Being a Mexican fighter comes with a lot of pressure to live up to the historic fighters the country has produced. Chavez Sr, Morales, Barrera, Marquez etc. are all Mexican warriors who let their fists grant them the respect they deserve. Canelo Alvarez‘s mission is to be named amongst those Mexican greats, and at 27 years old he is heading down that path.
Canelo has a great mix of hand speed, power and discipline in the ring to go along with his physical frame, resulting in a great resume on paper. His KO wins against Amir Khan, Liam Smith, and James Kirkland were highlight reel knockouts displaying Canelo’s unique skill set.
While I believe he deserved the wins over Trout and Cotto, both fights along with his win over Lara were controversial. Along with his loss to Floyd Mayweather which isn’t any crime, what I like most about Canelo is the improvements that he’s made after his challenges. For example, after his loss to Mayweather you can see the improvement on his defence.
However, through the excitement and improvement, whilst we are able to see that Canelo is good, he has yet to give us that specific performance that points to his greatness. One could argue that he KO’d a smaller Khan, UD win over an old and out of his prime Mosley, weight drained Chavez Jr. etc. are reasons for fans to dispute and even over hype Canelo’s skills.
For me Canelo has given us boxing fans true excitement in the ring; he’s taken on all challengers and has given us highlight reel worthy results. Besides Mayweather and Pacquiao, he has been the top attraction to fans and his style reminds us of his fellow Mexican fight legends. Next week against GGG, Canelo Alvarez has another opportunity to impress, and continue to add to his legend. With a win against his biggest challenge in GGG, that won’t make Canelo great, he already is. The question of how great is he however, can and will finally be answered.
