweight champ, have been trying to get a fight with Canelo. Why? He’s a “cash cow,” that’s why!
To put Alvarez in the same sentence with “Sugar” Ray Robinson or “Sugar” Ray Leonard is a stretch.
Compared to today’s fighters, Alvarez is undoubtedly one of the best, but the press has gone overboard for him.
How about a “catch weight” at 163 with Golovkin? The latter hasn’t fought for over a year and just had a unification match with WBA World middleweight champion Japan’s Ryota Murata, 16-2 (13), canceled due to Japan not allowing outside people to come in just weeks before their fight in Japan.