New Year’s Resolution: Canelo Edition
By Eddie Sanchez
Closing out 2020, The Bad Promoter will publish a few New Year’s Resolutions for some of our most prominent combat sports friends. The first in this series is Canelo Alvarez.
It’s fight week y’all!
Not to completely overshadow GGG’s return this Friday, but the fight everyone is truly waiting for is Canelo Alvarez versus Callum Smith.
Canelo’s return is a long time coming, and not due to faults of his own. Canelo finally rid himself from Golden Boy Promotions, and in the words of Mayweather, he is now, his own boss. This fact alone should make his New Year’s Resolution pretty simple, but before diving into that, let’s detail the keys to victory against Callum Smith.
Callum Smith is a long fighter. Super long. Standing almost half a foot taller than Canelo, Callum is equally athletic and uses his ability to outwork his opponents. Canelo on the other hand is traditionally a more methodical fighter.
Like most Mexican boxers, he is a strong counter puncher. He is also very intelligent and maximizes his mobility greatly. His feet are always moving, his hips follow and his head movement keeps opponents honest. Often, his opponents struggle to connect and get met with brutal shots to the body. This right here is the ultimate key to victory.
Canelo will need to remain true to himself. He will need to match Callum’s activity, but remain grounded. He will need to utilize his defense to meet Callum on the inside so he can go to work on his body. These body shots will be what tires Callum down and hopefully lead Canelo to a KO victory.
Assuming all ends well on Saturday night, Canelo’s 2021 New Year’s Resolution should be to earn undisputed status in the Super Middleweight Division. If he is successful against Callum Smith, he will be more than halfway there as he would hold the WBC, WBA, Ring Magazine and Lineal titles.
The WBC was kind enough to have their vacant title be on the line with the understanding that Canelo faces Anvi Yildirim within 90 days following December 19th.
My hypothesis is that the WBC will remain true to themselves and offer an extension to eventually let Canelo face Anvi in December 2021, so the iconic Mexican fighting dates will not be wasted on a lesser opponent. If they do not agree, then Canelo will likely vacate and come to an understanding with Anvi, on the backend, that he will face him in December. Remember, Canelo is a WBC Franchise Champion. They will do all they can to accommodate him as he is the cash cow within the sport.
For Canelo to reach his goal of undisputed status, he will need to face Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant. I believe these opponents should be fought in that order.
Let’s not forget, Canelo was originally going to face Billy Joe Saunders in May, 2020 before the pandemic made that impossible. Now that the world has a better understanding of how to maneuver, this is the fight to make for Cinco de Mayo weekend.
For sake of argument, we will assume that Canelo wins this bout as well. At this point, Canelo would sit at 55-1-2, and would hold the WBC, WBA, WBO, The Ring and Lineal championships. He would solidify himself as the top dog in the Super Middleweight division and be one step away from holding undisputed status.
His next fight would then need to be against Caleb Plant on Mexican Independence Day weekend. Staging this fight in September would accomplish a few goals.
Caleb Plant would get additional time to build himself as a marquee rival. He has a fight coming up on January 30th against a TBD opponent. Depending on how strong of a challenge he faces, he would have plenty of time to fit in another fight, if he chooses, before Canelo comes knocking.
Another goal this would accomplish is Canelo would be able to work consecutively with DAZN, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom prior to fighting Caleb Plant. This would create less issues with scheduling and would make his planning as seamlessly as possible. Furthermore, by getting those two DAZN fights out of the way, Canelo could essentially move on from them and reenter the PPV market with Al Haymon.
Caleb Plant would be a nice introduction back to the PPV market, as the fight would have all of the belts on the line, and it would set up their relationship perfectly going forward. PBC has David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo, Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Chris Eubank Jr., among others, that Canelo could face.
At this point, Canelo could close out 2021 by facing his WBC mandatory, Anvi Yildirim and be recognized as the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the world.
The New Year is often looked at as an open ended opportunity, and Canelo Alvarez truly has a firm grip on his career. He can ultimately make the most out of his growing legacy. The Bad Promoter would love nothing less than to see Canelo Alvarez finish 2021 as the Undisputed Champ and rebuild his professional relationship with Al Haymon going forward.
