This is your boxing face?
Per Manny Delgado: Boxing's greatest superstar, hailed as the face of boxing by the sport itself, considered by many to be an undoubted living legend, who will no doubt cement his place in the Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the greatest Mexican fighters to ever live. With that in mind, his last four fights, over the last year and a half, have left a lot to be desired. All easy-to-win fights that didn't pose any real threat to him and weren't competitive in the slightest. Because of this, many fans of this sport asked themselves: “Is this your face of boxing?”
Needless to say, fans have not been happy with his recent fight choices and the question is, “Should Canelo continue boxing or should he retire and play golf?” as if he was noticed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, at one point he was even criticized by the boxing media for playing too often and not focusing enough on his boxing training.
Canelo vs. Benavidez
In his defense, we could say that he has earned the right to pick and choose his fights as he pleases, something Canelo often claims as well. After doing it all, he went as far as becoming the only super middleweight world champion in the history of the sport in 2021 and facing the best the sport had to offer at his weight class. However, one huge star remains, and that is the specter David Benavidez, otherwise known as the 'Mexican Monster', and for an exceptional reason.
His loud, fast and explosive style is cited as one that could cause Canelo's low output, especially his mood for counterpunching, major problems. Stylistically, it's the kind of clash that could become a classic. Depending on who wins, he could catapult Benavidez into superstardom, defeating the man who is “the face of boxing” himself or, in Canelo's case, silence the skeptics once and for all, officially being recognized as the man who beat what many consider his biggest challenge to today.
Canelo and Benavidez's verbal spat of more than a year has been a tense exchange between their opposing opinions on the matter, with Canelo briefly saying in an interview:
“It doesn't bring anything to the table for me; he just brings 25 pounds more to fight night”
That was more than 10 months ago, recently Canelo stated that he would fight Benavidez if the money amount was 150 to 200 million dollars. To which Benavidez responded in a furious mood:
“@canelo if I have nothing to offer then why are you asking to get 150-200 million to fight someone worth nothing? Let's hope that after you earn that 150 million, you will have enough left over to buy a couple of walnuts.”
Benavidez's argument, combined with other statements he's made regarding the fight, is practically, why are lesser opponents allowed the gift of winning the Canelo sweepstakes? And not him, who is more than deserving. Whether we'll ever see an official fight poster that says “Canelo vs. Benavidez” remains to be seen and is one of the biggest questions in the sport of boxing right now.
Canelo vs. Crawford
Additionally, Canelo vs. Crawford has recently been rumored to be set for September 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 168 pounds. A matchup that can offer what you might consider guaranteed excitement due to Crawford's impressive boxing skills. Considered one of the most well rounded or “complete” boxers in the sport with multiple high level attributes that make him an adaptable fighter, he is currently still undefeated with a record of 41-0 and a 2x undisputed champion in two weight classes, Welterweight (140) and Super Lightweight (147).
In Canelo's case, he's a former undisputed middleweight champion (168) who has beaten everyone who has given him a legitimate challenge, probably at least, since most fans agree he lost to Golovkin the first time around, and back-to-back rematches are largely considered a question are opinions on who won, as they are not considered decisive victories for either side, depending on who you ask, but that's a whole other topic. Aside from this and the huge star of whether or not he can beat Benavidez, Canelo is widely considered the current face of boxing due to his impressive resume and equally impressive boxing ability. Primarily known for his elite-level counterpunch ability and smooth defense that have earned him highlight fights that are pleasing to purists and casual fans alike.
A mega-fight like this, which fans consider a fantasy matchup that could manifest into reality, would be a huge success, but despite that, Canelo is actually very dismissive of Crawford, going so far as to say:
“Look, I respect Terence Crawford. He's very talented, but he just won a big fight. If you see his record, he just beat a good fighter. Besides, he hasn't beaten other good fighters like Spence.”
Crawford replied confidently on Twitter:
“Noted! Just remember what you said because I've always found joy in making someone look like a nobody.”
This Potential Fight, while offering a high probability of possible excitement in the build-up and once the gloves touch, has left many fans wondering if a fight in which the much lighter Crawford moves up two weight classes to fight a man who is naturally much heavier than him is even and a fight worth considering. We've all seen what happens when a naturally smaller fighter moves up in weight to fight a bigger man, and it rarely ends well; Crawford's exceptional boxing skills aside, his strength, endurance and mobility do not transfer well from the bantamweight division to the upper division.
Canelo vs. Buffalo
For example, relatively recently, Canelo moved up to light heavyweight (174) to fight Bivol, a fight that casual fans considered “the wrong choice”, but die-hard fans of the sport knew better and that Bivol could be Canelo's biggest challenge until now. Canelo looked completely out of his element in his fight against Bivol, not only because Bivol is as elite as they come, with his great mobility and intensity, Soviet-style, but because Canelo looked like he was carrying extra weight that made it difficult for him to move se, which he was. Already considered a heavy and flat-footed fighter who looks like he walks on mud, adding extra weight to his fighting body was not a good combination. Not to mention, his gas tank eventually ran out, and he was constantly getting tagged with shots that he might otherwise be able to block or avoid, not taking away from Bivol's ability to land his shots effectively. In short, if Bivol and Canelo were at 168, Canelo probably would have been hit less.
Potential ruling on Canelo vs. Crawford
Could Crawford face a similar verdict? Where despite being what many consider a “complete” fighter, more like a chameleon than a human. Will his boxing skills translate into moving up a full two weight classes? or will he simply suffer Canelo's fate? and falls behind the naturally larger man, his skills take a huge hit due to the added combat weight. Any opinion on this is pure speculation and no one can say for sure what the outcome will be, the only thing that is certain is that not only will Crawford be in the ring against Canelo, but he will be fighting himself due to the disadvantages of fighting at a weight that you are not used to fighting. If there is any man or boxer who can overcome both challenges, it is definitely Crawford. For this reason, despite many fans of the sport seeing it as an unnecessary fight, it could still be a very promising and entertaining fight.
Canelo's legacy
But aside from this potential matchup, what's next for Canelo? Will he finally face his personal boogeyman, David Benavidez? If we are to follow the entire narrative of events and indirect exchanges between the two, this seems highly unlikely. The most reasonable prediction would be to say that he continues to box fights where his opponents pose no real threat, thus continuing his retirement tour with no clear end in sight or expectations of him for anything different. What do you personally believe is in the near future for Canelo? and how does that affect his overall legacy as a fighter?