By Oscar Pick
SAUL ‘Canelo’ Alvarez looks to continue his gripping story when he clashes with super middleweight Edgar Berlanga this Saturday.
The unified world champion will return to his fortress – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas – as a top contender, hoping to continue his dominance of the 168lbs weight class.
However, if he wants to enhance his greatness, and even become the greatest Mexican fighter of all time, Canelo must ensure he has more memorable moments after his next outing.
With that said, the pound-for-pound star will certainly have plenty to celebrate when he finally hangs up his gloves.
Canelo Alvarez’s Story So Far
Alvarez’s nearly 20-year career began in 2005, when the Mexican, then just 15 years old and with a face full of freckles, made his professional debut.
However, it took less than five years for him to overcome his first punch, knocking out Jose Cotto – Miguel’s brother – in the ninth round after recovering from a sharp left hook early on.
Then, before facing a faded version of Shane Mosley, Canelo won his first world title against Matthew Hatton, with the comprehensive victory kicking off a ruthless breakout that would later see him dubbed the “British Smasher”.
But after six defences of the WBC title, the super welterweight was convincingly beaten by Floyd Mayweather in 2013, despite a judge, whose 114-114 scorecard remains one of the worst in recent memory, having forgotten her Specsavers appointment that morning.
Regardless, Canelo was able to respond to his first defeat with remarkable maturity, reinventing his style to become a more responsible defensive player.
And these improvements eventually helped him secure notable wins over the likes of Erislandy Lara – albeit in a controversial decision – and Miguel Cotto, who, like Mosley, was still far from his peak.
In fact, these performances, followed by a brutal performance against Amir Khan, a boxer of small stature, gave Alvarez a bad reputation, as some fans viewed him as a fighter who preferred to flaunt his achievements against dubious opponents rather than take on everyone.
That is, until he clashed with Gennady Golovkin. After winning the world title in 2010, and then spending the next six years crushing anyone who stepped into the ring with him, the fearsome Kazakh entered his long-awaited showdown with Canelo as the undisputed king of the 160-pound division.
Furthermore, Golovkin’s devastating power, combined with his opponent’s evasive moves, made for a much more entertaining fight than most people anticipated.
Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy
However, the night was marred somewhat by a puzzling 118-110 scoreline in favor of Canelo, contributing to a controversial result that left many either extremely frustrated or completely stunned.
For both fighters, a rematch was the only option. And once again, the clash was nothing short of fireworks, as the pair continued to deliver 12 exciting rounds before Alvarez – this time with a more decisive performance – emerged victorious.
Soon after, a new chapter in the seasoned fighter’s story opened as he found his footing in the super middleweight division.
While, after his Golovkin bouts, Canelo put in an impressive performance against Daniel Jacobs, before dispatching an aging and tired Sergey Kovalev at 175 pounds, it could be argued that the second phase of his illustrious career only began to take shape when he employed an unconventional but effective tactic against Callum Smith, hitting the Liverpool man hard on the arm with a hammering right hand.
Less than a year later, he had amassed all the jewels – defeating Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant with spectacular stoppages – to become the undisputed champion at 168lbs.
It’s safe to say that everything went according to plan until his return to the light heavyweight division; only this time, he was up against a highly skilled technician at the peak of his powers.
The size difference is one thing, but when facing Dmitry Bivol, a master of range control, Canelo is also forced to compete with his opponent’s top-notch footwork.
Dmitry Bivol attacks Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at T-Mobile Arena on May 7, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
And so, after his second professional defeat, a return to super middleweight – arguably his strongest weight class – seemed the most logical option.
At this point, however, Alvarez finds himself in an uphill battle to replicate his earlier success. A trio of underwhelming fights with Golovkin and a wide unanimous decision win over John Ryder—which extended his record against the Brits to 8-0—precede his showdown with Jermell Charlo, whose passive performance made for a truly uninspiring event.
And now, with the 34-year-old having successfully defended his title against Jaime Munguia, there are suspicions that the four-division world champion’s prime is coming to an end.
