Today is a day when a major star of the sport, indeed arguably the face of boxing, will blow out the birthday candles. Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez turns 35 today, and as special as he has been in the ring, Canelo might not have too many fights left in him. Next up as we know, will be the massive, and massively intriguing Canelo-Terence Crawford rumble, this in September.
After that fight, win, lose or draw, Canelo’s future is a closed book; even Canelo himself may not fully know what he will do post-September. Canelo has often spoken on the subject of retirement, and he has said he feels he will be good until the age of 37, or thereabouts, and that then it will be time to hang ’em up. Canelo will only get his full plaudits when he is no longer an active fighter; this being the way of things with boxing – we can only fully appreciate a great when he or she is gone.
That said, on the occasion of his 35th birthday, here’s a list of Canelo’s five best wins thus far:
What Makes These Five Wins Special?
In reverse order:
5: September, 2010 – KO6 Carlos Baldomir.
Canelo, a mere 20 years of age at the time, scored an exquisite one-punch KO over a warrior who was known for having an unshakable chin. Baldomir, who had previously been stopped just once, this way back in what was the Argentine’s seventh pro bout, had been in the the likes of Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Floyd Mayweather, Vernon Forrest and others, and nobody had put a dent in him.
Canelo, already looking towards greatness, landed a flush left hook to the head in round-six, and down went Baldomir, his lights put out for the night. Baldomir went down hard and heavy, on his face. And though Baldomir tried, purely on instinct to get up, Canelo had vaporised a heck of a tough guy. With one punch.
4: April, 2013 – W12 Austin Trout.
Going into this fight, Canelo, now the reigning WBC champ at 154 pounds, had been forced to listen to Trout and his supporters accusing him of being reluctant to face the slick southpaw. Canelo bristled, but he used the energy to put on a solid, disciplined performance. It was close, don’t get me wrong, but Canelo boxed quite brilliantly. In doing so, Canelo added the WBA and Ring Magazine titles to his WBC belt.
3: November, 2015 – W12 Miguel Cotto.
Facing a great in what was an addition to the Mexico Vs. Puerto Rico rivalry, Canelo, now three wins removed from his humbling but also learning decision loss to Floyd Mayweather, appeared to most of us to have boxed his way to a tough, close decision win over Miguel Cotto. However, at the end, the three judges all had it wide for Canelo. Now the middleweight king of the sport, Canelo had well and truly put the bad taste of the loss to Mayweather behind him.
2: November, 2019 – KO11 Sergey Kovalev.
Yes, Kovalev was somewhat past his best. Yes, Kovalev fought a largely negative fight. But also yes, Canelo – who began his pro career at a lowly 147 pounds – defeated in “Krusher” a still-dangerous 175 pound puncher; a puncher who had been quite literally lethal at one point during his career. Canelo didn’t stick around at light heavyweight for long, but for the Mexican great to have won a major belt at this unrealistic weight sure added, and adds, to his legacy.
1: September, 2018 – W12 Gennady Golovkin.
Canelo sure got a lot of stick following his first fight with “GGG.” Firstly, because the drawn verdict fooled nobody, everyone knew Golovkin deserved the decision victory. Secondly, because soon after, Canelo was reported to have failed a post-fight drugs test, with his new, highly unofficial nickname being for the time “Clenelo,” this due to Canelo supposedly testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
In the rematch with “Triple-G,” Canelo made a point of being more aggressive, of standing his ground of, as he put it himself, showing he had balls. It was another close fight, and some did (and still do) feel GGG again edged things. But Canelo showed an admirable blend of skill, toughness, heart, and sheer desire in getting the victory.
Some seven years on, and the win over the rock-chinned, hurtful-punching Golovkin ranks, for me at least, as Canelo finest win to date.
Agree or disagree?