By Brian Webber: Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo reportedly brought in 650,000 to 700,000 pay-per-view buys last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo-Jermell brought in “between 650,000 and 700,000” pay-per-view buys, Dan Rafael reports. Those are good numbers for what a pure cherry pick for Canelo, selecting Jermell from the 154-lb division instead of fighting the killers at 168.
Although the fight was lackluster due to Jermell’s decision not to put it all on the line financially, it did well, which could increase the chances of Jermall Charlo being Canelo’s next opponent on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend on May 4th.
If around 700K fans were willing to purchase Canelo fight Jermell, it’s fair today that at least half that number would be willing to spend $85 to watch the Mexican star face big Charlo, Jermall next May.
The reality is that Canelo is likely to continue to go in the direction of winnable fights and avoid these big three:
David Benavidez
Dmitry Bivol
David Morrell Jr.
Canelo vs. Jermell = poor entertainment value
“Charlo wants credit for going the distance. He doesn’t get it in my book. He wants credit for not getting knocked out. He doesn’t get it in my book,” said Chris Mannix on his podcast, talking about Jermell Charlo in his abysmal performance against ‘The Face of Boxing’ Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night in their headliner on Showtime PPV.
“If you take on a challenge like this, I don’t care if you go up one weight class, two weight classes, or three weight classes, you have an obligation to try and win. People are paying money to try and see you win.
“People are spending $85 bucks on pay-per-view to see you try to win, and he didn’t do that. If his career ended tomorrow, this would be the fight that he’s remembered for. By going up two weight classes and challenging Canelo Alvarez, but not really challenging him.
“I’m not surprised Canelo dominated because I’ve been saying that since that fight was made. I’ve never believed Jermell could compete with Canelo because I say this about every Canelo opponent.
“To beat Canelo or to be competitive with him, you have to throw with him. You have to be willing to let the right hand go. Since 2018, when Canelo became a middleweight and above destroyer, only two fighters have done that. Gennadiy Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol has done it.
“Both those guys were willing to throw punches with Canelo. They haven’t been fearful about the artillery that was coming back, but every other opponent that I’ve seen Canelo go up against, whether it’s Callum Smith.
“Billy Joe Saunders had a different game plan, but eventually, Billy Joe succumbed to it, and now Jermell Charlo. Caleb Plant, I put on that list as well.
“They were just trying to jab, move, and try to outbox him from the outside. You can’t do that. You can’t beat Canelo Alvarez unless you are willing to throw something big back against him, and Jermell Charlo was an oversized example of that.”
Who can give Canelo a fight?
“The way he fought was just awful, a really weak performance from Jermell, but kind of a continuation of guys that show up, believing they have a game plan to face and beat Canelo Alvarez, but they just don’t,” said Mannix. That kind of brings me to my next question. Who does at this point?
“I think we’d all agree that David Benavidez, at least on paper, is the most competitive option for Canelo Alvarez. I don’t know if he’s a realistic option for 2024. Terence Crawford is out there saying he wants a piece of Canelo.
“I love Crawford; I think it’s a marketable fight; you’re not going to convince me that Terence Crawford is going to stand in the pocket and trade with Canelo Alvarez. I just don’t believe it.
“Jermall Charlo, don’t get me started. There’s no market for a Jermall Charlo – Canelo Alvarez fight, and less so after watching Jermell Charlo, the smaller brother and the more active brother, lose to Canelo. What is realistic now for Canelo Alvarez in the second fight of his PBC deal?” said Mannix.
Crawford could be next for Canelo
“I remember saying on your podcast that the people that want to see fight Terence Crawford next better hope that Jermell Charlo is at least competitive because then how do you sell a fight against an even smaller opponent [Crawford] in his next fight?” said Keith Idec.
“I’m not saying that Crawford won’t go in there to win because certainly everything that I know about Terence Crawford, yet I also thought similar things about Jermell Charlo; I would think that Terence Crawford would go there with a real attempt to win the fight.
“He’s got a lot of pride, he’s a very talented guy, and he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world coming off an incredibly dominant career-defining win, but when you get in there with Canelo, and he starts touching you at the beginning of the fight, people start to realize, ‘This is going to be harder than I thought.’
“Canelo said that throughout fight week last week. He said, ‘Watch when the fight starts, and then you’ll see Jermell Charlo realize that he’s with the type of guy that hasn’t been in before,’ and that obviously played out. The same thing could be true of Crawford.
“It is a marketable fight, and the public reaction to it has been somewhat surprising because it’s been relatively positive. People want to see this fight. I can’t stress this enough.
“This guy would have to move up 21 lbs to fight Canelo because Canelo has repeatedly said, ‘I am not doing this at a catchweight. It’s not going to be at 164 or 162,’ somewhere where you think Terence Crawford has more of a chance to win.
“I really don’t see, as great as I think Terence Crawford is, and I commend him for wanting this challenge, I don’t see this as a fight that he can win.
“Shakur Stevenson said the other day when he had an open workout in Vegas, he told a couple of good stories about Terence and underestimating Terence at your own peril. He said he saw him spar a heavyweight one time and made the heavyweight take a knee.
“I’m not saying those things didn’t happen, but when you get in there with 10-ounce gloves and no headgear against a guy that can crack the way Canelo can and a guy that is apparently the 100% version of him that we hadn’t seen in a couple of years, really, it’s a very tall order, although they’re the same height, it’s a very tall order for Terence Crawford.
“I do think, as much as I don’t think this fight will be competitive in the way that some people believe it will be, I do think that will be the next fight for Canelo Alvarez. I do not think, assuming David Benavidez beats Demetrius Andrade, that’s not an easy fight for Benavidez.
“I do think Benavidez will win and will be in a position to fight Canelo in what would be a massive event on Cinco de Mayo weekend [in May 2024]. Canelo has already said he’s coming back on May 4th next year.
“That would be the second fight of a three-fight deal for Canelo with PBC. It’s my understanding that Benavidez, assuming Canelo keeps winning, would be the third fight of his deal with PBC.”
