By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez says he wants to show the critics that he’s not showing signs of being a faded fighter when he defends against Jermell Charlo on the 30th of September.
Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) agrees with the critics that he hasn’t looked like he used to in his last three fights, but he blames that on his hand injury, which he had operated on well before his last contest against John Ryder.
Alvarez gassed out after five rounds and took a lot of punishment the rest of the way. Canelo’s healed-up hand injury shouldn’t have been a problem for him, and it also doesn’t explain why he was so tired. Has Canelo been playing too much golf?
The injury excuse that Canelo has been using as the reason for his poor performances since last year would hold water with the critics if not for the fact that he was 100% last May his bout with Ryder, as he’d already had surgery.
If Canelo wasn’t fully healed for that fight, he shouldn’t have taken it because he looked just as bad as he’d been in his trilogy match with Gennadiy Golovkin last September and loss to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022.
Jermell is someone who’s going to take full advantage of undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo if he performs poorly against him like he’s been doing when they battle on September 30th on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo views his skills as his advantage
“He’s a fighter that hits hard. He’s a good boxer that knows how to use distance. That’s what makes him dangerous,” said Canelo Alvarez to Showtime Sports, talking about Jermell Charlo.
“My experience and boxing skills will be my advantage. That’s what we’re thinking and how we’re training.”
Experience can only help Canelo if he’s not gassing out after three or four rounds. He won’t have the energy to utilize his knowledge if he’s fighting on fumes for the last eight or nine rounds against more energized Jermell.
“When I was a kid, Eddy [Reynoso] and Chepo told me, ‘You will go as far as you want to go. You have to tell us how far you want to go.’ Obviously, that was a piece of advice for me,” said Canelo. ” That opened my mind and my desire to be in boxing.
“I feel like that’s what keeps me motivated in boxing. I think it will be a tough fight, especially in the first few rounds,” said Canelo about his title defense against Jermell.
If Canelo thinks he’s going to have smooth sailing after the first three rounds, he’s kidding himself because Jermell is going to get stronger the longer the fight goes. This isn’t Ryder that Canelo is fighting or 41-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin.
“You know, in boxing, anything can happen. I feel very good about what I accomplished fighting in my home after many years, returning as undisputed,” Canelo said about his last fight against John Ryder last May in Guadalajara, Mexico. The magnitude, how it was in the stadium, in how I did everything.”
Alvarez wants to show his critics
Boxing-wise, I wasn’t 100%, but critics are always looking for something, aren’t they? And obviously, I agree with them that I haven’t looked, in my last few fights, like I used to,” said Canelo.
Alvarez should have been 100% for the Ryder fight. How long does it take to come back from hand surgery? Again, if Canelo wasn’t feeling great, he shouldn’t have taken the fight.
“I don’t just want to give a rebuttal. I’d prefer to show them, and in this fight, you’re going to see the difference,” said Canelo. “Challenges are what keeps me motivated in boxing. I want people to remember me as a great athlete, as a great champion, and as one of the best.”
Alvarez was supposed to show the critics wrong before his fight with Ryder and look at what happened. Ryder was wearing Canelo out in the fight, and would have won if he’d had a lot more pop in his punches.
“I feel like my mood going into this fight, I’m real relaxed. I get to showcase my skills and my talent,” said Jermell. “My training camp is in Houston, and I want my training camp where I’m relaxed at and comfortable at.
“When I joined Derrick James, it was more because I saw the great things in him,” Jermell continued. “We’re healed up, we’re ready. I’m going to push myself more and more in a place I’ve never been before.
“I know how to handle myself; me coming out victorious is the only option,” said Jermell.
“I got a chip. People that didn’t believe that I would be where I’m at. It’s not no daring to be great. It’s about daring to be great. My window is wide open right now. This is my moment,” said Charlo.
This is a chance for Jermell to win and make his coach Derrick James look good because right now, he’s looking bad after Errol Spence Jr.’s loss to Terence Crawford. If Jermell wins, Derrick will be lionized and look like a genius again.
