Leonard Ellerbe says he believes Canelo Alvarez is working on breaking one of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s records, and his fight with Jermell Charlo on Saturday night will help him in that area.
Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) currently has 18 victories over world champions, and with a win over Jermell (35-1-1,19 KOs) on Saturday, he’ll pick up his 19th win.
With Mayweather’s inflated resume with many wins over weak champions and a couple of controversial victories over Jose Luis Castillo and Marcos Maidana, it would seem pointless for Canelo to waste time trying to break his records.
The record for most wins over world champions is 23, set by Mayweather. It’s still unknown whether Canelo is focused on that record, as it would consume a lot of time for him to break.
Mayweather was criticized for breaking Rocky Marciano’s longstanding 49-0 record by facing the non-boxer Conor McGregor, who was making his pro debut, and surprisingly, the Nevada commission sanctioned the. It was a cheap way of breaking a record, but Mayweather didn’t have a problem with it.
Canelo still motivated to entertain
“I love this kind of stuff. I’m just so glad that I’m this is not my show. I’m obviously working, but as a fan, I get a chance to sit back and enjoy a great night of boxing,” said Leonard Ellerbe to Fighthype site about the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo event for this Saturday night on Showtime PPV.
“This man has made a couple hundred million dollars, and he’s still motivated to get up and come out here and entertain the fans but at the highest level.
“That reminds me of Floyd Mayweather. Those guys are self-motivated. In this fight, both guys got something to prove,” said Ellerbe about Canelo & Jermell Charlo. “Not they have to do it, but they want to prove something to the fans, and I think.
“In Canelo’s case, he’s heard the rumblings of like, ‘He’s slipping,’ and he’s told you guys that he’s suffered a few injuries in these fights recently, which, again, I know firsthand when you’re an elite fighter you fight through it.
“Floyd’s been injured in several fights, but you fight through it, and you don’t always be your best performance, and you don’t want to make excuses, and he’s not a guy obviously to make excuses, and in Charlo’s case, the same way,” said Ellerbe.
Jermell overlooked
“He’s been off for a minute with the broken hand, but he’s the underdog coming in, and he’s just like y’all discount him. Y’all think he’s some kind of chump, and Charlo is coming,” said Ellerbe.
“I’m telling you he is coming. He’s going to be prepared. Derrick [James] has got him ready. Both guys are in 15-round shape. It’s going to be a great fight.
“I think they’re crazy,” said Ellerbe when told that people think Canelo is on the decline. I’m just saying because I know firsthand that being close to the best guy [Mayweather] ever to do it.
“The injuries that people go through at this level because they put so much into these training camps to prepare to separate themselves from the competition.
“It’s a commitment, and sometimes you get injured, and you don’t want to pull out of a fight, and he says that he’s suffered some
injuries in some of these recent fights,” Ellerbe said about Canelo.
“He’s fought through it, and he went and got surgery, and again, who am I to say that I don’t believe him? But one thing is for sure, we going to find out Saturday night.
“Well, timing is everything. Jermell said that he was promised
this fight ten years ago. He said Oscar told him that he was going to fight him ten years ago, and obviously, for whatever
reason, the fight never came to fruition, but what better time than now?
“He’s [Jermell] been open about it privately about that he’s been wanting this fight for quite some time. You got to remember. At one point, both of those guys were at 54.
“Canelo has grown into what he is now, and Jermell is still at 54, but I think people are making more out of it with this moving up in weight classes,” said Ellerbe.
Canelo = straight cold killer
“People think that’s a disadvantage for Jermell, but I think it’s actually an advantage for him. Now, the flip side to it is that he’s in there with a straight-cold killer in Canelo,” said Ellerbe.
“Both guys know that they got their hands full, and that’s what’s going to make for a great fight. We don’t know what’s going to happen Saturday night because both guys are hungry, and they’re both prepared, and I think they’re going to give the fans a great fight.
“I commend Eddy [Reynoso]. I give him credit. He’s done a
phenomenal job with navigating his [Canelo] career. Think about this.
“The man Canelo], like I said. This dude made a couple hundred million dollars, and I’m sure that he’s been speaking English for quite some time, but he’s fluent in it now.
“Now, even people from our culture they got a lot of respect for him. He talks that talk when he needs to, and then it’s like, ‘Oh, we like for him to talk more.’ So he’s figured it out, and he’s mastered it.
“That’s why he’s been able to work with different entities, and he’s been able to extract the most money that he possibly can, and that’s why you can’t say enough in giving Eddy the credit.
“That’s a masterful job that he’s done because, again, it’s like 33 years old, he’s made a couple hundred million dollars, and he still loves boxing, I’m sure, but it’s his job, and he has so many other interests outside of boxing that he’s been successful in,” said Leonard.
Alvarez looking to break record
“He’s a great golfer, but there lot lots of respect,” Ellerbe said. “I still think there are a couple of things that Canelo wants to accomplish in his career, and this probably going to surprise you guys.
“So I was kind of doing some homework, and it was like Floyd has defeated 23 world champions, current or former. Canelo’s at 18. So I think in the back of his mind, he might not have said this, but that might be something short-term, but he’s got his hands full Saturday night.
“That is something that’s not impossible that he can attain. So imagine that if he sets his goal, if he’s successful on Saturday night, and that’s if he’s successful. He would be at 19.
“Obviously, you know those two fought, and they did what they did. It’s no secret that Floyd’s the best, but again, I think that Milestone is something that is a feather and his cap; that’s something that he would want to go down in history as defeated more world champions than anybody in history of boxing,” said Ellerbe about Canelo.
