By Norm Frauenheim–
Canelo Alvarez’ contract with Matchroom for two fights with DAZN, the streaming service he sued, is a further example of his power. He gets what he wants.
The deal, formally announced Thursday, is also a further look at a career path carefully drawn up to include bouts and belts that figure to strengthen his claim on the top spot in the pound-for-pound debate.
Canelo is as stubbornly methodical outside of the ropes as he is within them. He’s working to eliminate any other pound-for-pound argument. The process resumes on Feb. 27 in Miami against Turkish challenger Avni Yidirim in a stay-busy bout that sets the stage for a further unification of the super-middleweight title against Billy Joe Saunders or Caleb Plant.
Of the two, Saunders looks to be the most likely in large part because of a long-term promotional relationship with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn. Saunders also brings the UK audience. But exact date doesn’t seem to matter much. If it is Saunders in May, it figures to be Plant in September. Or vice-versa.
The key is that each has a 168-pound belt that Canelo needs to unify the title and finish the argument. For now, it continues, an ongoing argument reflected in polls conducted and marketed by rival networks. DAZN’s No. 1 is Canelo; ESPN’s No. 1 is welterweight Terence Crawford. Pick your acronym and reasoning.
There’s the body of work theory, which favors the once-beaten Canelo. There’s the eye-test, which favors the unbeaten Crawford. At least, it does from this corner. Put it this way: 2020 ended with Crawford finishing Kell Brook on Nov. 14 in a fourth-round TKO and Canelo scoring a one-sided decision on Dec. 19 over an overmatched Callum Smith.
Canelo’s side of the debate could include a couple of more belts and a busier schedule. For now, that’s the advertised plan and advertising counts for a lot in this debate. Canelo is moving forward. Other than more talk about an ever-elusive date with Errol Spence Jr, it’s not clear what’s next for Crawford.
Meanwhile, Canelo’s plan does not include any mention of Gennadiy Golovkin or David Benavidez. For both, it’s a case of weight and wait, a frustrating dilemma for them and fans.
Golovkin fought Canelo to a controversial draw and lost to him narrowly by majority decision, both at middleweight. But GGG’s prime is going, going, gone. Time is an issue.
If Canelo’s 2021 schedule is already booked with Yidirim, Saunders and Plant, Golovkin will probably have to wait until 2022. GGG will be 40 on April 8 of that year.
At the other end of the age and weight scale, there’s Benavidez, who many believe might have the best chance at upsetting Canelo. Benavidez is 24. He’s young, but that’s the problem. His failure to make weight presumably dropped him off of Canelo’s short list.
With a belt, he would have been there. But he lost it – the World Boxing Council’s version – on Aug. 14 when the Phoenix fighter was 2.8 pounds heavier than the limit for a defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo.
Benavidez went on to stop Angulo, forcing the Venezuelan’s corner to throw in the towel after the 10th round. But he lost a career-defining opportunity. He’s still young enough to regain it. But making the 168-pound limit doesn’t figure to get any easier for the maturing Benavidez, who figures to be a light-heavyweight within a couple of years.
The costly scale-fail in August happened in part because of the Pandemic, according to Benavidez, who said it disrupted familiar routines for his bout at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut. There was no sauna. There was no gym other than a treadmill and a stationary bike in the hotel.
Benavidez, a lanky 6-foot-1 ½, says he plans to stay at super-middleweight for as long as he can. But time, already a problem for Golovkin, is there for Benavidez too. The alarm sounded when he stepped on that scale in mid-August.
Without a belt, Benavidez’ only leverage is the media. He repeatedly calls out Canelo. But Canelo doesn’t seem to hear him. He’s got other plans.
