By Huck Allen: Jean Pascal says Canelo Alvarez should take a fight against Gennadiy Golovkin because that’s a winnable one for the Mexican star.
Former WBC light heavyweight champion Pascal isn’t enthusiastic about a second fight between Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) and WBA 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol.
Although Pascal thinks Canelo might do a little better at 168, he sees it as difficult for him, and he wouldn’t “bet his house on it.”
It’s unclear whether Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) would even agree to come down to 168 for the rematch with Canelo.
Initially, Bivol expressed interest in possibly fighting Canelo at 168, but he seems to have changed his mind about the idea.
Of course, if Canelo is so desperate for a win over Bivol that he would pressure him to come down to 168, that would be a bad look on his part.
If Canelo were to beat Bivol, boxing fans wouldn’t give him credit because they would see it as a situation where he’s taking advantage of his A-side power to force Dmitry to come down in weight to weaken him.
Canelo not hard to beat
“Three years ago, I was telling people that Bivol beats Canelo,” said Jean Pascal to Fight Hub TV. For that fight, I was going with Canelo because I got caught up with the hype. I got caught up with the Canelo hype.
“He went up to 168 and was beating everybody up and telling people that he was sparring with heavyweights and beating up heavyweights. Now, he wants to get [Oleksandr] Usyk, so now I was caught up with the Canelo hype.
“If I didn’t get caught up in the Canelo hype, I’d say Bivol because he has all the tools to beat Canelo because, to be honest, he isn’t that tough to beat.
“He’s a good fighter, but he’s not that hard to beat. You saw how Floyd [Mayweather Jr] beat him. Usually, he [Canelo] beats the other guy because he’s stronger.
“Now, he faces a guy [Bivol] as strong as him and was hitting as hard as him. People think Bivol doesn’t have a hard punch. I faced Bivol. He has an excellent punch, a respectable punch, and he was moving a lot.
“So, I knew Bivol could give him a lot of trouble, but I caught up in the Canelo hype. I’m glad I didn’t bet my house on it, so I still have my house,” said Pascal.
Alvarez will be stronger at 168
“Dmitry Bivol is an excellent fighter, and that’s why he beat me,” said Pascal. “To beat Jean Pascal, you need to be special. At 168, it might be a little bit different because Canelo will be a little bit stronger.
“Bivol is not a big light heavyweight, so he can make 168. I’m not telling you that he’s going to make it easy, but he’s not a big light, heavyweight. But the fact that Canelo is going to be a little bit stronger and faster, it might make a difference.
“Like I said, it’ll be a hard fight, and I won’t bet my house on it. To be honest, if I was Canelo, I would stay away from heavyweights,” said Pascal when asked what Canelo should do next.
Fight Golovkin next
“If Joe Smith beats Artur Beterbiev, maybe try and go after Joe Smith,” said Pascal.
Joe Smith Jr. would be a winnable fight for Canelo because he would have the advantage in boxing skills over the New Yorker. It still wouldn’t be easy for Canelo, but it would be a more winnable fight than for him to take on Bivol in a rematch or face IBF/WBC 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev.
Why Beterbiev is a nightmare for Canelo
1. Power
2. Inside fighting ability
3. Body punching
4. Fast pace style
5. Punch resistance
6. Fearlessness
Beterbiev’s bold & nonstop attacking style are reasons enough for him to destroy Canelo. He’s like a better version of Golovkin in every department except for his jab. Golovkin has a better jab than Beterbiev, but it doesn’t matter.
Beterbiev is a superior fighter to Golovkin because he throws to the body, fights on the inside, and will not stop for a second. Golovkin gave too many rest breaks in their two fights and wasted time staying on the outside, throwing jabs.
Sadly, Golovkin thought he could win a decision over Canelo, which was his mistake. Even Bivol almost lost, and this writer had him winning 11-1.
Golovkin didn’t throw combinations the way Bivol did, and he threw away his main strengths by following the Mayweather mold of jabbing from a distance against Canelo.
Beterbiev would never stay on the outside against Canelo, as he’s a guy that attacks from close to medium range. He doesn’t care about jabs, and he does not let judges have any say in his fights.
If Canelo wants to show fans that he’s fearless, he’ll fight Beterbiev next if he comes out on top in his June 18th match against Joe Smith. If Canelo were to defeat Beterbiev, he’d become the IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion. It doesn’t matter if Canelo gets beaten by Beterbiev.
Just the fact that he was courageous enough to fight him in the first place would make him look good in the eyes of the boxing world. Moreover, there would be far less backlash for Canelo in losing to Beterbiev than if he were to get beaten by Bivol a second time or if he were to fail to David Benavidez.
It would look bad for Canelo if he were to lose to Benavidez because he’s in the 168-lb division as him. True, Benavidez is essentially a 175-pounder, who is still young enough to boil down to make 168, but the fans would still give Canelo major flak if he were to lose to him.
It would be far better for Canelo to get beaten by Beterbiev than it would Benavidez. There would be far less fallout for Canelo.
Fighting Beterbiev would be like playing the lottery and betting big money. If you lose, it hurts for sure, but if you win, wow! That would be a significant accomplishment for Canelo to defeat Beterbiev.
“If he [Canelo] goes back down to 168, it’s going to be a tough challenge because I know the young kid,” said Pascal about Canelo fighting Benavidez.
“Benavidez is going to try and chase him, and it’s going to be a tough fight for Canelo. So, I would try and stay away from Benavidez.
“The best thing is for him to take the third fight with GGG because I think he beats GGG and might stop him. In the first fight, it was a close fight, and I had Canelo winning. In the second fight, I had Canelo winning easier, though,” said Pascal.
