By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez wins Fighter of the Year for 2021 by default because he was the busiest of the top fighters, thanks to his popularity. He accomplished more by becoming the undisputed 168-lb champion.
With Canelo winning the undisputed championship at super middleweight, he became the first Mexican fighter to achieve that.
During an 11-month period, Canelo fought four times, beating Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Avni Yildirim, and Callum Smith.
On the downside, Canelo didn’t fight the guys that the U.S boxing public wants to see him compete against in 2021, and that makes it impossible to give him full credit for becoming undisputed.
Boxing fans wanted to see Canelo fight these fighters in 2021:
- David Benavidez
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Jermall Charlo
- Demetrius Andrade
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
- David Morrell Jr
No one was asking Canelo to spend the entire year becoming undisputed champion at 168, and the reason why he did is because the champions were viewed as the weak & vulnerable.
Let’s face it; Canelo, being an opportunist, beat four paper champions at 168 rather than taking risks by facing Benavidez, Beterbiev, Charlo, Andrade, and Bivol.
Is Canelo the greatest Mexican boxer of all time?
“Many times when you’re determining who the fighter of the year is, a case can be made for multiple fighters,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN. “However, in 2021, I don’t think anyone can dispute that Canelo Alvarez is hands down this year’s winner.
“Three fights in 2021 and four fights in an 11-month span. He cleaned out the 168-lb division and became the first Mexican-born fighter to become the undisputed champion. The first fighter to become undisputed at super middleweight.
“What he did was win hearts and minds,” said Sergio Mora on Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. “It’s how he made you feel. He carried a whole country [Mexico] on his shoulders.
“It was a lot different in the 80s and 90s when Chavez was fighting because you had no social media. You had a whole family. I’m speaking for myself in East LA; we would have parties and Fiestas. You can’t erase that. It’s a lot different.
“The accolades and the historical references. Yeah, you can make comparisons. The belts and everything he’s done, Canelo. Yeah, he’s already surpassed him [Chavez Sr] in that sense. Statistically, he’s already surpassed him, but you got to remember how people feel. That’s all I’m saying.
“You can make a case for Canelo being on the way, but you’re not going to appreciate his greatness until it’s passed, until it’s already passed,” said Mora.
I don’t think you can call Canelo the greatest Mexican fighter ever or even the second-best because he’s too much of a cherry-picker. This writer rates the greatest Mexican fighters of all time as follows:
- Salvador Sanchez – #1
- Julio Cesar Chavez – #2
- Carlos Zarate – #3
- Canelo Alvarez – #4
Were Chavez & Salvador Sanchez better than Alvarez?
“When you’re looking back at Canelo’s career, then you can say, ‘Wow, you know what? He was greater [than Chavez].’ But in the meantime, you can’t do it,” said Mora.
“You have a tendency, Sergio, to co-mingle boxing skill and icon status,” said Mannix. “I don’t think Canelo Alvarez will ever surpass, as you say, Julio Cesar Chavez in the hearts and minds of Mexican fans.
“He may not even surpass someone like Salvador Sanchez in the hearts and minds of Mexican fans, but the question is, what can he do to become the greatest Mexican boxer of all time?
“I do think it’s a lot closer than AK and Barak think it is right now. What Canelo can do is one simple thing in 2022. Fight and beat Oleksandr Usyk. That’s the fight I want to see in 2022.
“We’ve heard from Usyk over the last few weeks say, ‘You know what? I’d come down in weight for that fight. I’d even drop back to cruiserweight for that fight.’
“Uh uh, I don’t want that fight at cruiserweight,” said Mannix in being cut off.
Chavez (107-6-2, 85 KOs) and Salvador Sanchez (44-1-1, 32 KOs) didn’t accomplish as much as Canelo in terms of winning division titles.
Of course, those guys weren’t the type to cherry-pick world champions in different weight classes like Canelo has done and is STILL doing.
Salvador, had he lived, would have likely set the bar so high that Canelo would have never matched his achievements. When you look at the vast body of work Sanchez accomplished by the time he passed away in a car accident at age 23, it’s enormous.
Sanchez took more risks than Canelo, didn’t cherry-pick, and never tested positive for a banned PED as he did.
If the shoe was on the other foot and Sanchez was in place of Canelo, he would have given Gennady Golovkin a trilogy. He would have fought David Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev, Jermall Charlo, and Demetrius Andrade.
