Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez’ upcoming fight against Jermell Charlo will be a test of his desire to still compete at the upper echelons of the sport – that’s the view of one former world champion.
After three relatively flat performances in his last three outings, many feel that Alvarez is finally on the decline after having over 60 professional fights.
In his column for The Mirror, Barry McGuigan questioned whether the “God like” ‘Canelo’ still has the fire in the belly and that is what makes Charlo live in the fight.
“This is a test of Canelo’s desire to keep going at 33 after 18 years as a pro. I’m not sure how much love Canelo retains for the game. When you live in that Mexican bubble, where boxing is more than a sport, the intensity can be overwhelming.”
“So many Mexicans live in poverty and have been downtrodden their whole lives. They express themselves through boxing. It gives them their identity. In Mexico Canelo enjoys almost god-like status”
“You can probably multiply the adoration I received at the height of my career, which was both amazing and scary, by ten. That’s hard to manage every minute of every day.”
“As the great Marvin Hagler said, it is difficult to get up for work when you are sleeping in silk pyjamas.”
“So that is the tension in this fight. Sooner or later Canelo will experience another Bivol-like moment, a night when no matter what he tries he comes up short.”
Despite the view that ‘Canelo’ could be on the slide, he is still a clear favourite to get the better of Charlo, who is moving up two whole weight classes for the contest, which will take place on September 30th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.