By: Sean Crose
He was arguably the premier boxer on Earth during the post Mayweather era. Canelo Alvarez lost to Floyd Mayweather in one-sided fashion back in 2013, but instead of becoming just another win for Mayweather, the young Canelo put his head down, faced one challenge after another, and ultimately found himself with a slew of titles, untold millions of dollars, and the high regard of countless fans. It appears, however, that Canelo’s glory days are a thing of the past. A dominant loss to Terence Crawford last year seems to have been the final nail in the figurative coffin containing Canelo’s dominance.
Naturally you’ll see followers of the sweet science writing Canelo off on social media these days. Why wouldn’t such people write him off? Diminishing the accomplishments of good fighters is often what they do. The truth though is that Canelo was never overhyped. He really did become that good a fighter. Sure, he ended up going too far by facing Dimitri Bivol a few years back. Bivol was a light heavyweight kingpin however, and the whole affair just seemed to be too much physically for former junior middleweight Canelo…no matter how great his talent was. In fact, Canelo previously had his hands full facing aging light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev.
The challenge of Kovalev however, along with the failure to best Bivol did not harm the man’s reputation. Canelo simply failed while trying to be even greater than he previously was. Even the most cynical fight fan, had to give the Mexican star credit for that. Not so with the loss to Crawford. That one signaled the end of Canelo’s zenith. Crawford was moving up in weight, was no kid, and was considered on the way to suffering his first defeat by facing Canelo. The fact that Canelo not only lost but lost soundly made it loud and clear that he was no longer “the man” in the hierarchy of the sweet science.
It must be a strange place Canelo finds himself in right now. No longer the towering presence he was, but still undoubtedly capable. It’s also worth considering that Canelo is still a relatively young man. He’s a relatively young man, however, who’s had a ton of fights since essentially childhood. That sort of thing takes its toll on a person. If Canelo packed it in right now, no one would blame them. It’s tough for athletes however to adjust to normal life after having brilliant careers. Canelo is aware of this and therefore wants to keep going.
Without doubt, a person is competitive as Canelo is wants a second crack at Terence Crawford. That’s unlikely to happen, though. Crawford has announced his retirement and he seems to be the rare exception…a retired great athlete who isn’t interested returning to the sport he’s mastered. That may be frustrating for Canelo, but it’s probably a good thing. It’s hard seeing him coming back and defeating Crawford in a rematch.
With that being said, it appears that Canelo is nowhere near the point where it’s sad to watch him engage in his trade. He himself may prove otherwise when he fights again later this year, but for the time being he still has to be considered within the upper echelon of the sport. Not who he was, but still very good. If that’s no longer the case of course then it really would be better for the man to retire it seems. If Canelo’s proven anything in this world, it’s that he’s his own boss. In other words, he’ll do as he pleases.
Still, it must be strange for Canelo to be at a point in his illustrious career where people will inevitably start looking at his body of work overall. He’s made a mark on the sport he’s made his living in, and people will soon start viewing it in its entirety rather than where it is at the moment. That might be depressing for Canelo but it’s also quite an honor. In his time, he was the gold standard for what a professional boxer should be. And if that time has passed, which it surely has, he can certainly feel good that his life’s work will be well remembered. There’re not many boxers, or athletes of any kind for that matter, who can say the same thing.
Canelo may certainly be in a strange place, but how many past their prime fighters would love to be in that very space with him right now?
