Canelo Alvarez, the satisfaction of Guadalajara and one in every of boxing’s most formidable champions stands at a vital juncture in his illustrious profession. Having conquered a number of weight lessons and solidified his standing as a pound-for-pound king, the query on everybody’s thoughts is: who ought to the Mexican star battle subsequent? Nonetheless, his most up-to-date conflict failed and ended up being considerably of a disappointment.
With a plethora of tantalizing choices accessible to him, the reigning undisputed tremendous middleweight king opted for a bout in opposition to unheralded compatriot Jaime Munguia in a conflict that did little to whet the urge for food. Admittedly the 27-year-old was unbeaten in 43 bouts earlier than the competition nonetheless, essentially the most recognizable names on his resume got here within the type of 37-year-old Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Britain’s John Ryder, who was comfortably dispatched by Canelo seven months prior.
The most recent boxing betting at Bovada odds made boxing’s pay-per-view king an enormous -500 betting favourite to retain his crown, and he duly delivered, comfortably successful a shutout unanimous choice. Now, nonetheless, consideration has turned to what’s subsequent, and the stress is being positioned on Canelo to battle a reputable opponent. So, we’ve picked out three males he ought to think about dealing with subsequent if he needs to keep away from the critics and solidify his legacy.David Benavidez
David Benavidez
After all, the battle that the boxing world is now clamoring for – and has been for a while – is a mouthwatering matchup in opposition to the large David Benavidez. Nicknamed The Monster and for good purpose, the 27-year-old has lengthy been seen as Canelo’s hardest problem but. He has been the apparent option to battle it out for all of the gold at 168 kilos for a while, and dominant back-to-back victories over former champions Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade have solely strengthened his declare.
He’s the present interim WBC champion, and a unification conflict ought to be on the horizon. Nonetheless, Canelo has different concepts. Regardless of the stress ramping up on him to lastly agree on a battle with the Arzona-born star, the present king seemingly needs no a part of it. His latest assertion saying that it could require $200m to face off with Benavidez solely strengthens the argument that he’s ducking his potential nemesis.
A battle between Canelo and Benavidez can be a conflict of two Mexican warriors, every with one thing to show. For the previous, it could be a possibility to silence critics questioning his dominance at tremendous middleweight. For the latter, it’s the prospect to dethrone the king set up himself because the premier fighter within the division, and bag himself the tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} that include it. His aggressive type, highly effective combos, and granite chin make him a big menace to anybody he faces, whereas standing at 6’1″ and with a attain benefit, he would carry physicality into the ring that Canelo could also be unable to deal with.
Dmitry Bivol
Solely two males have overwhelmed Canelo all through his storied profession. Certainly one of them is Floyd Mayweather, who picked aside a youthful model of the Mexican again in 2013. The opposite is Russia’s reigning WBA mild heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who handed him a uncommon defeat of their earlier encounter in Might 2022.
With Alvarez going up in weight, many anticipated him to handily defeat the undefeated former newbie star just like how he did along with his compatriot Sergei Kovalev two and a half years prior. However Bivol had different concepts.
His technical proficiency, footwork, and disciplined jab proved an excessive amount of for Canelo, who struggled to impose his will as he had executed beforehand, regardless of the step up in weight. The Mexican tried to lure Bivol in again and again nonetheless, the champion remained disciplined and continued to pepper away from the skin en path to a lopsided choice victory. And within the two years since their conflict, he has continued to rack up victories.
Gilberto Ramírez, Lyndon Arthur, and Malik Zinad have all stepped up and have all been despatched packing. Now, followers are awaiting a blockbuster unification battle between Bivol and fellow Russian Arthur Beterbiev. Nonetheless, ought to Canelo come calling for a rematch with thousands and thousands of {dollars} on the road, that unification conflict will certainly should be placed on the again burner as soon as extra.
A Canelo-Bivol rematch carries important narrative and the intrigue lies in whether or not Canelo can crack the Bivol code. Followers love a superb redemption story, and this battle gives simply that for the Mexican ace. Nonetheless, if he’s defeated as soon as extra, certainly that may go away a stain on his legacy like no different.
Terence Crawford
Terence Crawford, the previous undisputed welterweight champion solidified his standing as the most effective pound-for-pound fighter on the earth when he viciously knocked out Errol Spence Jr. final July to say all of the gold at 147 kilos.
Within the yr since his legacy-making victory, the alphabet belts have been break up up, with Mario Barrios claiming the WBC strap and Jaron Ennis securing IBF gold. However for “Bud,” he now has his eyes on profitable matchups, they usually don’t come far more profitable than dealing with off with Canelo.
A Canelo-Crawford battle transcends conventional weight class boundaries, making a spectacle round two of the game’s greatest abilities. It’s a legacy-defining transfer for the welterweight star, testing his expertise in opposition to an even bigger, stronger opponent.
For his potential opponent, it’s a possibility to additional cement his standing by defeating one other pound-for-pound nice. Nonetheless, ought to he select this selection, he’ll are available for loads of criticism and face a a lot smaller man as soon as once more, simply as he did final September when he confronted and beat Jermell Charlo.
