By Jim Calfa: Canelo Alvarez has the opportunity to redeem himself this year by taking on IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and defeating him before facing Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in 2023.
If Canelo wants to erase the image of him being efficiently handled by Bivol last May in a loss, beating Beterbiev would be the way to do it. Canelo is an excellent inside fighter, and that’s where Beterbiev does his best work.
It would be a tough fight for Canelo because Beterbiev would land something big sooner or later, especially if the Mexican star tries to fight him on the inside as he did against Gennadiy Golovkin in their rematch in 2018.
Some boxing fans said last Saturday night that the Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) we saw destroying the vulnerable WBO champion Joe Smith Jr in two rounds would have been easy work for the highly skilled Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs).
Anthony Yarde, The #1 WBO ranked contender at 175, also remarked that Canelo matches up well with Beterbiev and would give him issues with his boxing skills. Canelo has the hand speed advantage over Beterbiev, and he’s a far better defensive fighter. Moreover, Canelo
In retrospect, Canelo chose the wrong champion when he moved up to light heavyweight on May 7th to go after a belt by selecting the highly defensive fighter Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) instead of battling the easier-to-hit Beterbiev or Joe Smith Jr.
There would have been a bigger payoff for Canelo by fighting IBF/WBC champion Beterbiev last May.
Some would say that Canelo should have fought Beterbiev in 2019 when he opted to move up to 175 in search of a fourth division world title.
Instead of choosing Beterbiev, Canelo picked the aging Sergey Kovalev, who was on his last legs as a top fighter and there for the picking at 36.
Anthony Yarde said last Saturday night that Canelo matches up better against Beterbiev than Joe Smith Jr and will give him problems.
“You’re talking Canelo against Beterbiev? Canelo got to fight GGG,” said Tim Bradley to ESNEWS when asked if Canelo Alvarez could beat Artur Beterbiev if he ever returns to the light heavyweight division.
Canelo is fighting Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) in a trilogy match on September 17th in Las Vegas. The fight will be shown on DAZN PPV. Most boxing fans believe Canelo will dominate the 40-year-old Golovkin and possibly stop him this time.
“He learned that those two strategies that he normally uses, that junk didn’t work against Bivol. That walk you down, high guard, entice you, beat you on the shoulder, and all that. That s*** didn’t work.
“And then the stay on the ropes, play rope-a-dope, bait you in so he can land a big shot. Canelo has got to get back on his feet, back on that bike,” said Bradley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOOc7qv49mE