Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said that he thinks “Father Time” is catching up to Canelo Alvarez, and he’s showing signs of “declining” heading into his fight this Saturday night against little-known Cuban William Scull for the undisputed super middleweight championship on May 3rd on DAZN PPV in Riyadh.
De La Hoya notes that the 34-year-old Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) has been in some wars lately, absorbed punishment that has chipped away at him. He feels that a fight between the Mexican superstar and Terence Crawford is a “50-50” one.
Signs of Decline
Oscar’s comment about Canelo’s visible deterioration is echoed by many boxing fans, who talk about how he struggled down the stretch against his last two opponents, Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia.
Some fans view both of those fighters as career-long hype jobs, created to generate revenue but with mediocre talent. Canelo should have blown them out of the water if he were still fighting at a high level, but he struggled through many of the later rounds.
“We can all see it. Canelo is declining. Father Time catches up to you.That’s the nature of the beast,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fighthype. “Canelo is getting into some wars now that chips away at the block. Do I favor him over Canelo? I don’t know. I think it’s a 50-50 fight at this point, given where they’re at in their careers. 1%? I would go with Canelo just because of the weight factor.”
At this point, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has to be seen as having an excellent chance of defeating Canelo in October. It wouldn’t be a shock if he beats him in an even more one-sided fashion than Dmitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather Jr. did.
Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) might pick Canelo off before he gets to the Crawford fight, as he’s got a lot of talent. As we have seen in the past, Cuban fighters pose a challenge for Canelo. Erislandy Lara in 2014. He was outboxed in a Mayweather-esque fashion, but the judges gave him a controversial decision. Scull can do a lot of the same things that Lara can, and he’s fighting an older Canelo.
Last Updated on 05/01/2025
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