Ahead of tonight’s battle of two undisputed world champions, super-middleweight king Canelo Álvarez knows he has nothing to prove and yet, says he’s motivated by silencing one of his critics in light-middleweight titlist Jermell Charlo – who he feels never believed in his skills – and now he’ll make up for those questioning just how far he’s slipped from such high standards.
Canelo on Charlo: I have something to prove, to him
Champion vs. champ: Canelo Álvarez (c) vs. Jermell Charlo (c)
Undisputed super-middleweight world titles on the line
Charlo will be stripped of 154lb belts at the first bell, Tim Tszyu upgraded
Live at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, main event ringwalks from 5am BST
He can’t solve the Dmitry Bivol-shaped predicament at light-heavyweight. David Benavidez remains a fight he still won’t take, and clearly this is a declining champion trying to stave off the inevitable like his old foe Floyd Mayweather was criticised for.
Canelo Álvarez knows critics will always have something negative to say, no matter what he does, so there’s no point trying to prove himself. Well, this weekend he faces undisputed light-middleweight world champion Jermell Charlo.
The 33-year-old hasn’t boxed for 17 months, enters the biggest test of his career after a long injury layoff, and knows the odds are stacked against him.
Jumping up two weight divisions to achieve greatness after original opponent and twin brother Jermall withdrew as he continues dealing with personal issues.
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Although many within boxing circles have lauded Canelo as one of the world’s best – both currently and all-time – a belief heightened after he cleaned out the competition at 168lbs, Saturday’s opponent has publicly not joined the wave.
Charlo has often been skeptical about Alvarez’s abilities compared with his own, so much so that the respectful build-up between them leading into the fight took many by surprise and some felt the lowkey nature of a Canelo fight has impacted fight promotion. Canelo hasn’t forgotten though, and was quoted as saying this:
“I have something to prove to him because he never believed in my skills, was always calling me out. That’s my motivation, to show him why I’m one of the best.”
Who will prevail? We’ll wait and see but the super-middleweight champion’s ability to draw inspiration from historical slights is part of the reason why he’s managed to stay at the top of the game so long. Theoretically, he should be too big and strong at the weight against an inactive champion, but stranger things have happened.
Picture source: Getty Images
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