In response to fans’ heavy criticism of Mexican star Canelo Alvarez, ESPN’s Mike Coppinger insists that he’s not running scared of fighting the dangerous elite-level fighters from his division at 168.
Assuming Canelo does fight Terence Crawford next, this would be another example of the Mexican star fighting someone outside of the 168-lb weight class. Crawford is a 147-pounder.
People are tired of Canelo taking easier opponents outside the super middleweight division while seemingly avoiding the two killers – David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr.
Aside from Ryder, Canelo’s other fights have been against past his best 160-pounder Gennadiy Golovkin, 154-pounder Jermell Charlo, and a q75-pounder Dmitry Bivol, a cherry-pick gone wrong.
Coppinger points out that Canelo has previously fought quality fighters, naming Dmitry Bivol, Austin Trout, and Erislandy Lara. Canelo didn’t try and avoid those fighters.
Is Canelo Avoiding True Super Middleweights?
As Ray Jackson points out on X about Canelo: “He’s NOT even trying to fight guys from his own division.”
The last two years certainly back up what Jackson is saying about Canelo Alvarez, seeing that he’s no longer fighting the best at 168 and has only fought since in the division against a true super middleweight, British fighter John Ryder, a guy who lacked speed, power, youth, and size. Ryder was an easy mark for Canelo.
Ray feels that the media is giving Canelo a free pass by not criticizing him for having fought just once at 168 in the last three years.
Instead of praising Canelo for what he did in 2021 in becoming undisputed champion at 168 in a 12-month period, they need to be dumping on him for failing to defend the belts that he’s been sitting on.
The Question Hanging Over Canelo
Is Canelo Alvarez still looking to fight the best in the sport at 168, or has he lost his courage and taken less risky fights to make money without giving the fans their money’s worth? Ray’s comment suggests that Canelo no longer has the dedication to face the best top-level competition at this stage.
If Canelo has lost his courage to fight the best, he should vacate his four titles at 168 and allow Benavidez or Morrell to take the belts and bravely defend them against all comers.
While Canelo has done admirable things in the past with his career, that was a long time ago, and he’s stopped taking those risky match-ups.