Canelo Alvarez has shared the ring with some huge punchers.
The Mexican superstar has reigned from super-welterweight up to light heavyweight, facing some heavy hitters in the process.
Sergey Kovalev, Miguel Cotto, Daniel Jacobs and Shane Mosley are among the knockout artists that Canelo has fought, with each of those men having a knockout ratio of over 80%.
The one name though that usually stands out when discussing big punchers that Canelo has took on is two-weight world champion Gennady Golovkin.
Alvarez and Golovkin met on three occasions, with Canelo winning two and the other ending in a draw. Golovkin is renowned for his big power, with 37 of his 42 wins coming by knockout.
Despite that, Canelo insists that ‘GGG’ wasn’t the biggest puncher he ever faced, as he told the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast that it was James Kirkland that hit him hardest.
“Everybody can say Golovkin, but I never felt that bad like Kirkland. Kirkland hit my arms and it felt like rocks. I say I need to finish this guy right now, because he’s going to hit me all the fight around.”
Alvarez fought Kirkland in May 2015, claiming a third round knockout win with a highlight reel right hand that rendered his opponent unconscious.
Canelo’s last win came against another big puncher, when he defeated Edgar Berlanga by unanimous decision in September.
Attention has now turned to who the unified champion may face next, with a fight against Terence Crawford regularly discussed, but talks have begun over Alvarez facing a different opponent.
