Canelo Deserves P4P Top Rating But List is Overdue for Shakeup
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 10 May 2021
Viva Mey-hi-co!
With his recent 8th round stoppage win over erstwhile WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, Saul Canelo Alvarez deserves every bit of his billing as the numero uno pound for pound fighter of the planet and likewise at the phenomenal clip he is going.
Counting his split decision victory over the then dreaded Kazakh KO artist Gennady Golovkin in late 2018 for virtually all the titles at middleweight, Canelo has fought and beaten seven straight marquee or at least named opponents, four via the short route, in less than thirty months. That means a fight and a win in every four months!
Only the uber busy Emanuel Navarrete has a faster clip at super bantamweight and featherweight but of course not talking of the quality of opposition.
But the cinnamon headed Mexican superstar's recent list of victims also included such names as Daniel Jacobs (UD12), Rocky Fielding (TKO3), Sergei Kovalev (KO11), Callum Smith (UD12), Avni Yildrim (TKO3) and just last weekend, BJS (TKO8).
More importantly in the process, Canelo brought home with him in his hometown Guadalajara, Mexico GGG's WBC, WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine's middleweight titles, Fielding's WBA super middleweight belt, Kovalev's WBO light heavyweight crown, Smith's WBC and Ring Magazine's lineal world super middleweight titles and Saunder's WBO tiara.
Only Caleb Plant's IBF super middleweight belt is missing in his collection but that is the next target.
It will take us back to the days of Roy Jones Jr. in the late 80s and much of the 90s to find a great fighter as active and successful in more than a division as Canelo is now.
Given that, Canelo indeed deserves his billing as the top pound for pound fighter in the world.
Following his lead and the lofty standard he has set, does his company in the top five of the list deserve their spot? I don't believe so.
In fact, I believe the top five list with the sole exception of Canelo deserves a major shake up or shakedown.
Not even the once touted Japanese Monster, Naoya Inoue is beyond reproach. This is the second time he has avoided a clash with WBO bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero who calls him a Japanese Turtle.
The bantamweights is due for shakeup anyway. Viva those Filipinos!
More underserving are the duo of Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence who apart from publicly declaring their unwillingness to fight each other are seemingly content on taking on overmatched or over the hill opponents. Fans and possible sponsors are so turned off by their misguided narcissism that even fights with a legend like Manny Pacquiao could not get support.
The fifth guy on the list is Teofimo Lopez and though earth- shaking was his conquest of the once revered The Matrix himself, Vasiliy Lomachenko, the jury is still up as to his true worthiness.
With high profile possible competition around as Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and even Gervonta Tank Davis, he has settled for somebody as George Kambosos. Not entirely his fault--- or liking. But then he could have used his influence. But even his own promoter, Bob Arum did not seem to have much faith in him, not even putting up a decent bid for his fight versus Kambosos.
Premises put forth, who do you think should replace these underperformers?
Mine is Navarrete, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury who are both instrumental in bringing the heavyweights back to fore and Juan Francisco Estrada whose fights versus Srisaket Sor Rungvusai and Chocolatito Gonzalez are of epic stuffs. Honorable mentions are Oleksander Usyk and Josh Taylor or Jose Ramirez.
But that's just me. How about your list?
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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