Canelo goes his own way – and only his own way

By: Sean Crose

He’s solely 34, which actually isn’t THAT outdated by modern boxing requirements. But, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the person who maybe nonetheless stays king of the game of boxing, has been combating professionally because the age of 15. That’s 65 fights in a profession that’s pushing twenty years in size. That, merely put, is an entire lot of boxing. Maybe that’s why folks are actually viewing the pink haired star as being a bit over the hill. Boxing, in spite of everything, has a means of taking its toll. Legends, nevertheless, even getting older legends, die laborious.

That’s why some would possibly argue it’s unwise to easily write the 61-2-2 multi-divisional titlist off. Sure, Canelo doesn’t appear to have the pop he as soon as did in recent times, and sure there are these arguing the person is avoiding powerhouse David Benavidez, however Canelo has extra expertise in opposition to prime degree competitors than most different fighters in historical past. Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, Dmitry Bivol. These names symbolize simply a number of the notable competitors Canelo has confronted over time. The truth that he has bested the overwhelming majority of that competitors is already a given.

It’s maybe no shock then that the person is closely favored to defeat Edgar Berlanga when the 2 meet Saturday evening in Los Vegas for Canelo’s quite a few tremendous middleweight world titles. Whereas New York’s Berlanga is youthful and maybe larger than Canelo, he’s by no means met anybody near Canelo’s caliber earlier than – not even an getting older Canelo. Nonetheless, the Canelo-Berlanga bout goes to air on pay per view. Canelo, like Mayweather earlier than him, solely fights for a pay per view charge. It’s one of many perks of ring greatness.

The possibilities of Canelo-Berlanga being an enormous paper per view success, nevertheless, is unlikely. He could have helped herald two million buys when he fought Mayweather over a decade in the past, however Berlanga isn’t a prime title. And that is an period the place solely the most important names deliver within the largest numbers. Not that Canelo cares. Once more, he’s been at this recreation for a very long time, and has been capable of basically name the photographs for years now.

Canelo additionally has a cussed streak – or is it advertising and marketing sense? He has no intention of being one of many numerous fighters who ended up going broke as a result of he was unwilling or unable to dictate the course of his profession. For that, frankly, the man deserves credit score.