Canelo Alvarez is quite possibly one of the greatest boxers to have ever graced the sport. However, despite his dominant reign and incredible achievements, there are a few blemishes on his record. Most notably, one of Canelo’s most painful losses was against Dmitry Bivol.
Previously, Alvarez took on Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. on 7 May 2022. Having unified all four titles to become the undisputed super middleweight champion, Alvarez took aim at the light heavyweight champ. Unfortunately, Canelo was outboxed and outclassed on the night by the Russian champion. In what was one of his poorest career showings, Canelo lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Speaking on the Hugo Sanchez Presents show, Canelo delved deeper into why the loss did not sit right with him. As such, he says, “I wasn’t 100% physically speaking, my hand wasn’t 100%, I couldn’t train 100%. A week before the fight, I suffered a rib injury during training. I shouldn’t have fought”. Further, Alvarez added, “That defeat is still a pain in my heart; I still haven’t gotten over that moment. It affected me deeply because I shouldn’t have lost, I am simply better than him.”
According to the undisputed super middleweight champ, he believes that his performance on the night was heavily impacted by injuries. As he states, his hand wasn’t 100% and he had a rib injury as well. However, many fans have suggested that Canelo’s loss had little to do with him being injured, rather it was a case of Bivol having a more constructed game plan for the fight. Notably, Canelo also had to put on a lot of weight for the fight, which many felt a significant role as well.
Jermell Charlo is set to attempt a similar feat as Canelo Alvarez
Although he had a disappointing run out against Bivol, Alvarez bounced back like a champion. As for his next fight, the Mexican took on his old foe, Gennadiy Golvkin in a trilogy bout. After their first bout in 2017 ended in a draw, Alvarez secured the win in the rematch via majority decision in 2018. Thus, a trilogy fight was always inevitable and finally took place last year.
Despite winning the bout and sealing the tie, many were unconvinced by Canelo’s performance. As a result, many criticized him for not being able to knock down a 40-year-old Golovkin. Moreover, Alvarez’s unanimous decision victory was seen as highly controversial and a horrendous job by the judges. Thus, many feel that the 33-year-old is already beginning to decline and is past his prime already.
Who will bow?
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Following the GGG trilogy, Saul returned to action earlier this year with his fight against John Ryder. Fighting on his home turf of Guadalajara, Mexico, Alvarez put on a dominant display against Ryder. In the one-sided affair, Canelo managed to drop his opponent in Round 5 and controlled the fight from start to finish. Thus, he is now set to take on the undisputed junior middleweight, Jermell Charlo next.
Interestingly, Charlo is looking to attempt a similar feat, going up in weight against another undisputed champion. Notably, the fight will be one of the rare occurrences wherein two undisputed fighters will lock horns. All things considered, many will be intently watching to see how Alvarez fares against another champion who is seemingly in his prime.