Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez welcomes Jermell Charlo to the super-middleweight ranks for a shot at his four world titles.
Charlo, who four belts of his own two divisions down, will fight for the first time at 168lbs and, despite being taller and rangier than the Mexican, will step through the ropes not knowing how he’ll handle this different class of power.
The American is the underdog, as would most be against Canelo, and many analysts have pointed to the weight as the overriding factor in how things play out.
That’s something Tim Bradley agrees with. Speaking on ProBox TV, the former two-weight world champion said Charlo wouldn’t be the same after bulking up.
“I think he’s going to slowly break down Charlo and probably stop him late.”
“You take a Porsche, finely tuned, displacement, everything…then you put a sofa on top of the Porsche. It’s going to drive different. It’s not going to be the same.”
Bradley does not, however, rule Charlo out completely – and even laid out a rough strategy to get the win.
“No one’s ever really committed down to Canelo’s body. I think it’s gutsy, but at the same time I think it’s dangerous.”
“The two men that beat Canelo Alvarez, what did they have? They had a great jab. They had great footwork. They were counterpunchers. Floyd Mayweather. Bivol. The blueprint is out. There’s two blueprints that’s out on Canelo Alvarez. Yet alone Bivol had to throw 700 punches to get the victory.”
“If he has that type of stamina [that Bivol had], and if he can use his feet and box… then he has a damn good chance of winning this fight.”
Canelo and Charlo face off in Las Vegas this Saturday, with US viewers tuning in via Showtime PPV and those in the UK via the regular DAZN subscription.