Canelo: The Greatest of his time

Canelo Alvarez achieved history as only the sixth fighter to carry all four major world titles in a single division. He also did it in style. Alvarez became an undisputed super middleweight champion in under a year, the fastest division unification ever. He defeated Callum Smith in late December of 2020 to win the WBA and vacant WBC titles. In February, Canelo destroyed mandatory challenger Avni Yıldırım in under three rounds via corner stoppage. Alvarez took a third fight in under six months on May 8th against Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO belt which he secured via TKO in round 8. He finished off this historic run by defeating Caleb Plant via TKO in round 11 on November 6th. The lead up to the fight was exciting. Canelo Alvarez would face a boxer who was bigger, faster, and arguably stronger defensively. Caleb Plant fights in a similar style to Floyd Mayweather, the only fighter to beat Alvarez. However, there is nobody in all of sports who is more experienced and prepared to rise to the occasion on the big stage than Canelo. In the end, the fight went exactly as most Canelo fights do. He wore Caleb Plant down. There is nobody who is more relentless when it comes to pressuring their opponents. Alvarez attacked Plant with powerful body shots all night. Canelo was not only on a mission to win, but on a mission to win via knockout. He did just that..

It is common knowledge among boxing fans that Canelo Alvarez is the best pound- for-pound fighter in the world, but it is remarkable to realize we are witnessing dominance on a historic level. The combined record of Canelo Alvarez’s last ten opponents is a remarkable 322-10-4. Canelo is 9-0-1 in those fights with the draw being against Gennady Golovkin, who Canelo defeated in a rematch. He appears to improve with each fight. He is a far better fighter today than he was when he lost to Floyd Mayweather at age 23. He has also significantly improved since the controversial draw to Gennady Golovkin in 2017. Nobody is unbeatable in boxing, but Canelo Alvarez appears to be as close to unbeatable as you can get. Alvarez beat three undefeated champions, (Smith, Saunders, and Plant), just this year alone. Not to mention the fact that they were all also all bigger fighters. Alvarez is small for a super middleweight at only five foot seven, but he knocks out bigger fighters with ease. After all, he has a knock out as a light heavyweight. He is the best active boxer in the world right now. In fact, at just 31 years old, Canelo may become one of the greatest of all times.