Is this your face from boxing?
By Manny Delgado: Boxing’s biggest superstar, labeled as the face of boxing by the sport itself, considered by many to be a debatable living legend, who will undoubtedly cement his place in the Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the greatest Mexican fighters to ever live . That said, his last four fights, as of 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 the least bit competitive. This left many fans of the sport wondering, “This is your face of boxing?”
Needless to say, fans have not been happy with his recent matchup choices, which begs the question, “Should Canelo continue boxing or should he retire to play golf instead?” as he was observed to thoroughly enjoy it, at one point even criticized by boxing media for playing too often and not concentrating enough on his boxing training.
Canelo vs. Benavidez
In his defense we can say he has earned the right to pick his fights as he pleases, Canelo often claims this too. After doing all that, he went as far as becoming the only super middleweight champion of the world in the history of the sport in 2021, facing the best the sport had to offer in his weight class. Still, one big star remains, and that is the boogeyman David Benavidez, otherwise known as ‘The Mexican Monster’, and for exceptional reasons.
His high volume, fast and explosive style is cited as one that could give Canelo’s low output, mainly counterpunching nature, major problems. Stylistically, this is the type of battle clash that could go down as an instant classic. Depending on who wins, it could catapult Benavidez to superstardom, after defeating the man himself who is “the face of boxing” or, in Canelo’s case, silencing the naysayers once and for all, and officially being recognized as the man who beat what many consider to be his biggest challenge to date.
Canelo and Benavidez’s year-long verbal feud is a tense exchange between their opposing opinions on the matter, and Canelo is briefly quoted in an interview:
“He brings nothing to the table for me; he only brings 25 pounds more to the fight of the night.”
It was over 10 months ago, most recently Canelo made the claim that he would fight Benavidez if the purse was $150 million to $200 million. To which Benavidez responded with the furious attitude of:
“@canelo if I have nothing to offer then why are you demanding to get 150-200 million to fight someone worth nothing? Hopefully, after you make that 150 million, you’ll have enough left over to buy some nuts.”
Benavidez’s argument, in combination with other statements he made about the fight, in fact, why are fewer opponents allowed the gift of winning the Canelo sweep? And not he who is more than deserving. Whether we’ll ever see an official fight poster that reads “Canelo vs. Benavidez” remains to be seen and is one of the biggest questions in boxing right now.
Canelo vs. Crawford
That said, most recently, there is a rumor that Canelo vs. Crawford is in the works for September 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 168 pounds. A bout that could offer what you might consider guaranteed excitement due to Crawford’s impressive boxing skills. He is considered one of the most well-rounded or “complete” boxers in the sport with multiple high-level attributes that make him as adaptable of a fighter as they come, currently still undefeated with a record of 41-0 and 2x. undisputed champion in two weight classes, both in welterweight (140) and super lightweight (147).
In Canelo’s case, we’ll he is the former undisputed middleweight champion (168) who beat everyone who gave him a legitimate challenge, probably at least, since most fans agree that he lost to Golovkin the first time, and the consecutive rematches become largely a matter of opinion as to who won, as they are not considered decisive victories for either side, depending on who you ask, but that is another topic entirely. Aside from this and the big asterisk of whether or not he can beat Benavidez, Canelo is widely regarded as the current face of boxing because of his impressive resume and equally impressive boxing ability. Primarily known for his elite-level counter striking ability and slick defense that have earned him fight highlights pleasing to purists and casual fans alike.
A mega-fight such as these fans see as a fantasy matchup, possibly manifesting into reality, would be a massive blockbuster, but despite this, 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 see his record, he only beat one good fighter. Besides that, he hasn’t beaten other good fighters like Spence.”
For his part, Crawford confidently responded on Twitter with:
“Noted! Just remember what you said, because I’ve always had the joy of making someone’s look like nobody’s.”
This potential fight, while offering a high probability of possible excitement in the build-up and once they touch gloves, has many fans questioning whether a fight where a much lighter Crawford moves up two weight classes to fight a man who is obviously very heavier than he is is even 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 a lighter weight through higher weight classes.
Canelo vs. Buffalo
As an example, fairly recently, Canelo moved up to light heavyweight (174) to fight Bivol, a fight that casual fans saw as “a cherrypick gone wrong,” but die-hard 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 around extra weight that made it difficult. to move, which he was. Already considered a heavy and flat-footed fighter who looked like he walked in mud, adding more literal weight to his fighting frame was not a good combination. Not to mention, his gas tank eventually ran out, and he was constantly getting marked by shots he could have otherwise blocked or avoided, not taking any credit away from Bivol’s ability to place his shots effectively. Bottom line, if Bivol and Canelo were both at 168, Canelo probably would have hit less.
The potential verdict of Canelo vs Crawford
Could Crawford face a similar ruling? True, despite what many consider to be a “complete” warrior, more akin to a chameleon than a human. Will his boxing skills translate into moving up a full two weight classes? or will he simply suffer Canelo’s fate? and short of the naturally bigger man, his skills take a massive hit from the added fighting weight. Any opinion on the matter is pure speculation, and no one can say for sure what the outcome will be, the only thing that is certain is that not only will Crawford be in the ring against Canelo, but he will also be fighting himself as due to the disadvantages of fighting at a weight you are not usually used to fighting at. If there is any man or boxer who can overcome both challenges, it is certainly Crawford. For that reason, even though it is considered an unnecessary fight by many fans of the sport, it can still be a highly promising and entertaining fight.
Canelo’s legacy
But aside from this potential matchup, what’s next for Canelo? Will he finally face off against his personal boogeyman, David Benavidez? If we want to follow the whole story of events and indirect exchanges between the two, it seems very unlikely. The most reasonable prediction would be to say he continues to give the sport of boxing fights in which his opponents pose no real threat to him, thereby continuing his retirement tour with no clear end in sight or expectation of him for anything else . What do you personally believe is in the near future for Canelo? and how does this affect his overall legacy as a fighter?
