Via Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn is adamant that Canelo Alvarez shows no signs of slowing down in his last two games since winning the undisputed championship in 2021.
On social media, boxing fans have noted that Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) looks like he’s slipped a few steps since his bout with the WBA lightweight champion Dmitry Bivol and then looked almost bad in his recent trilogy against 40-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin last September.
Hearn says Canelo has injured his left hand in his last two games, but that doesn’t explain why he’s exhausted after six innings in both games against Bivol and GGG.
The only reason Canelo won the triple match against Golovkin was because he got off to a slow start. If Golovkin had started fighting hard earlier in the competition, he would have beaten Canelo, and now he would have to face oblivion.
Canelo still has a lot to prove
2023 will be an important year for Canelo because he has to show something to prove that he is not the lackluster boxer that many fans think he is.
He is supposed to fight British boxer John Ryder in May, which is basically a gimmick to build his confidence. But given Canelo’s recent form, Ryder could give him a lot of trouble, maybe even beat him.
Assuming Canelo finds a way to beat Ryder, he will face Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in September, at 168 or 175. That match could create a mismatch in Bivol’s favor. because he was completely wrong with Canelo’s style-wise and about his superior boxing skills.
“He has battled injuries in the last few games,” Eddie Hearn said to media Last Saturday night about Canelo Alvarez when it was known that the Mexican star showed signs of decline in the last 2 matches.
Canelo didn’t sustain a hand injury during his game against Caleb Plant in November 2021 and he looked very vulnerable in that competition. If Plant hadn’t vented after 9 rounds, he could have progressed to the decisive 12 rounds because he troubled Canelo until the ninth round.
Hearn denies Canelo slip
“I don’t think he’s at his best, but look at his fight. He fought Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, Dmitry Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin,” Hearn said. “That’s who he fought with. People say, ‘Oh, he slipped a little.’
“He’s been fighting the best of the best, and he’s also getting injured,” Hearn said, repeating his excuse for the injury.
Hearn shouldn’t blame the opposition of Canelo’s caliber for why he doesn’t look good as boxing fans expect him to fight at his best.
They don’t want to see Canelo return to the weak position he has broken his record for over the past five years against the likes of Avni Yildirim, Rocky Fielding, Billy Joe Saunders, Daniel Jacobs and gunman Sergey Kovalev.
Fans want to see Canelo fight at his best, which means he’ll be up against these assassins:
- David Benavidez
- Dmitri Bivol
- David Morrell
- Artur Betterbiev
