Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez has lost just twice in his 65-fight campaign.
The first defeat came at the hands of Floyd Mayweather back in 2013 when Canelo was 23-years-old. Mayweather, who would famously retire undefeated, won the 152 pounds catchweight bout by majority decision.
Alvarez went unbeaten from then until just two years ago when he made a second jump up to light-heavyweight having previously defeated Sergey Kovalev. That time it was a step too far and Dmitry Bivol bested him over the distance to keep his title.
In the Mexican’s nine fights at super-middleweight no man has managed to get the better of him, but, according to most, he has not yet faced the division’s toughest test in David Benavidez.
In an interview with FightHype, former Canelo promoter and multi-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya said Benavidez beats his former charge ‘easily.’
“I think Benavidez will win easy. He has the better arsenal, he has the better footwork. The jab is incredible. And just the fact that he’s young, you have to take a look at that. For instance, it’ll literally be like De La Hoya-Chavez, Benavidez-Canelo. I think it’s the same age [gap]. And he’s the bigger guy.
I’m not knocking Canelo. I’m the one who got him a $365 million contract for five years. Why would I be knocking him? It’s just ridiculous. When I talk about Canelo it’s only criticising the ability inside the ring, because I can. I’m a fighter myself and I can critique and I have my opinion. I think Canelo has done amazing, he’s still doing amazing. Is he slowing down? Naturally. He’s getting older. That’s what happens.”
Alvarez is next out on September 14 to defend his unified titles against Edgar Berlanga. Meanwhile, Benavidez grew tired of waiting for his shot and decided himself to move up to light-heavyweight.
