A legendary super-middleweight has made a shock claim about Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo has established himself as arguably the best super-middleweight of his generation over the last seven years, where he has held the undisputed championship on two separate occasions.
The 35-year-old from Guadalajara made the move up from 160lbs back in 2018 and since then has defeated the likes of Jermell Charlo, Callum Smith, Caleb Plant and Gennady Golovkin.
The Mexican great has also captured world titles at light-middleweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight respectively, suffering just threw defeats since making his professional debut as a 15-year-old back in 2005.
Whilst many consider Canelo to be one of the greatest to have ever laced up a pair of gloves, former long-reigning unified super-middleweight champion and Welsh boxing icon Joe Calzaghe does not share this opinion.
Speaking to Boxing Scene, Calzaghe admitted that although he does regard Canelo as a ‘great fighter’, he says he does not consider him to be an ‘all-time-great’ in a surprising claim.
“I wouldn’t put him as an all-time great, because he lost his biggest fights. He’s still a great fighter. He’s had some great wins, but against the top fighters, he’s lost, hasn’t he?
“He lost to Mayweather. I thought he definitely lost one of the Golovkin fights. He’s had a great career. If you keep fighting and fighting, you’re going to lose. Father Time catches up to everybody. I just hope he doesn’t go on too long and get beaten by mediocre fighters.”
Calzaghe had an outstanding campaign at 168lbs, making no less than 20 successful defences of his WBO world title over a 10-year period.
Canelo now finds himself at a crossroads in his career after he suffered a defeat to Terence Crawford in September, although the 35-year-old is expected to make a return to the ring in 2026 after he recovers an injury that he sustained to his elbow.
