As the world anxiously awaits the opponent announcement by Canelo Alvarez, only two facts remain certain. Given his track record, we know that Alvarez’s announcement will satisfy Boxing fans who have graduated beyond a casual-level status. What is also evident is that the anticipation, anxiety, and frantic deductions of fans and critics alike are all the proof one needs to see that Canelo Alvarez is, without question, the Face of Boxing.
(Photo credit: Boxrec.com)
As Alvarez keeps the world of sports in suspense, awaiting the announcement of the 65th opponent for the 33-year-old Alvarez, the emotional level of fans and critics remain frozen in an emotional state of critical levels. Critics desperately search for the pettiest of critiques while sophisticated Boxing fans marvel at Canelo’s accomplishments and legacies. Considering this, an objective look at Canelo’s achievements thus far is needed.
COUNTDOWN TO CANASTOTA
The pros and cons of Canelo’s run for the Boxing Hall of Fame are as follows;
PROS
- The record of Canelo’s last 40 opponents is 1,282 wins and 109 losses, including more than 20 World Champions, 8 undefeated World Champions, and multiple world titles across 4 weight divisions.
- Unified the Super Middleweight division to become Undisputed Champion against world champions, holding a combined record of 105 wins and 1 loss.
- As middleweight Champion, KO’d light heavyweight champion KO artist Sergei Kovalev for the Light Heavyweight World Championship.
- Labeled “The Greatest Mexican Boxer of All-Time by All-Time-Great Julio Cesar Chavez in a heartfelt passing of the guard moment.
CONS
- As an inexperienced 23-year-old, Alvarez faced Floyd Mayweather in Floyd’s hometown. 2 of 3 judges scored the contest for Mayweather.
**Two opponents later in Floyd’s contest against Manny Pacquiao, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) caught Mayweather receiving prohibited injections. Months after, Floyd’s hometown Boxing commission issued Floyd a “retroactive” Therapeutic Use Exemption in response to the scandal. The commission posthumously ruled the prohibited injections to be “Saline and vitamins” despite it being impossible to test the content of these injections, leading many in the Boxing community to alter Mayweather’s nickname from “TBE” to “TUE.” - Although he began his career at Super-lightweight, Alvarez challenged undefeated career light heavyweight and world champion Dmitri Bivol for the light heavyweight title. Canelo lost the fight 7 rounds to 5 on all three cards. **Alvarez was denied credit for a knockdown where the ropes held Bivol up after a combination late in the fight. **Bivol did not receive a point deduction for putting Alvarez in a headlock and throwing him to the ground. Many fans remain outraged today because these three points would have given Alvarez a unanimous decision victory.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
While Canelo Alvarez has undoubtedly earned the right to write the final chapter of his illustrious career and pursue the legacy he wishes to leave behind, fans and critics feel entitled to demand control over Canelo’s remaining opponents. Even though Alvarez unified and thoroughly cleaned out the 168 division, detractors continue to demand title shots for unproven and unworthy fighters they have put the faith of their rabid disdain for Canelo into, and Boxing fans thirst for the next incredible accomplishment that Canelo has in store for them.
The leading candidate of the naysayers would be David Benavidez, the 6’2 fighter who has already possessed and lost a 168lb title twice, once for failing a drug test and fighting on the street drug and performance-enhancing drug (PED) cocaine and once for being unable to make the weight. The latter of these reasons is most telling, as Benavidez is clearly a heavyweight still young enough to drain his body down 50 pounds, where he holds a massive advantage over his opponents thus far.
To top this off, Benavidez only has one name on his record, Demetrius Andrade, who also had no names on his record and came up from middleweight to face Benavidez at 168. Benavidez poses no upside to Canelo because his accomplishments are entirely devoid of quality aside from looking like a monster against outsized and overmatched walking heavy bags.
Even still, Canelo understands that the easy victory over Benavidez would merely be an attempt at silencing his irrational critics, who would immediately write Benavidez off as an “inexperienced bum” and a “cherry-pick” and manufacture a new Great Super middleweight Hope that Alvarez must face before the bruises on Canelo’s knuckles even had time to heal.
WHO IS NEXT?
The burning mystery remains, suspending the world of Boxing from moving forward. With Benavidez effectively eliminated as a viable and worthy option, many believe this only leaves undersized and underaccomplished no-hopers Jermall Charlo and Terrence Crawford. These are names that only those who purposely turn a blind eye to Canelo’s greatness deduce to.
Alvarez has proven time and time again to be in pursuit of legacy, greatness, and Boxing immortality in tandem with his solidified Hall of Fame career, leaving one name above the rest: Cruiserweight Champion Badou Jack. While inconceivable to critics and detractors that Canelo would jump two weight classes to secure his 5th division World Championship, sophisticated Boxing fans would see this as a mere pattern in the accomplishments of Canelo. True fans of the sport who inevitably appreciate Canelo’s dedication and respect for the sport of Boxing will marvel at this dangerous goal. Detractors will wallow in fear, searching for a way to denigrate the challenge to deaf ears.
One fact remains confident, however. In this new world of Boxing where online influencers and manufactured, unproven stars with twenty-something bouts only fight once per year, cosplaying in the ring wearing belts already owned by legitimate champions in the same weight class, we are in the presence of greatness unlikely to be seen again. It is up to us all to appreciate it and enjoy it now or yearn for the greatness of fighters like Saul ” Canelo” Alvarez years from now when it is too late.