This is Your Face of Boxing?
By Manny Delgado: Boxing’s biggest superstar, hailed as the face of boxing by the sport itself, whom many consider an arguable 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 being 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 were not even the slightest bit competitive. It’s left many fans of the sport wondering, “This is your face of boxing?”
Needless to say, fans have not been happy with his recent bout choices, and it begs the question, “Should Canelo continue boxing or should he retire to play golf instead?” like he’s been observed to enjoy thoroughly, at one point even being criticized by boxing media for playing too often and not focusing on his boxing training enough.
Canelo vs Benavidez
In his defense, we could say he’s earned the right to choose his fights as he pleases, Canelo oftentimes claims this as well. Having done it all, going as far as to become the only super middleweight champion of the world in the history of the sport back in 2021 and facing the best the sport has had to offer in his weight class. Still, one huge asterisk remains, and that’s the boogeyman David Benavidez, otherwise known as ‘The Mexican Monster,’ and for exceptional reason.
His high volume, fast, and explosive style is cited as one that could give Canelo’s low output, primarily counterpunching disposition, huge problems. Stylistically, it’s the type of fight clash that could go down as an instant classic. Depending on who wins, it could catapult Benavidez to superstardom, having defeated the man himself who is “the face of boxing” or, in Canelo’s case, silence the naysayers once and for all, being recognized officially as the man who beat, who many considered to be his biggest challenge to date.
Canelo and Benavidez’s verbal feud spanning over a year is a tense exchange between their opposing opinions on the matter, Canelo in brief being cited as saying in an interview:
“He brings nothing to the table for me; he just brings 25 pounds more in the fight of the night”
That was over 10 months ago, most recently canelo made the claim he would fight Benavidez if the purse were $150 million to $200 million. To which Benavidez responded with the irate disposition of:
“@canelo, if I have nothing to offer, then why are you demanding you get 150-200 million to fight someone who isn’t worth anything? Hopefully, after you make that 150 million, you have enough left over to buy a pair of nuts.”
Benavidez’s argument, in combination with other statements he has made regarding the fight, practically being, why are lesser opponents allowed the gift of winning the Canelo sweepstakes? And not him, who is more than deserving. Whether or not we’ll ever see an official fight poster that reads “Canelo vs. Benavidez” remains to be seen and is currently one of the biggest questions in the sport of boxing.
Canelo vs. Crawford
That being said, most recently, there’s a rumor Canelo vs. Crawford is in the works for September 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 168 pounds. A matchup that can offer what you could consider to be 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 being undefeated with a record of 41-0 and being 2x undisputed champion in two weight classes, both in welterweight (140) and super lightweight (147).
In Canelo’s case, we’ll he’s former undisputed middleweight champion (168) who beat everyone who posed a legitimate challenge to him, arguably at least, since most fans agree he lost to Golovkin the first time, and the consecutive rematches are largely considered 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 subject entirely. Aside from this and the huge asterisk of whether or not he can beat Benavidez, Canelo is widely considered the current face of boxing due to his impressive resume and equally impressive boxing ability. Primarily known for his elite-level counterpunching ability and slick defense that has earned him fight highlights that are pleasing to purists and casual fans alike.
A mega-fight such as this fans consider a fantasy matchup, possibly manifesting into reality, would be a massive blockbuster draw, but despite this, Canelo is actually very dismissive towards Crawford, going as far as to say:
“Look, I respect Terence Crawford. He’s very talented, but he just won one big fight. If you see his record, he just beat one good fighter. Other than that, he hasn’t beat other good fighters like Spence.”
Crawford, in turn, confidently responded on Twitter with:
“Noted! Just remember what you said because I’ve always had the joy in making somebody’s look like nobodies.”
This Potential fight, although it offers a high likelihood of possible excitement during the buildup and once they touch gloves, many fans have questioned if a fight where a much lighter Crawford moves up two weight classes to fight a man that is naturally much heavier than him 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. Bivol
As an example, fairly recently, Canelo moved up to light heavyweight (174) to fight Bivol, a fight casual fans considered “a cherrypick gone wrong,” but avid 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 as if he were carrying around extra weight that made it hard to move, which he was. Already considered a heavy- and flat-footed fighter who looks like he’s walking in mud, adding more literal weight to his fight frame was not a good combination. Not to mention, his gas tank eventually ran out, and he kept getting tagged by shots he could potentially otherwise have blocked or avoided, not taking any credit away from Bivol’s ability to place his shots effectively. In short sum, were Bivol and Canelo both at 168, Canelo would have likely got hit less.
The Potential Verdict of Canelo vs Crawford
Could Crawford face a similar verdict? Where despite being what many consider a “complete” fighter, 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 fall short of the naturally bigger man, his skills taking a massive hit through the added fight weight. Any opinion on the matter is purely speculation, and no one can say for certain 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’ll also be fighting himself due to the drawbacks of fighting at a weight you are not typically accustomed to fighting in. If there’s any man or boxer who can overcome both challenges, it’s definitely Crawford. For that reason, despite being considered an unnecessary fight by many fans of the sport, it could still be a highly promising and entertaining fight.
Canelo’s Legacy
But aside from this potential matchup, what is next for Canelo? Will he finally face off against his personal boogeyman, David Benavidez? If we are to follow the entire narrative of events and indirect exchanges between the two, this seems to be very unlikely. The most reasonable prediction would be to say he continues giving the sport of boxing fights in which his opponents don’t pose any real threat to him, thereby continuing his retirement tour with no clear end in sight or expectation from him for anything different. What do you personally believe is in the near future for Canelo? and how does this impact his overall legacy as a fighter?
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