Former WBA super-middleweight world champion George Groves believes pound-for-pound king Canelo probably beats WBC cruiserweight title-holder Ilunga Makabu ‘all day long’.
Canelo was crowned undisputed super-middleweight champion last time out with an 11th round TKO of Caleb Plant back in November, and will now reportedly move to cruiserweight to face Makabu next.
“You need power to get Canelo’s respect, but I don’t think that will be enough,” Groves said to Sky Sports. “Canelo is so clever, he’s so good, and I can’t see anybody troubling him, especially not at super-middleweight.”
“David Benavidez lingers between super-middleweight and light-heavyweight. He’s a very well schooled fighter, but he must be more disciplined. You’ll need plenty of discipline for the Canelo fight. The top light-heavyweights like Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev would provide a genuine test for Canelo.
“He’s talking about fighting Ilunga Makabu at cruiserweight and Canelo probably beats him all day long, but all of a sudden you’re in a different sort of fight. Usyk would be far too big for him, but I doubt Usyk would ever come back down to cruiserweight now.”