By Robert Segal: Canelo Alvarez says he believes he’s got four to five years left in his career before he retires around 37.
The Mexican superstar has a fortune estimated at $200 million, and he can perhaps double that number with his fights against the Charlo twins, Jermell & Jermall, David Benavidez, Terence Crawford, Artur Beterbiev & rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
Canelo must make minor changes in his fighting style because he must throw combinations to beat the above-mentioned fighters. He can’t count on defeating those types of fighters with his low output style that he’s used since 2021.
“I think I’ve got four years more. Five years, maybe. I’ve been in professional boxing since I was 15 years old. That’s almost 18 years fighting professionally,” Canelo Alvarez said to The Breakfast Club.
“I always said 36 or 37, around that age [is when I would retire]. That will be enough; it’s a lot of years in boxing.
“I’ll have accomplished many things, and then I’ll need to enjoy my life with my family and everything,” said Canelo.
The retirement thing could come a lot sooner than four or five years from now for Canelo if he continues to struggle like we’ve seen from him in his last three fights.
The way that Dmitry Bivol efficiently handled Canelo last year was troubling, and coupled with the fact that he didn’t look good in his subsequent fights against Gennadiy Golovkin & John Ryder, could indicate that he’s not the same fighter.
Physically, Canelo has visibly aged from his appearance two years ago when he captured the undisputed super middleweight championship in 2021.
It’s unclear if it’s the effects of ring wear from those three fights he had that year or his grueling battle against Bivol & the hard sparring that he’s had in preparation for those fights.
Whatever the case, Canelo now looks like a fighter in his mid-30s, and that’s not good when you’re campaigning in a division at 168 that has young killers like 25-year-old David Morrell Jr. and 26-year-old David Benavidez gunning for you, wanting to take your four titles.
If Canelo gets past Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) on September 30th, and that’s a big if, he’ll have these dangerous fighters waiting for him at 168 & 175:
- David Benavidez
- David Morrell Jr.
- Demetrius Andrade
- Dmitry Bivol
- Diego Pacheco
It’s unlikely Canelo will fight any of those fighters in 2024, as he’s got a couple of easier targets that he’ll surely face instead. Jermall Charlo is the fighter that is being mentioned for Canelo’s fight next year in May in Cinco de Mayo.
In the second half of 2024, Edgar Berlanga could be Canelo’s opponent for the Mexican holiday in September. That’s another winnable fight for Canelo against a fighter with more fringe-level ability.
