If you’re going to have a chastening night inside a boxing ring, underneath those unrelenting bright lights, you might as well do it in the company of one of the best to ever do it.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez had not long turned 23 when he fought the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013. The reigning WBC and Ring Magazine super welterweight champion had to shave himself down to a 152-pound catchweight and observe a 13-pound rehydration clause.
That was because Mayweather held all the cards. On fight night, ‘Money’ similarly made Canelo dance to his tune. C.J. Ross infamously pulled a 114-114 scorecard out of some psychedelic realm or another, so the record books officially show a majority-decision win. In reality, it was a Mayweather masterclass, arguably his last great performance and one that has aged incredibly well given all Canelo has gone on to achieve.
“I’ve always said that I don’t take it as a defeat, I take it as a big learning curve in my career,” Canelo told DAZN when discussing the Mayweather fight in 2022. “The biggest lesson I learned was that I didn’t want to feel what you feel when you lose.”
WATCH: Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull on DAZN
What Canelo did during the subsequent decade more than bears this out. He won titles across four weight divisions and fought the best in all of them. There were some pages taken from the Mayweather playbook outside of being a phenomenal in-ring technician.
What did Canelo learn from Mayweather?
Miguel Cotto and Amir Khan contested the middleweight title at catchweights. His eternal rival, Gennadiy Golovkin, was made to wait until the deck felt stacked in Canelo’s favour. Sergey Kovalev had to stomach a rehydration clause before Canelo stopped him in round 11 of their WBO light-heavyweight showdown.
After the Kovalev fight, Canelo embarked upon what is likely to remain the run that best defines his greatness. In the space of 11 months between December 2020 and November 2021, Canelo beat three undefeated champions to become the undisputed super middleweight world champion.
Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant had no restrictions and were operating in their natural division. Canelo wasn’t and he beat them all up. The question of who was the best fighter in the world was not even a conversation at that point. Also, it’s no exaggeration to say that having fights of such magnitude at that time meant Canelo kept the lights on for big-time boxing during in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
Then, feeling understandably invincible, he stepped up to light-heavy again and was soundly beaten by the otherworldly Dmitry Bivol. The quote at the start of this article was from an interview heading into Canelo’s next fight — a trilogy encounter with Golovkin that had more than a whiff of Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. It was too late, slower and not what it should have been. At least, unlike Floyd and Manny, Alvarez and GGG had already served up two all-time classics.
Who will Canelo fight next?
Canelo reflecting on what he learned in defeat and how it helped to make him untouchable at precisely the time he was vulnerable all over again feels pivotal now. Because the bold risk-taker of his flawless 168-pound run has not returned. A potential blockbuster against David Benavidez has been willingly left on the shelf.
Edgar Berlanga, Jermell Charlo and this weekend’s clash with William Scull — the German-based Cuban who is only IBF champion because Canelo could not be bothered fulfilling that mandatory obligation — feels an awful lot like facing Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero, and Andre Berto. Taking on the then-undefeated but still slightly green Jaime Munguia last year arguably made Canelo the Mayweather to his compatriot’s Alvarez.
When Mayweather signed with Showtime/CBS for eye-watering money down his home stretch, the objectives were the Pacquiao fight and, more broadly, keeping the whole money-making bonanza on the road. His pantomime cash grab with Conor McGregor laid the groundwork for Canelo to be genuinely in the conversation to face boxing YouTuber Jake Paul.
Turki Alalshikh and Riyad Season are Canelo’s Showtime/CBS. He’s going to earn more money than he can ever spend. He should take care of business against Scull unfussily and probably forgettably. Then there’s a weight-hopping clash with fellow pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford in the works. Alternatively, there might be Chris Eubank Jr. at Wembley or an obscenely lucrative farce with Paul.
WATCH: Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull on DAZN
The difference is that Mayweather had a finish line clearly in mind. No matter how underwhelming Berto was as an opponent, he was the endpoint. 49-0, job done. Canelo doesn’t have that and, of late, he has started to look like a man boxing to fulfil handsome contractual necessities. That will probably be enough against Scull, but perhaps not against the formidable and unflinchingly confident Crawford. There could be an unforeseen defeat because legacy-burnishing without a logical roadmap usually leads to a ditch, Not against Paul, obviously. So long as Canelo’s head remains attached to his heavily muscled neck, he’s winning that one with his eyes closed.
But such fights should not even be in the conversation for one so great. How Canelo beats Scull is important. Hopefully the Riyadh Season tie-up doesn’t just line his wallet but has reignites a fire in his belly, because Canelo punching with bad intentions and that purpose Mayweather gave him all those years ago remains a sight to behold.
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