Breaking Down: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

Breaking Down: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

By M.DeTyrone

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the current boxing rave and his fans claim that he’ll defeat by KO Miguel Cotto and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Well let’s analyze and break down “Canelo” Alvarez. I don’t see “Canelo” Alvarez possessing all-around boxing and punching skills. From what I’ve seen is a “Canelo” Alvarez that is limited to being a one-dimensional slugger with repetitive combinations with a certain degree of speed, which diminishes after his stamina becomes a problem.

I have yet to see above average technical boxing skills displayed by Alvarez. His technical skills are limited to the opposition that he has faced vs. Mayweather Jr. and Erislandy Lara, he showed little if no technical skills at all, because he doesn’t possess the footwork, speed, or mobility to match or competes with a pure-boxer or boxer-puncher. His defense is average, which showed some improvement vs. Austin Trout. However, he can’t fight on the inside his infighting is composed of covering up with his gloves backpedaling to the ropes and holding an opponent.

Is he a KO artist or does he possess one-punch KO power? No. The majority of his KO’s have been TKO’s against old boxers, blown up welterweights, and unskilled sluggers that he outweighed by more than 10 lbs. in many of the fights. The last two true KO’s have been vs. the 39-year-old Carlos Baldomir in 2010 at the super welterweight division and the inactive, no trainer, no chin, slugger James Kirkland at middleweight catchweight in 2015. In world title fights Alvarez has, TKO’d the opponents Josesito Lopez, Kermit Cintron, Alfonso Gomez, and Ryan Rhodes.

In 2011, “Canelo” Alvarez was given a title shot for the Vacant WBC Super Welterweight title vs. the unranked Matthew Hatton that weighed in at 148 lbs. It’s not as if “Canelo” had fought up the ranks to gain a WBC Super Welterweight title shot like other boxer have. No, he earned it by defeating the old worn down, out of their division boxers Lovemore N’Dou (UD12), Carlos Baldomir (KO6), and the boxer Luciano Leonel Cuello (TKO6). Nevertheless, “Canelo” won a UD as was expected vs. a smaller Matthew Hatton in California. Should anyone be surprised since then Hatton has been fighting back in the welterweight division.

In 2011, the UK boxer Ryan Rhodes had his opportunity for the WBC World Super Welterweight title in Mexico vs. “Canelo” Alvarez in a fight in which he was TKO’d in 12 rounds. Since then Rhodes in 2012 was TKO’d in seven against the prospect Sergey Rabchenko.

In September of 2011, the Mexican-American welterweight Alfonso Gomez given a WBC Super Welterweight title shot in Los Angeles, California, and he was TKO’d in six by “Canelo” Alvarez. Since then Alfonso Gomez has been fighting back at in the welterweight division. How Gomez earned a super welterweight title shot? I don’t know.

In November 2011, the washed up Kermit Cintron given the opportunity for the WBC Super Welterweight title in Mexico vs. “Canelo” Alvarez in a fight that resulted in Cintron being TKO’d in five rounds. Since then Cintron has been fighting back in the welterweight division vs. sub-par opposition.

In 2012, it was an old Shane Mosley’s turn at the WBC Super Welterweight title in a fight, which he lost to Alvarez by UD. Since that, fight Shane Mosley went back down to welterweight and won a fight versus a c class boxer then moved up back to Super Welterweight where he was TKO’d in seven rounds by Anthony Mundine in Australia, Mosley has not fought since then.

In September 2012, the WBC granted the welterweight Josesito Lopez a WBC Super welterweight title shot vs. “Canelo” Alvarez  and was TKO’d in five rounds, since that fight Lopez has been back down to the welterweight division and has been TKO’d by Marcos Maidana in 2013 and Andre Berto in 2015 both in the six round. How Josesito Lopez ever earned a title shot at super welterweight is beyond explanation. Maidana and Berto TKO’d Lopez in the sixth round and “Canelo” who significantly outweighed Lopez only managed to TKO Lopez in five rounds.

In 2013, Austin Trout coming off his victory over Miguel Cotto in 2012 fought a unification bout of the WBA World Super welterweights and WBC World Super Welterweight titles vs. Alvarez in a fight that Trout hit the canvas in the seventh round and lost a UD in Texas. It was a fight, which many boxing observers seen as very close contest and not the scores of 109-118 and 111-116. Since that fight Trout’s career has been in a steady down fall losing to Erislandy Lara where dropped once, dropped two times vs. a journeyman, and recently has won two fights vs. sub-par opposition. Later that year after much hype and talk about “Canelo” knocking out and out boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr., they faced each other for the WBC World Super Welterweight title and WBA Super World Super Welterweight title at a catchweight. In this fight, Mayweather Jr. exposed “Canelo” for his lack of footwork, power, and repetitive combinations. Mayweather Jr. Won a Majority Decision but strangely, according to the Judge CJ Ross, the fight was 114-114.

In March 2014, Canelo returned to face Alfredo Angulo in a last minute arrangement for a middleweight catchweight of 155 lbs. Angulo was TKO’d in 10 rounds in a fight which Alvarez hit Angulo with every single of his combinations, and Angulo but never dropped. Angulo was coming off a 10 round TKO defeat at the hands of Erislandy Lara, however those in boxing knew that Angulo was never the same after his beat down at the hands of James Kirkland in 2011, where Angulo was TKO’d in six rounds. Since, his defeat vs. Alvarez in 2014 Angulo lost and dropped vs. an unknown James De la Rosa. Later in 2014, Erislandy Lara the WBA Regular Jr. Middleweight champion faced “Canelo” Alvarez at a middleweight catchweight fight of 155 lbs. In a fight where Alvarez again showed his lack of footwork, skills and ability to cut off the ring, and the fight ended up in controversy with a SD in favor of Canelo” Alvarez thanks  to the score of the Judge Levi Martinez of 117-111.

After a long period of inactivity, “Canelo” returned to fight James Kirkland that hadn’t fought in two years in a middleweight division catchweight. In a fight in which “Canelo” showed, his inability to fight on the inside and every time Kirkland would pressure in some dumb man kamikaze boxing “Canelo” would back pedal to the ropes and hold Kirkland to escape by the second round “Canelo” showed physical fatigue, however, “Canelo” KO’d Kirkland in the third round. It took the light puncher Nobuhiro Ishida to TKO Kirkland in one round without Anne Wolfe and it took Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 3 rounds. Everyone except Kirkland’s team understood that without Wolfe, he stood no chance. Nevertheless, that’s boxing and a pattern of Canelo’s opponents.

At any rate, “Canelo” Alvarez has fought in eight world title fights and has a record of 7-1 (4KO) vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Austin Trout, Josesito Lopez, Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron, Alfonso Gomez, Ryan Rhodes and Matthew Hatton. He’s one of the most marketable sluggers now due to the boxing media, the ethnic demographic and casual fans.