Joe Calzaghe says he doesn’t believe Canelo Alvarez belongs among the all-time greats in boxing. He points out that the losses Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) had when he went against good fighters, along with his controversial win over Gennadiy Golovkin, make him unworthy of being considered an all-time great in his book.
Spine Check: Canelo fails it
The absence of a spine that Canelo showed by choosing not to fight David Benavidez is enough to shut him off the all-time list. David Morrell or Christian Mbilli chose not to fight ‘The Mexican Monster’, showing fans that Canelo is in pure jelly and not worthy of sitting among the all-time greats on the Mount Rushmore of boxing.
The 35-year-old Canelo is coming into their ‘Fight of the Century’ in Las Vegas on September 13 with a 12-round unanimous decision loss to 154-pound Terence Crawford. It was a similar poor performance Canelo put in when he fought William Scull earlier this year on May 3, but this time the judges didn’t give him a decision.
Many boxing fans would agree with retired 53-year-old former two-division world champion Calzaghe that Canelo has not done enough to be included among the all-time greats. Although he defeated many notable fighters, many of them were past their prime when he fought them. Alvarez also has questionable wins over these three:
- Gennady Golovkin 1 & 2
- Erislandy Lara
- William Scull
- Austin Trout
The harsh Mount Rushmore reality
Speaking of the Mount Rushmore of boxing status, Canelo doesn’t judge Calzaghe’s mind to be included. However, if we want to broaden the brush to include others, Terence Crawford also doesn’t count as an all-time great because his resume is too weak. Capturing division titles against faded fighters is significant.
The Mount Rushmore all time greats
- Sugar Ray Robinson
- Muhammad Ali
- Henry Armstrong
- Joe Louis
“I wouldn’t put him as an all-time great because he lost his biggest fights,” Joe Calzaghe said. goat scenetalk about Canelo Alvarez not being rated as an everyday great. “He’s still a great fighter. He’s got some big wins, but against the top fighters he’s lost, right?
“He lost to Mayweather. I thought he definitely lost one of the Golovkin fights. He had a great career. If you keep fighting and fighting, you’re going to lose. Father Time catches up with everybody. I just hope he doesn’t stay too long and get beaten by mediocre fighters,” Calzaghe said of Canelo.
Canelo’s best wins
- Gennadiy Golovkin II – * Doubtful
- Sergey Kovalev
- Caleb Plant
- Billy Joe Saunders
- Miguel Cotto
- Daniel Jacobs
- Callum Smith
- Erislandy Lara – * Doubtful
- Shane Mosley
- Austin Trout – Close
Too many faded enemies, not enough risks
Those wins weren’t good enough for Canelo to be included in the coveted all-time great country club. For Canelo to be included, he would have to show some backbone by fighting Benavidez, Beterbiev, Jaron Ennis and Christian Mbilli.
Subpar Performances
- Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- Dmitry Bivol
- Gennadiy Golovkin I & II
- Erislandy Lara
- William Scull
- Terence Crawford
Last updated on 13/11/2025
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