Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has had his recent wins questioned by a former world champion before his Terence Crawford title defence.
The Mexican has been in the professional ranks of the sport for almost 20 years and is now heading into a super-fight with Crawford to keep hold of his undisputed super middleweight championships.
Their 13 September clash is set to be streamed on Netflix as Canelo heads into his second fight of the year after defeating William Scull in a lacklustre unanimous decision win.
His opponent has not been as active lately, with his last contest taking place in August of last year, when he found himself pushed to the limit by the Olympian Israil Madrimov to become the WBA 154 lb champion.
Former world champion questions Canelo Alvarez’s recent form as he predicts a Terence Crawford win
While ‘Bud’ has only managed two fights in two years, his pound-for-pound counterpart has beaten five opponents in that same period.
This activity has been scrutinised because the level of opposition the pride of Mexico has defeated is below his usual elite rivals.
The former three-weight world champion, Duke McKenzie, is one of those who has not been convinced by the modern great’s recent outings, using it as a reason to pick the American star.
During an interview with Pro Boxing Fans, McKenzie used Hamzah Sheeraz’s devastating knockout in New York against Edgar Berlanga as an example of his poor résumé.
He said: “You look at his last five fights, he’s boxed ordinary fighters and they’re not in the same league (as Crawford).
“Berlanga took him the distance. Now you’ve only got to balance it up. If Berlanga can take him the distance. You’ve got to say to yourself, what is Terence Crawford going to do to him?”
With this in mind, the British fighter gave his breakdown of why and how he believes the former undisputed welterweight champion can be victorious.
“I think Canelo is made for him. Canelo doesn’t fight with any urgency anymore. You don’t get any head movement from him anymore. He doesn’t show you a punch and hit you with another one anymore. There’s no variety,” he said.
“Crawford talks with a lot of spite, and he means it. I think he’s going to do a number on Canelo… I really wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a late stoppage… The more likely scenario is that Crawford wins a points decision, but I think it’d be a wide points decision.”
Canelo Alvarez’s last knockout win came four years ago against an undefeated American star
Crawford has had a more recent knockout victory over Errol Spence Jr in 2023, when he became the best 147 lb fighter of his generation, whereas Canelo’s last finish came in 2021.
His win in November of that year against the undefeated Caleb Plant to take his IBF title and become undisputed is marked as the last great performance of the star.
It was a fight where he took control in the latter stages and dropped an exhausted Plant twice to halt the contest in the eleventh.
If he were to land a knockout blow or have the fight waved off against the Omaha fighter, it would be a shock and a great notch in his career.