Boxing
Canelo Alvarez: The Story So Far
SAUL “Canelo” Alvarez will look to continue his fascinating story when he takes on devastating super middleweight boxer Edgar Berlanga next Saturday.
The unified world champion will return to his stronghold – the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – as the clear favorite, hoping to continue his dominance at 168 pounds.
But if he wants to maintain his greatness, and perhaps even become the greatest Mexican boxer of all time, Canelo simply needs to create more moments that define his legacy beyond his next appearance.
With that in mind, the welterweight star will undoubtedly have reason to celebrate when he finally retires.
Canelo Alvarez’s Story So Far
Alvarez’s nearly 20-year career began in 2005, when the Mexican, then just a freckled 15-year-old, made his professional debut.
It wasn’t until five years later that he finally got over the first hurdle, stopping Jose Cotto – Miguel’s brother – in the ninth round after recovering from a powerful left hook early in the fight.
Then, before facing a faded version of the once-formidable Shane Mosley, Canelo won his first world title by defeating Matthew Hatton, a convincing victory that kick-started a relentless run of victories that would later earn him the nickname “the critical Brit.”
But after six successful defences of the WBC belt, the super welterweight was soundly beaten on points by Floyd Mayweather in 2013 despite one of the judges, whose 114-114 scorecard remains one of the worst in recent years, forgetting her conversation with Specsavers that morning.
Despite everything, Canelo was able to respond to his first defeat with remarkable maturity and changed his style of play, becoming a more defensively responsible fighter.
And that progress eventually led to him defeating the likes of Erislandy Lara (albeit on the underdog side in a controversial decision) and Miguel Cotto, who, like Mosley, was far from his best years.
The truth is that these performances, and then a brutal fight with the distinctly undersized Amir Khan, earned Alvarez a rather undesirable reputation, with some fans seeing him as a boxer who would rather improve his record by fighting questionable opponents than fight all the opponents.
That was until he collided with Gennady Golovkin. After winning world honours in 2010 and spending the next six years crushing anyone he stepped into the ring with, the fearsome Kazakh entered the highly anticipated clash with Canelo as the true king of 160 pounds.
What’s more, Golovkin’s devastating power, combined with his opponent’s evasive maneuvers, made this fight even more fascinating than most expected.
Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy
However, the evening was marred somewhat by a surprising 118-110 scorecard in Canelo’s favour, which contributed to a highly controversial result that left many stunned or downright irritated.
For both fighters, a rematch was the only option. And once again, the fight did not disappoint as the pair delivered fireworks before Alvarez – this time with a more assertive performance – emerged victorious.
Shortly after, a novel chapter began for the experienced fighter as he found his place in the super middleweight division.
After the Golovkin fights, Canelo put in an impressive performance against Daniel Jacobs before dethroning the aging and emaciated Sergey Kovalev at 175lbs. However, it could be said that the second phase of his illustrious career only really began when he employed a unique but effective tactic against Callum Smith, catching the Liverpool fighter in the arm with a powerful right hook.
Less than a year later, he had amassed all the jewelry — defeating Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant in spectacular bouts — to become the undisputed 168-pound champion.
It is worth adding that everything was going according to plan until he returned to airy heavyweight; this time, however, he had to face a highly skilled technician who was at the peak of his abilities.
The height difference is one thing, but in his fight against Dmitry Bivol, a master of distance control, Canelo also had to contend with his opponent’s elite level of footwork.
Dmitry Bivol attacks Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the T-Mobile Arena on May 7, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
That’s why, after suffering his second career defeat, a move back down to super middleweight – arguably his strongest weight class – seemed like the most logical option.
At this point, though, Alvarez found himself struggling to replicate his previous success. A slightly disappointing trilogy with Golovkin and a wide unanimous decision victory over John Ryder – extending his record against the British to 8-0 – preceded his clash with Jermel Charlo, whose lacklustre performance made for a frankly uninspiring spectacle.
And now, with the 34-year-old coming off another routine title defense against Jaime Munguia, one might suspect the sport’s four-division world champion’s best days are coming to an end.
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