Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) holds the WBC and WBA world titles at 168 pounds. However, the hardware is largely immaterial whenever Canelo steps in the ring as he is widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The boxing world has literally watched Saul “Canelo” Alvarez grow up before its eyes.
He was once a freckled, red-haired teenager gradually building his way towards prominence on little club shows in his native Guadalajara, Mexico. Sometimes, he fought as much as eight times a year. His skills sharpened. His confidence grew. He was 15 years old fighting-and beating-grown men. Slowly, Alvarez rose up and began fighting in the United States and his career arc upward began to soar.
Though right at this time in boxing, there’s no doubt across any platform that Canelo Alvarez is the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
On Saturday, November 6, Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) will be hunting history by putting his WBC/WBO/WBA World Super Middleweight titles on the line against undefeated IBF World Super Middleweight Champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on PBC on SHOWTIME pay-per-view. Both Alvarez are Plant will be looking to strengthen their legacies as the first undisputed super middleweight champion in the four-belt era.
Alvarez has not lost a fight in eight years, carrying a 15-fight unbeaten streak into the 168-pound showdown, while Plant has never lost.
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“The goal in the beginning of this year was to win all of the super middleweight belts and right now, Caleb Plant stands in my way,” Alvarez said. “My biggest goal since December (2020) was to make history this year in becoming the first undisputed Mexican super middleweight champion.
“I have a job to do and no one is going to stand in my way from me doing it.”
Alvarez has beaten eight undefeated fighters in his career going back to his pro debut and it’s significant because five of the eight have come in the last five years-against undefeated fighters in their prime-like Plant.
Here is a look at five victories that have defined the career of future Hall of Famer Canelo Alvarez.
Top 5 Defining Victories of Canelo Alvarez
While Canelo Alvarez has had a remarkable career with numerous significant wins, pinpointing his absolute "greatest" win is challenging due to various factors such as the opponent's condition and the circumstances surrounding the fight. Here's an examination of five key victories that highlight his career:
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1. Canelo Alvarez vs. Austin Trout (April 20, 2013)
Significance: This was supposed to be among Alvarez’s earliest tests. He was 21 years old and entered the fight wanting to avenge his brother, Rigoberto, who lost the WBA title to Trout in February 2011 in Guadalajara.
Alvarez wound up knocking down Trout for the first time in his career in the seventh round. “My brother was a big motivation for this,” Alvarez said. “I did this for him. Trout came away surprised, saying, “(Alvarez) shocked us. I was prepared for a different fighter.
2. Canelo Alvarez vs. Callum Smith (December 19, 2020)
Significance: This was the first leg of Alvarez’s trifecta quest to become the undisputed super middleweight world champion. Alvarez, who completed the brothers sweep by beating Callum’s older brother Liam Smith when he was a junior middleweight in 2016, thoroughly dominated the 6-foot-3 Callum, who had a seven-inch height advantage over the 5-foot-8 Alvarez and an eight-inch reach advantage. It didn’t matter.
To Callum, it seemed as if Alvarez had eight arms and 10 hands. “He’s smart. He’s clever. He sets you little traps and keeps you thinking,” he said of Alvarez. “Before you know it, he's closing the ground. He's a good fighter. His jab was really good. It surprised me a little bit.
3. Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto (November 21, 2015)
Significance: Future Hall of Famer Cotto was 35 and on the downside of his career. But he was still a respected force to Alvarez, who was 25. This was the classic case of young lion against old lion. Alvarez’s star was rising, while Cotto would not fight again for two more years and ended his illustrious career in 2017.
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Alvarez, feeling highly confident, stalked Cotto and towards the latter rounds cornered and punished the Puerto Rican legend. That proved to be the difference. “Much respect to Miguel Cotto,” Alvarez said afterward.
4. Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev (November 2, 2019)
Significance: Alvarez, then 29, made history by jumping 15 pounds to become the 25th four-division champion in boxing history, dispensing Kovalev in the 11th round to win the WBO 175-pound belt. Kovalev tried to work behind a good jab early on, but Canelo began burrowing in and landing blunt body shots on the 36-year-old Russian.
Alvarez gradually wore Kovalev down and plowed a left hook to Kovalev’s jaw in the 11th. The punch staggered Kovalev. “It was a very close fight because he was defensive, he was closing up his guard,” Alvarez said. “All he was doing was trying to establish points, but we knew what was coming.
5. Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II (September 15, 2018)
The case for: Even at age 36, this version of “GGG” was almost certainly the best fighter Alvarez ever defeated. It was a highly entertaining fight - arguably 2018’s Fight of the Year and the best action scrap of their trilogy - and Alvarez really looked like he’d gone up a level compared to their first fight, a year earlier. (Well, at least for the first nine rounds, he did … )
Canelo boxed more in their first encounter while Golovkin stalked. Those roles were reversed. Canelo got off to a strong start, bruising Golovkin’s face and ribs with thudding shots. “I showed my victory with facts. He was the one who was backing up,” Alvarez said. “I feel satisfied because I gave a great fight.
Other Notable Fights
There are plenty of other fights to consider on Alvarez’s record, but they each come with a big “yeah, but.” Erislandy Lara? Highly debatable decision. Austin Trout? Moderately debatable decision. Amir Khan? Way too small. Shane Mosley? Way too old. James Kirkland? Way too limited.
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Two names come to mind for me when deciding how this fight will play out. First, Erislandy Lara, who I saw outbox but not outfight Alvarez. Second is Alexander Povetkin, whose horrible performance against Dillian Whyte was reportedly due to coronavirus residue, which Alvarez also claims to have been afflicted by. Can Saunders, another left-hander with a bit more of a reach advantage than Lara, take advantage of a possibly weakened Canelo? Don't bet on it unless Cinco de Mayo weekend gets cancelled and nobody from Texas or Mexico shows up for the fight.
Predictions and Analysis
Whenever a fight of this magnitude comes down the pike, we invite members of our editorial staff to provide a quick analysis of the match and forecast the outcome.
- Canelo KO in 10: There’s a huge difference in the level of maturity between these two fighters and that will be seen in the ring when Canelo becomes the first to corner the fleet-footed Saunders and put him on his back.
- Canelo by decision: He does everything better than Saunders, who will fight well enough to survive but not win.
- CANELO via 9th-round stoppage: The best the cagey UK fighter will be able to muster is trying to go the distance with the Mexican. Callum Smith pulled it off back in December, but Saunders won't quite get there.
- Canelo, bodyshots, between the eighth and the tenth: Saunders, something of a persona-non-grata here in his home country after a series of public relations disasters, is very much a man out of time.
- Canelo by majority decision: The southpaw will find ways to frustrate Alvarez at times, to be sure, but expect Alvarez to slow down the jittery motions of the Brit by punishing him to the body en route to a mostly clear win on the cards.
- Canelo will win with a dominating UD: Saunders will be more elusive and more savvy than most of Canelo’s opponents, occasionally getting in some sharp counters. However, he will begin to tire late from an accumulation of Canelo’s body work and from backing up. This will allow the Mexican to increase the tempo looking for a way to close the show. The Traveler will survive.
Saunders seems capable of making it interesting, but Alvarez wins by wide decision or late TKO.
More than 60,000 fight fans are expected to gather at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, on Saturday. The turnout for the fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders represents a turning point in the COVID-19 era.
Boxing has been pretty much walled-off to the general public since a sellout crowd of 15,816 witnessed the second encounter between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on Feb. Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) owns the WBO belt.