Rolly Romero: Canelo lacks the “KILLER instinct”

By Boxing News - 02/16/2022 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero says Canelo Alvarez is “too patient” and lacks the “killer instinct’ needed for him to be an exciting fighter in his eyes.

Rolly says he doesn’t watch Canelo fight because he only potshots his opponents and doesn’t attempt to finish them off the way killers like Deontay Wilder and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis typically do.

Canelo is getting older, and his work rate, not surprisingly, has dropped off to the point where he’s now just a potshot fighter, who can’t throw a lot of punches the way normal fighters do without gassing out.

At 31, Canelo is fighting the way his aging body allows him, meaning he’s only capable of potshotting.

With that said, Rolly feels that Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) will knockout David Benavidez if the two were to fight right now. Also, Rolly believes Canelo will knockout WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin.

The low work rate that Canelo has at this stage in his career will make it difficult for him to KO Bivol, Benavidez, and Golovkin because he’s incapable of throwing combinations to stop them.

In other words, the only way Canelo will knockout those three is if he lands a single shot the way he stopped Amir Khan in 2016.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Canelo will be fighting the 25-year-old Benavidez anytime soon, and by the time he does face him, he’ll be too old to have a chance of winning.

Rolando (14-0, 12 KOs) will be challenging WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis soon in a fight that will be televised on Showtime PPV.

Rolly says Canelo stops Benavidez

“Canelo is going to win. You can’t go against Canelo,” said Rolly Romero to Fighthype when asked who wins between Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol.

I really think Canelo stops Benavidez. “I think Canelo stops everyone you mention [Bivol, Benavidez, and Gennadiy Golovkin]. It’s going to be a unanimous decision regardless.

Image: Rolly Romero: Canelo lacks the "KILLER instinct"

“He showed it really good with Porky [Rogelio Medina],” Rolando said about David Benavidez knocking out Medina in the eighth round in 2017 at the age of 20. “But honestly, I think that was his [Benavidez] best fight.

“I think that Porky fight was his best fight because when me and him fought on the same card, he fought [Roamer Alexis] Angulo, no?  That was the most boring fight, but it was a boring fight,” Rolly said in forgetting how badly Benavidez thrashed Angulo until the mismatch was halted in the 10th.

“It was a boring fight, but still showed there wasn’t enough of the killer instinct,” said Rolando about his belief that Benavidez also lacks the killer instinct. “But like I said, that Porker [vs. Benavidez] fight is one of my favorite fights to watch.

“That was a monster fight, but other than that, I didn’t really care for any other fight [of Benavidez], you know? But as far as that goes with Canelo [vs. Benavidez], you can’t go against Canelo. He’s the pound-for-pounder right now,” Rolly said.

It’s very doubtful that Canelo will knockout Bivol, let alone Benavidez or Golovkin. Even in Canelo’s prime, he couldn’t stop those fighters, and he’s definitely not in his prime now.

The last four years of Canelo’s career that he’s used up fighting British fighters and past their prime guys like Sergy Kovalev and Daniel Jacobs has taken away a lot of his physical skills. Canelo is an old 31 at this point, and physically more like a 35 or 36-year-old.

Canelo lacks “killer instinct,” said Rolando

“I really don’t watch Canelo’s fights that much,” Rolly said. “I wish he were more aggressive. I mean, he’s patient, he’s a good fighter.

“His left hook to the body and his left hook upstairs,” Rolly said in talking about Alvarez’s best power shots. “I think honestly his left hook upstairs is his best shot, but he just potshots the s*** out of that thing, you know?

“But as far as watching a Canelo fight, I feel he’s too patient and so the killer instinct isn’t there. If the killer instinct was there, he’d get a lot of these guys.

“You can’t always do that. There are better fighters that you have to watch it. But I like watching fighters with killer instincts, you know? Deontay Wilder has got a monster killer instinct. If he sees you hurt, he won’t stop swinging.

“Even Gervonta has a monster killer instinct. That’s why if he hurts you, he tries to finish you. That’s why I’m really excited for this. He wouldn’t see me,” said Rolly when asked if there would ever come a point where he was hurt by Gervonta.

“I know he’s going to try and time me. Like I said, he’s a sharp dude, and he’s going to try and time me. He wouldn’t land it, he wouldn’t be able to see me,” said Rolando in expressing doubt that Tank Davis will be able to time him to score a knockout.

“I’m the better boxer out of the two, and people don’t realize that.

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