By: Sean Crose
Face it – Canelo Alvarez rules the world (i.e. the boxing world). Know why? Because he deserves it. Although social media indicates that there are a lot of people who aren’t interested in the guy, the Mexican redhead is definitely the biggest force in the sport right now. Boxers like Gervonta Davis, Tyson Fury, and others can certainly claim to be popular and interesting. However, they haven’t quite achieved what Canelo has, at least not in 2021. We’re not talking pay-per-view numbers either. We are talking about a total combination of many things.
For starters – and this is big – Canelo has been fighting as often as possible in 2021, and certainly more than any other big-name boxer out there. While there may be good reasons for Fury’s, Errol Spences, and Terence Crawford of the world to have to fight each other at least a few times, Canelo has overcome this to fight three times in 2021. That’s for sure. Certainly not the entirety of a lot of fights, but that level of activity is uncanny coming from a top contemporary boxer, at least. Furthermore, two of Canelo’s three competitors this year, Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders respectively, represent considerable rivalry (at least on paper). However, people would point to names like Golovkin, Benevidez, Charlo and shake their heads. Forget it, but who else has regularly challenged himself in 2021 the way Canelo did?
However, it has been more than winning matches for Canelo over the past year – as he has won in thunderous fashion. None of this man’s three contenders for 2021 – Plant, or Saunders, nor is it a passer for frontman Avni Mildrim, has edged the gap with a 57-1 diverse title list- 2. Canelo not only emerged victorious, he ended matches with exclamation marks all year. And while, yes, there are other big potential fights going on (I’m probably the only person left on earth who doesn’t mind a third GGG battle), credit has to be taken when it’s due.
Simply put, Canelo surpasses the rest of the fighting game right now. He may not dominate a king like Mayweather, Tyson, Ali or others, but Canelo is – or certainly should be – the face of the sport. He’s simply good – and that’s done. Let’s see what 2022 brings to the man, or perhaps what he brings to 2022. Canelo is nothing if not worth the attention of fans.
