What's next for Canelo Alvarez?

Is this your boxing face?

from Manny Delgado: Boxing's biggest superstar, hailed as the face of boxing by the sport itself, considered by many to be a debatable living legend who will undoubtedly cement his place in the Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the greatest Mexican fighters to ever live. That being said, his last four fights, over the last year and a half, leave a lot to be desired. All easily won fights that posed no real threat to him and weren't competitive in the slightest. This has left many sports fans wondering, “Is this your boxing face?”

Needless to say, fans are not happy with his recent fight choices and it begs the question “Should Canelo continue to box or retire to play golf instead?” as he was seen thoroughly enjoying himself, at one point he was even criticized by the boxing media for playing too often and not focusing enough on his boxing training.

Canelo vs. Benavidez

In his defense, we could say that he has earned the right to pick and choose his fights as he pleases, Canelo often claims that as well. After doing it all, he went so far as to become the only world super middleweight champion in the history of the sport in 2021. and take on the best the sport has to offer in his weight class. Still, one huge asterisk remains, and that's the boogeyman David Benavidez, aka “The Mexican Monster,” and for an extraordinary reason.

His strong, fast and explosive style has been cited as one that could cause huge problems for Canelo's low productivity, mostly counter-punching placement. Stylistically, this is the type of combat clash that could go down as an instant classic. Depending on who wins, it could catapult Benavidez to superstardom after defeating the man who is “the face of boxing” himself or, in Canelo's case, silence the naysayers once and for all by being officially recognized as the man, who beat what many considered his biggest challenge to date.

The verbal feud between Canelo and Benavidez, lasting more than a year, has been a tense exchange between their opposing views on the matter, with Canelo briefly quoted as saying in an interview:

“He brings nothing to the table for me; he just brings 25 pounds more to the fight of the night”

That was over 10 months ago, and Canelo recently said he would fight Benavidez if the money was between $150 and $200 million. To which Benavidez responded with the angry disposition of:

“@canelo if I have nothing to offer then why would you want to get 150-200 million to fight someone worth nothing? Hopefully, after you make that 150 million, you'll have enough left over to buy a pair of Nuts.

Benavidez's argument, combined with other statements he's made about the fight, is effectively, why are weaker opponents allowed the gift of winning the Canelo lottery? And not the one who is more than deserving. Will we ever see an official fight poster that reads “Canelo vs. Benavidez'' remains to be seen and is currently one of the biggest questions in the sport of boxing.

Canelo vs. Crawford

That being said, a recent rumor surfaced that Canelo vs. Crawford is being set up for September 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 168 pounds. A matchup that could offer what you could consider guaranteed excitement due to Crawford's impressive boxing skills. He is considered one of the most well-rounded or “complete” boxers in the sport with numerous high-level attributes that make him as adaptable a fighter as he comes, currently still undefeated with a record of 41- 0 and is a 2x undisputed champion in two weight classes, both welterweight (140) and super lightweight (147).

In Canelo's case, he will be a former undisputed middleweight champion (168) who has beaten everyone who has legitimately challenged him, at least since most fans agree that he lost to Golovkin the first time, and back-to-back rematches are largely considered a matter of opinion as to who won, as they don't count as decisive victories for either side, depending on who you ask, but that's a whole other topic. Aside from the huge asterisk of whether or not he can beat Benavidez, Canelo is widely considered the current face of boxing due to his impressive resume and equally impressive boxing ability. Primarily known for his elite-level countering ability and elegant defense, which have earned him battle highlights that are pleasing to purists and casual fans alike.

A mega-fight like this, which fans consider to be a fantasy fight possibly coming to fruition, would be a huge blockbuster, yet Canelo is actually very dismissive of Crawford, going so far as to say:

“Look, I respect Terence Crawford. He's very talented, but he just won a big fight. If you look at his record, he just beat a good fighter. Also, he hasn't beaten other good fighters like Spence.”

Crawford, for her part, confidently responded on Twitter with:

“Marked! Just remember what he said because I've always enjoyed making someone look like a nobody.

This potential fight, while offering a high probability of possible excitement during the build-up and once the gloves touch, has many fans questioning whether a fight in which the much lighter Crawford moves up two weight classes to fight a man which is naturally much heavier than him is even a fight worth considering. We've all seen what happens when a naturally smaller fighter moves up in weight to fight a bigger man, and it rarely ends well; Crawford's exceptional boxing skills aside, strength, endurance and mobility do not translate well from the lighter weight to the higher weight classes.

Canelo vs. Buffalo

As an example, fairly recently Canelo moved up to light heavyweight (174) to fight Bivol, a fight that casual fans considered a “confused mistake”, but avid fans of the sport knew better and that Bivol could be the most – the biggest challenge for Canelo so far. Canelo looked completely out of his element in his fight against Bivolo, not only because Bivolo is as elite as they come with his high mobility and intensity, Soviet style, but because Canelo looked like he was carrying an extra weight that made it difficult for him to moving, which it was. Already considered a heavy and flat-footed fighter who looked like he walked in mud, adding more literal weight to his fighting figure was not a good combination. Not to mention, his gas tank eventually ran out and he kept getting tagged by shots he could have possibly blocked or avoided, taking no credit away from Buffalo's ability to place his shots effectively. In short, if Bivolo and Canelo were at 168, Canelo would probably land fewer punches.

The potential verdict of Canelo vs. Crawford

Could Crawford face a similar sentence? Where, despite being what many would consider a 'complete' fighter, more like a chameleon than a human. Will his boxing skills translate into a move up two weight classes? or will he simply suffer Canelo's fate? and fall short of the naturally larger man, his skills take a huge hit from the added combat weight. Any opinion on the matter is purely speculation and no one can say for sure what the outcome will be, the only thing that is certain is that not only will Crawford be in the ring against Canelo, but he himself will be fighting because of the disadvantages of fighting at a weight you're not normally used to fighting at. If there is a man or boxer who can overcome both challenges, it is definitely Crawford. For this reason, even though it is considered an unnecessary fight by many fans of the sport, it can still be a very promising and entertaining fight.

Canelo's legacy

But beyond that potential fight, what's next for Canelo? Will she finally face her personal boogeyman David Benavidez? If we are to follow the entire narrative of events and an indirect exchange between the two, this seems highly unlikely. The most reasonable prediction would be to say that he continues to put on boxing fights where his opponents pose no real threat to him, thus continuing his retirement tour with no clear end in sight or expectations from him for anything different. What do you personally think is in the near future for Canelo? and how does that affect his overall legacy as a fighter?