Sanchez wouldn’t have avoided those guys because that’s not the type of fighter he was. He didn’t avert risks like Canelo. The same goes for Chavez. He would have faced all of those fighters if he’d been in Canelo’s shoes.
The way Canelo picks his opponents is totally alien to the type of fighters Salvador Sanchez and Julio Cesar Chavez were, which is what made them so great.
Should Canelo take more significant risks?
“I don’t want that fight either. People aren’t going to be happy until Canelo gets beaten and gets knocked,” said Mora in cutting off Mannix before he could finish his thought about wanting to see Canelo go up to heavyweight to take on Usyk for his three world titles.
“Guess what? That’ll also add to the chapter of greatness. Seeing a great man [Canelo] stumble and come back. Every great fighter had to come back from bad losses from Ali to Sugar Ray Robinson to Sugar Ray Leonard.
“That’s what people want. They don’t want the perfect squeaky clean guy in Canelo always beating everybody. So they want him to fall just so he can rise again,” said Mora in failing to hear the point.
“Sergio, you have the boxing ambition of Sven Ottke,” said Mannix.
“Who the hell is Sven Ottke?” said Mora.
“An undefeated fighter that didn’t fight anybody back in his prime. We want these guys to challenge themselves,” said Mannix.
“There’s nobody at 168 that gave Canelo a real challenge. I’m not so sure that there’s anybody at 175 that will give Canelo a real challenge. What did Roy Jones Jr. do to make his legacy?
“He went from 175 to around 200 lbs and fought [WBA heavyweight champion] John Ruiz and became the heavyweight champion. That’s what I want Canelo to do,” Mannix said.
Boxing fans want to see Canelo take more risks with his career, as he’s played it safe in the last three years capturing titles at super middleweight.
None of those four champions that Canelo beat were held in high esteem by fans, and you can argue that the guy he should have fought was David Benavidez.
If all Canelo did this year was fight Benavidez, the boxing public would have respected him more than for him becoming the undisputed at 168.
Canelo at heavyweight: Is that asking too much?
“I don’t think we’re asking too much [of Canelo]. For Usyk to get down to the catchweight that he would need to be at, he would have to drop 20 lbs to get there from his last fight,” said Mannix. “That’ll drain him.
“Let’s not act like Oleksandr Usyk is a massive puncher. When he was at cruiserweight, he wasn’t really knocking anybody out. Canelo can lose; there’s no question about it, but isn’t that worth the risk?
“To take a loss against a guy like Usyk is better than to fight a Junior Makabu at cruiserweight. The question is, what would make Canelo the great Mexican fighter? I think winning a heavyweight title would seal it. Sergio clearly believes he’s not on that level yet.”
If Canelo wants to be the greatest Mexican fighter of all time, he must fight at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Even if Canelo gets beaten, he needs to try.
The only realistic option for Canelo winning a world title at heavyweight is for him to take on IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk, but he’d have to do it soon.
Usyk isn’t likely to hold onto his heavyweight titles for much longer, which means Canelo will need to face him next year at the latest.
Alvarez hasn’t won hearts & minds
“Yeah, but that’s not enough,” said Mora when asked if Canelo has done more in his career than Chavez. “Nostalgia and hearts & minds,”: said Mora in what Chavez provided fans.
“Sugar Ray Robinson was one of the greatest of all time, but they don’t mention him when they talk about the greatest. They talk about Muhammad Ali because Ali changed hearts and minds.
“What he did for everyone outside of boxing. He also lost those fights and had to come back. That’s what won hearts & minds. He [Canelo] was 23, and he bit off more than he could chew [in his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.].
“He was great for even doing that. Look, I’m sticking to my hearts & minds and sticking to my nostalgia. You always remember how they made you feel and the way that Chavez made a whole community, a whole country, everyone that’s Latino and boxing fans.
“He really changed a generation, and that’s what we remember. Canelo is doing that for a different generation. I’m not even saying he’s [Canelo] better [than Chavez]. It’s just a different era,” said Mora
You can argue that Canelo hasn’t endeared himself to the fans in the same way that Julio Cesar Chavez and Salvador Sanchez did.
At this point, it’s unlikely that Canelo ever will, considering that he’s about to turn 32 and is already showing signs of slippage.