Is this your boxing face?
By Manny Delgado: Boxing’s biggest superstar, hailed as the face of boxing by the sport itself, who many consider a debatable living legend, who will undoubtedly cement his place in the Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the most great Mexican fighters who ever lived. That said, his last four fights, over the last year and a half, have left a lot to be desired. All easily winnable fights that posed no real threat to him and weren’t even remotely competitive. It left many fans of the sport wondering, “Is this your boxing face?”
Needless to say, fans have not been happy with his recent fight choices, and the question arises: “Should Canelo continue boxing or should he retire to play golf instead?” as it was observed to enjoy a lot, at some point even being criticized by the boxing media for playing too often and not concentrating enough on his boxing training.
Canelo vs. Benavidez
In his defense, we can say that he has earned the right to choose his fights as he likes, Canelo often says this too. Having done everything, going as far as becoming the only super middleweight champion of the world in the history of the sport in 2021 and facing the best that the sport had to offer in his weight class. However, one huge asterisk remains, and that is the boogeyman David Benavidez, otherwise known as “The Mexican Monster”, and for an exceptional reason.
His high volume, fast, and explosive style is mentioned as the one that could give Canelo’s low production, mainly the disposition of counterpunching, huge problems. Stylistically, it’s the kind of wrestling matchup that could go down as an instant classic. Depending on who wins, he could catapult Benavidez to superstardom, having defeated the man himself who is “the face of boxing” or, in the case of Canelo, silence once and for all the naysayers, being officially recognized as the ‘man who fights, which many consider as his biggest challenge until today.
Canelo and Benavidez’s verbal feud that has lasted more than a year is a tense exchange between their opposing views on the matter, Canelo briefly being quoted as saying in an interview:
“He doesn’t bring anything to the table for me; he just brings 25 more pounds into fight night”
It was more than 10 months ago, the most recent Canelo made the claim that he would fight Benavidez if the purse was $150 to $200 million. To which Benavidez responded with the furious disposition of:
“@canelo, if I have nothing to offer, then why do you demand to get 150-200 million to fight someone who is worth nothing? I hope that after making that 150 million, you have enough to buy a couple of nuts.
Benavidez’s argument, in combination with other statements he has made regarding the fight, practically being, why allow lesser opponents the gift of winning the sweepstakes of Canelo? And not him, which is more than deserved. Whether we will ever see an official fight poster that reads “Canelo vs. Benavidez” remains to be seen and is currently one of the biggest questions in the sport of boxing.
Canelo vs. Crawford
That said, more recently, there is a rumor that Canelo vs. Crawford is in the works for September 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 168 pounds. A matchup that can offer what you might consider to be guaranteed excitement due to Crawford’s impressive boxing skills. He is considered one of the most complete or most complete boxers in the sport with many high-level attributes that make him as adaptable a fighter as they come, he is currently undefeated with a record of 41- 0 and being 2x. Undisputed champion in two weight classes, both welterweight (140) and super lightweight (147).
In Canelo’s case, it’s the former undisputed middleweight champion (168) who beat everyone who gave him a legitimate challenge, arguably at least, since most fans agree that he has lost to Golovkin the first time, and that back-to-back rematches are largely considered a matter of opinion as to who won, as they are not considered decisive victories for either side, depending on who you ask, but this it’s a whole other subject. Aside from that and the huge asterisk of whether or not he can beat Benavidez, Canelo is widely considered the current face of boxing due to his impressive resume and equally impressive boxing ability. Primarily known for her elite-level counterpunch ability and slick defense that has earned her fight highlights that appeal to purists and casual fans alike.
A mega-fight like this that fans consider a fantasy matchup, possibly manifesting in reality, would be a massive blockbuster draw, but despite that, Canelo is actually very dismissive of Crawford, going so far as to say:
“Look, I respect Terence Crawford. He’s very talented, but he’s only won one big fight. If you look at his record, he’s only beaten one good fighter. Other than that, he hasn’t beaten other good fighters like Spence.”
Crawford, in turn, confidently responded on Twitter with:
“I noticed! Remember what you said because I always had the joy of making someone look like no one.”
This potential fight, although it offers a high probability of possible excitement during the build-up and once they touch the gloves, many fans have asked if a fight where a much lighter Crawford moves up two weight classes to fight a man who is naturally much heavier than him. it’s also a fight worth considering. We’ve all seen what happens when a naturally smaller fighter moves up in weight to fight a bigger man, and it rarely ends well; Crawford’s exceptional boxing skills aside, power, stamina and mobility do not translate well from lighter weight through higher weight classes.
Canelo vs. buffalo
For example, quite recently, Canelo moved down to lightweight (174) to fight Bivol, a fight that casual fans consider a “cherrypick gone wrong,” but avid fans of the sport knew better and that Bivol could be Canelo’s biggest challenge to date. . Canelo looked completely out of his element in his fight against Bivol, not only because Bivol is as elite as they come, with his high mobility and intensity, Soviet style, but because Canelo looked like he was carrying a weight extra that was hard. to move, that was. Already considered a heavy and flat fighter who looked like he was walking in the mud, adding more literal weight to his fighting frame was not a good combination. Not to mention that his gas tank ran out, and he continued to get marked by shots that could otherwise have been blocked or avoided, taking no credit for Bivol’s ability to land his shots effectively. Bottom line, if Bivol and Canelo were both at 168, Canelo probably would have been hit less.
The Potential Verdict of Canelo vs. Crawford
Could Crawford face a similar verdict? Where despite being what many consider a “complete” fighter, more like a chameleon than a human. Will his boxing skills translate into moving up two full weight classes? or will he just suffer Canelo’s fate? and down to the naturally bigger man, his skills take a massive hit through the added fighting weight. Any opinion on the matter is pure speculation, and no one can say for sure what the result will be, the only thing that is certain is that not only will Crawford be in the ring against Canelo, but he will also fight for himself. to the disadvantages of fighting at a weight that they are not used to fighting in. If there is one man or boxer who can overcome both challenges, it is definitely Crawford. Therefore, despite being considered a pointless fight by many fans of the sport, it could still be a very promising and entertaining fight.
Canelo’s legacy
But outside of this potential matchup, what’s next for Canelo? Will he finally face off against his personal boogeyman, David Benavidez? If we are to follow the entire narrative of events and indirect exchanges between the two, this seems very unlikely. The most reasonable prediction would be to say that he continues to give the sport of boxing in which his opponents do not pose a real threat to him, thus continuing his retirement tour with no clear end in sight or expectation from him for something different . What do you personally think is in the near future for Canelo? and how does this impact his overall legacy as a fighter?
