By Ivan Godfrey: On 30th September, Canelo Alvarez will venture into the unknown against Jermell Charlo.
It’s a question of, will he be the Canelo of old, the Canelo who nearly enough dominated opponents from Caleb Plant to Gennadiy Golovkin, or the man we saw against Dmitry Bivol in a 2nd step up to a light heavyweight division, which is littered with strong and talented fighters.
The opponent for this contest, a man with huge pedigree in terms of past wins. There is a large disparity between the man, Jermell Charlo, and Alvarez in terms of weight and the division they have both established their reputation. Canelo was fighting in a division 3 weight classes above Charlo as recently as 2022.
However, this is more of a reputation cementer for Canelo rather than a fight for the ages. Charlo possesses quick hand speed and a boxing IQ not too dissimilar to Floyd Mayweather, who dismantled Canelo in his early days.
The Golovkin fight and the fight against Bivol especially showed up weaknesses in Canelo’s arsenal that will only be exacerbated with age.
Canelo will go for the kill in terms of performance. However, Charlo will bite back. It’s difficult to know exactly how this will play out. A man such as Canelo has a lot to lose in this affair and not so much to gain.
We will see how this unfolds, and somehow this fight is even more high-pressured than a possible Bivol rematch, with the boxing fanfare expecting or hoping for a performance not dissimilar from the job Canelo’s old foe Golovkin performed on a prime Kell Brook. Time will tell.
As is agreed by several boxing pundits and fans across the globe, this fight possesses plenty of intrigue. Jermell Charlo is a strong fighter with a high level of technical skill, and perhaps the step up in weight is not as significant as it looks on paper.
After all, Charlo is taller than Canelo Alvarez. A loss for Alvarez would potentially end the prospect of a rematch with the talented Dmitry Bivol.
It seems a bit strong to say it’s quite a make or break, however, a potentially groundbreaking or career-ending contest for Charlo and Canelo Alvarez, respectively.
