By Joshua Garcia
To be the biggest athlete in the world one not only has to win, but also has to take risks to separate their career resumé amongst the vast history of their respective sports. Saul Canelo Alvarez as the most popular and amongst the top paid athletes on the planet has once again solidified himself as the face of Boxing following his 11th round knockout victory over the Light Heavyweight Champion of the World Sergey Kovalev.
Canelo Alvarez puts his name with Jorge Arce, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Erik Morales as the only Mexican fighters ever to hold a championship in four different weight classes. Alvarez’s titles are spread among 15 pounds and four weight classes, starting his career as a welterweight and going all the way up to 175 to capture the light heavyweight title as only the second man from his country to ever do so.
In an era where fighters duck tough fights and where promoters coddle and protect their stars from dangerous opponents and losses from outside their own stable, Canelo needs to be recognized as the biggest risk taker in the fight game. Yes, Sergey Kovalev has plenty of miles on his body from battles with the likes of Andre Ward and Bernard Hopkins, but he is still one of the most feared boxers in the sport and always lives up to his moniker ‘The Krusher’.
Alvarez went to Kovalev’s weight class to steal his WBO championship belt. Several times throughout his career Canelo has fought at catch weights, again, to take the best opponent available regardless of class. Saturday’s WBO light heavyweight championship however was a true 175 lb fight as Alvarez looked stronger than he has ever looked bulking up all the way to join a class two categories above his normal fighting size.
Both the size and muscle gain for Canelo forced him into a different style of fight. Speaking with Bernard Hopkins, the legend warned Canelo may be a little slower and different as his opponents power has never been so dangerous to end the fight at any moment in his career, and the fact he has never entered a ring this heavy. Alvarez is known to have a strong chin, but when you are across from a light heavyweight the caliber of a Kovalev, more caution than ever has to be taken.
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Post fight some prognosticators claimed the fight was slow and not active enough on the part of Canelo until the brutal 11th round knockout, but it was more about the change in style rather than inactivity. Canelo was showcasing his defense and picking spots to do damage to the head rather than the body. Coming in many predicted Alvarez to attack the body, Kovalev’s weakness, but they prepared to take the force of the hooks and uppercuts to the head and it paid off with a left hook and a straight right to the jaw that landed Kovalev firmly between the MGM Grand Garden Arena ropes.
History is the word that surrounds Canelo Alvarez. Are you the best in history. What historic feat is next? How important is your story in boxing history? If Canelo wants to continue to write the story, he needs to close a chapter that is still open and he will have the chance in his next fight. Triple G-Canelo the trilogy is something the boxing world not only wants to see, but needs to see. It will go down as the best rivalry in Alvarez’s Hall of Fame career and to fully be the legend he wants to be needs to once and for all put to rest the controversy and not only beat, but knockout Genady Golovkin. Both Golovkin and Alvarez are signed to contracts with DAZN, so there should be no trouble making this fight happen. It would be a fight of the year candidate well before each fighter steps into the ring.
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