By Jim Calfa: Canelo Alvarez needs a knockout for him to “impress” against Jermell Charlo in this fight, according to promoter Oscar De La Hoya. With Jermell coming up in weight two divisions, it puts undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in almost a no-win situation defending against the bulked-up 154-pounder on September 30th.
With Canelo fighting a guy from the junior middleweight division, he put himself in a spot where he has to win emphatically for him to receive full credit.
It would be even worse for the Mexican star if he fought welterweight Terence Crawford. The money would be good, but it would be a situation where would need to destroy Crawford for him to receive praise, and a lot of boxing fans would discredit his victory because he’s fighting a guy from the 147-lb division.
De La Hoya has high criteria for what Canelo must do to “impress” in his eyes, but it’s not realistic that he’s going to knock out Jermell because he is facing a guy who has never been stopped before in his career or knocked down for that matter.
If Canelo can perform like he did in 2021 when he became the undisputed champion, he’s got a good chance of knocking out Jermell. The question is whether Canelo can return to that level again because he’s not looked anywhere close to that good in his last three fights.
“Charlo-Canelo? The smart money goes with Canelo, but don’t be surprised if Charlo boxes a twelve round decision,” said Mikey Garcia on social media.
The troubling thing about all of this is that Canelo (59-2-2. 39 KOs) didn’t have to take this fight with Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs).
Canelo could have picked one of the top 168-pounders, like David Benavidez, Demetrius Andrade, or David Morrell Jr., and they would have gladly accepted the fight.
“I think Charlo is very illusive and knows how to use his feet. He’s going to maybe give Canelo a lot of trouble, but you have to think about Charlo moving up two weight classes. It’s not going to be easy,” said De La Hoya to the media, giving his thoughts on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo fight.
“Canelo is Solid at 168, he’s a hard puncher, and eventually, it’s going to catch up to Charlo. I have Canelo winning, but I think he must knock him out to impress.
“I think Canelo’s last fight fights have been a little shaky. We all know that, and he knows that. So Canelo comes out and knocks out Charlo, and it’s a win-win for everybody,” said De La Hoya.
