By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez needs a big year in 2023 to show the boxing world that he’s not the fading fighter many believe him to be after his two substandard performances against Dmitry Bivol & Gennadiy Golovkin in 2023.
Canelo is supposed to come back in 2023 against John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder in May, possibly in the UK, and then a rematch with Bivol in September.
Neither of those fights is locked in, however, and there’s a possibility could face someone else. Given that those are easy fights to negotiate, Canelo will likely fight those two guys next year.
The 32-year-old Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) went 1-1 in 2022, losing to Bivol and defeating Golovkin. Canelo would have lost both fights if the 40-year-old GGG had chosen to fight hard in the first half of the contest.
What’s alarming about those two efforts from Canelo is how he gassed out in the first half and was getting beaten to the punch in the later stages of those contests.
The lack of stamina has already been a problem for Canelo, even in the early years of his career. But now that Alvarez is in his early 30s, his conditioning issues are more pronounced and hurting his ability to keep winning.
If Canelo wants to show fans that he’s not a washed-up fighter more interested in his golf game than boxing, he needs to fight a quality foe in May.
Sorry, the 34-year-old Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) doesn’t count as a credible opponent for Canelo in my book. Canelo needs to fight one of these guys next May to show that he’s still got it:
- David Morrell
- Jermall Charlo
- Joshua Buatsi
- Dan Azeez
- Joe Smith Jr
Note: I would have added David Benavidez, Caleb Plant, and Artur Beterbiev to the list, but they won’t be able to fight in May due to their schedules.
The best opponent for Canelo to fight in May 2023 is the unbeaten David Morrell (8-0, 7 KOs). He will make for an exciting fight for the fans, and if Canelo can beat him, he’d have shown that he’s still got a lot left in the tank.
“Canelo Alvarez had a 500 year in 2022. He lost to Dmitry Bivol, but he beat Gennadiy Golovkin. What do you want to see from Canelo in 2023?” said Chris Mannix to DAZN’s JABS about what Canelo Alvarez did in 2022.
“I want to see the Mexican superstar get back to his winning ways. That’s it. Get back against John Ryder. John Ryder sounds perfect for him to bounce back after that surgery he had on his wrist,” said Sergio Mora about the superstar Canelo.
“So, he can go across the pound. He said he’s always wanted to fight in England. He can do that. Go get that win, and then maybe fight somebody like a David Benavidez in September on Mexican Independence weekend.
“That’s how you come back strong from injury and a loss to Bivol. That’s what the Mexican superstar and former pound-for-pound fighter needs to do in 2023,” said Mora about his hopes for the 32-year-old Canelo.
“I want to see a big year for Canelo as well because I think for the first time in his career, you started to hear people wonder if Canelo had lost a step,” said Mannix.
“He loses to Bivol. It wasn’t the most impressive win in the world against Gennadiy Golovkin. A lot of that had to do with Golovkin, who didn’t engage as much as he used to.
“Canelo is starting to hear some whispers. He can quiet those whispers with a big year against John Ryder, as you said. Then I say go into the rematch with Dmitry Bivol and do that rematch at 168 pounds, your weight class.
“Make Bivol come down to you in the way that you went up to him. I think that would get a lot of the momentum that Canelo lost back and then in 2024, we want to see Canelo against the winner of David Benavidez and Caleb Plant,” said Mannix.