I have to admit, I thought Alvarez would be too heavy and too strong for anyone jumping up two weight divisions. I thought he would cut the ring off, walk through a lighter guy with his great chin, wear his opponent down and be too much …. With the added guarantee of always somehow getting gift decisions from Vegas judges. Canelo isn’t some manufactured fake, he is a real fighter.
Now, with hindsight, I see that Crawford is Canelo’s kryptonite. Actually not a smaller guy at all. A slick boxer. Footwork that takes advantage of Alvarez’s slow feet. A southpaw. Someone who won’t fold, but who will dictate the action and make Alvarez react to him. Crawford has been absolutely immense all the way through his career ( I was awestruck by what he did against Burns)
That’s what Mayweather did, and it’s also what Bivol did. Golovkin and Lara fought their own fights and also won, but were cheated by some mystifying judging. Crawford nearly stopped him at the end.
Canelo has been the biggest star in boxing for over a decade now. That’s because he is a good fighter, great chin, tough guy who never backs down ……..but also because he brings in millions of PPV sales and a big crowd with his Mexican fans because he is just about the only decent Mexican fighter operating today. Every time he has gone up against a truly elite fighter he has lost - or should have lost had the scoring been correct.
If God wanted us to be vegetarians, why are animals made of meat ?
I agree with most of your points. Most.
Again I'll harp on the weight discrepancy. To me, it was three divisions... not two. One fight at 154 never made Bud a bonafide superwelter, in my book. Had he pulverized Madrimov in his one and only fight at 154... I would've been more prone to call it a two-division jump. Crawford was a welterweight.
Yes. Canelo's Kryptonite has always been the slick boxer/mover that exposes his flaws. Yes. GGG and Lara were both cheated out of victories. I'll add that Bivol and Mayweather were close to getting cheated out of victories, too. Such was the dominance by both of these over Canelo... that not even crooked judges could have gotten away with a robbery on those fights.
Your assessment of Canelo as a "good fighter, great chin, tough guy" are totally accurate. No qualms with that. Your assessment as to why he's "the biggest star in boxing for over a decade now" is only partly correct. That he's "just about the only decent Mexican fighter operating today"? Sure. Right once again. That's not as much a brownie point for Canelo, as it is sort of a damning statement on the rest of the Mexican fighters today. Although to be honest I feel there are a few out there who exemplify the traditional Mexican fighter picture more than Canelo does.
Also, why does he bring in the millions in PPV sales? An argument can be made as to his marketability, and his marketing team. As well as to how he has been brought along throughout his career. You think he'd be the (cough) "face of boxing" if any of those deserved losses (GGG, Lara) would've been judged properly? No. He'd be just another good 168-pounder. The millions, plus the adoring hordes have come about as a result of how his career has been carefully constructed.
Women are a big part of the boxing fandom. You don't think part of the preferential treatment and coddling of Canelo has been due in some significant part due to this factor? I do.
Bottom line. I don't remember ANY previous boxing champion... Mexican or otherwise... who has been afforded the gold-plated yellow brick road to boxing stardom that Canelo has benefited from. None. Which has always been my biggest beef with Canelo.
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