WBO Super-lightweight Champion, Teofimo Lopez, has shared his belief that one of boxing’s biggest names is beginning to slow down, despite winning both of his fights this year.
Lopez upset the odds back in June to put an end to Josh Taylor’s undefeated record and run as 140lbs champion.
Now, the New Yorker is seeking to live up to his nickname and ‘Takeover’ the super-lightweight scene, with fights against the likes of Devin Haney, Jack Catterall and Ryan Garcia all being suggested.
As the former unified lightweight champion seeks to dominate the sport, he highlighted the decline of a man whom many still believe to be the ‘face of boxing’, telling Pro Box TV that Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is on the slide despite his wins over John Ryder and Jermell Charlo this year.
“Canelo and Charlo was an okay fight, Canelo did what he had to do, nothing surprising with that. However, Canelo is definitely slowing down, I still agree on that part, I’m going to stay with my words, we will see what happens next year.”
These claims are nothing new to Alvarez, who has faced criticism ever since he lost to Dmitry Bivol in May of last year.
Since then, underwhelming unanimous decision wins against Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryder have convinced many in the boxing community that his time as the sport’s poster boy is over, although there were signs of improvement in his victory over Charlo last month.
Still, the Mexican is without a knockout win in his last four fights, the joint-longest stoppage drought of his career, equalling a four-bout run in 2008, when the now undisputed super-middleweight champion was just eighteen-years-old.