Some fighters, certain ring warriors, as great, as tough, and, yes, as almost impervious to punishment as they appear to us mere mortals to be, seem – to (maybe) coin a phrase – to be “un-knockout-able.”
Right now – and you may well be able to put forth some additional fighters – two such ring warriors spring to mind as far as it being so tough to even imagine the sight of either of them being starched, laid out, iced, put to sleep, taken out. Knocked out.
Who?
Canelo Alvarez and Naoya Inoue.
Canelo’s Granite Chin vs Crawford’s Ambition
Canelo as we know, has never been knocked down, you could argue even hurt, much less buzzed in a fight. Not once. Inoue, for many the ruling pound-for-pound king, HAS been dropped; twice. But the ever so impressive manner in which Inoue both got right back up both times, seemingly totally unfazed, and then proceeded to take care of business in as much as he returned the knockdown favour and then stopped his challengers in quite brutal fashion, has made it seem like the Japanese star will never be knocked out. Not by anyone.
So, to ask the question again: which sight would shock you more, what would most give you a strange, queasy feeling in the pit of your gut: Canelo being knocked down and left groping for a sense of where the hell he is, his eyes glassy, his limbs all but useless?
Or Inoue being left spreadeagled on the mat, his arms and legs as stretched out as his equilibrium?
Personally, I can’t picture either KO; but maybe you can.
But who would be inflicting these respective, jaw-dropping, instant highlight-reel KO’s?
Terence Crawford has warned us all not to be surprised if, or when, he knocks out or stops Canelo at some stage during tonight’s fight.
Could Inoue Really Be Stopped?
While Murodjon Akhmadaliev has only just refrained from flat out predicting a KO win over Inoue, this fight to take place on the other side of the world from Las Vegas, in Japan, a few hours later.
Again, Canelo has thus far in his career shown a rock for a chin. While Inoue, who is also blessed with a sturdy mandible, has so far shown astonishing recuperative powers. As such, neither modern great seems headed for an inside-the-distance loss any time soon – if ever.
Or maybe you disagree?
The sight of a helpless, wiped out Inoue or Canelo: which would most give you nightmares?