Anthony Joshua rejects the idea that Canelo Alvarez isn’t the fighter he once was and feels the Mexican star is still “one of the best” in the sport.
There’s no question that the former four-division world champion Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) is one of the best, but what’s open for debate is whether he’s #1 or even #2 at 168.
Canelo could solve that question if he fought David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr because those guys are considered better than him in the eyes of many fans.
The fact that Canelo is seemingly ducking those guys in favor of fighters like Jermell Charlo, John Ryder, and an old Gennadiy Golovkin indicates that he knows that he’s not good enough to beat them.
If Canelo thought he could beat Benavidez & Morrell, he wouldn’t be fighting the 154-pounder Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), who hasn’t fought in 14 months and is seemingly ducking Tim Tszyu.
“Credit to Canelo; he’s active. They’re trying to say Canelo’s not who he once was. People have just got something to say about everyone and everything. Canelo’s a serious fighter, one of the best,” said Anthony Joshua to the media today, reacting to Canelo Alvarez defending his undisputed super middleweight championship against 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo, who put his WBC mandatory challenger Tim Tszyu on hold while he goes up to 168 to pick up that bag.
“So with Canelo, people talk negative about him. He’s with PBC. It’s clear that he wants to fight Charlo, Benavidez, and the other Charlo [Jermall]. I think it’s quite good. I rate Canelo,” said Joshua.
AJ is only partially right when he says Canelo “wants to fight Charlo & Benavidez.” Obviously, Canelo wants to fight Charlo because he’s scheduled to face him on September 30th, and his brother is expected to be his second fight of his three-fight deal.
What you CAN’T say is Canelo wants to fight Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) because if he did, he would have done so by now instead of fighting guys like Ryder, Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Avni Yildirim, and Rocky Fielding. Action speaks louder than words.
“With Charlo, they’re confident that he’ll beat Canelo, and the reason is speed & strength,” said Joshua. “The only thing is that with Charlo, he’s been out of the ring for a long time. Two years, three years? Yeah, Canelo is active, he’s busy, but I rate Canelo.
“They say he’s finished. You’re only finished when you’re done,” said Joshua.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq2hIAeB9b4