Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has fought just about anyone available to him across 67 fights.
The Mexican has only been beaten twice so far in his career, with his first loss at 23 against Floyd Mayweather Jr and the second in a division above against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
While Canelo had a prior success in his venture to the third biggest weight division in the sport when he beat former champion Sergey Kovalev, the skills and size of Bivol were too much for him on the night.
Now he is facing the four-division king, Terence Crawford, who is moving up in weight to challenge him for the undisputed super middleweight titles.
Canelo Alvarez has ‘ducked’ two boxers in favour of ‘picking’ Terence Crawford
Crawford was advised by a former Alvarez opponent to use his legs and not let the 35-year-old overpower him; others see it in a similar way.
In a recent interview, former middleweight champion John David Jackson assessed the American’s chances but also took a shot at his opponent for ‘ducking’ two names.
Speaking to SecondsOut, Jackson said: “I give Terence a big shot to win that fight, he has to be smart, he has to be on his A-game that night, he can’t get careless. Worry about Canelo, Canelo hasn’t really fought anyone of note in the last few years.
“He has been ducking (David) Benavidez, and he wouldn’t fight (Artur) Beterbiev; he has been picking and choosing. Crawford has a hell of a shot to beat him.”
David Benavidez was touted as a challenger for the super middleweight champion after his impressive run as the interim WBC champion, but a fight never materialised, which led to the ‘Mexican Monster’ becoming a contender at light heavyweight.
The former undisputed champion at 175, Artur Beterbiev, had once explored the possibility of boxing the 20-year veteran but dismissed the idea before taking on Bivol in February.
Terence Crawford rates his past opponents out of ten, praises Errol Spence Jr
Omaha’s own has racked up an impressive list of opponents since turning professional in 2008 and has largely remained respectful to his past opposition.
His fight against Errol Spence Jr was one which did bring out a different side to both men, with the intense build-up given the exclamation point by a ruthless ninth-round finish by ‘Bud’.
However, for all the animosity, he has praised the Texan in a recent ranking, he said: “I give him a 10. Undefeated, unified world champion, running through all the welterweights that he was put in front of.”
Only two of his past opponents did not receive a 10/10 rating: Israil Madrimov and ‘Mean Machine’ Egidijus Kavaliauskas, with Madrimov receiving the slightly lower ranking as ‘experience’ played a big factor.
Shawn Porter was one of his foes to receive a top rating, with his praise not just for his in-ring ability but for being a ‘great person’.