Saul Canelo Alvarez must answer biggest question of all against Jermell Charlo

18 August 2023 , 13:07

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How much does Canelo Alvarez have left in the tank? (Image: AP)

As ever in this phase of the career of Saul Canelo Alvarez the question is how much of his best remains.

In selecting Jermell Charlo, a unified champion at light middleweight, in a match set at super middleweight, Canelo is taking a different direction after losing to Dimitry Bivol at light heavyweight.

This is a test of Canelo’s desire to keep going at 33 after 18 years as a pro. I’m not sure how much love Canelo retains for the game. When you live in that Mexican bubble, where boxing is more than a sport, the intensity can be overwhelming.

So many Mexicans live in poverty and have been downtrodden their whole lives. They express themselves through boxing. It gives them their identity. In Mexico Canelo enjoys almost god-like status.

You can probably multiply the adoration I received at the height of my career, which was both amazing and scary, by ten. That’s hard to manage every minute of every day.

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Canelo always appears calm. Once he has committed to a date he is all-in, and goes through the process like a machine. But even a guy with his attributes and focus gets tired in the end.

As the great Marvin Hagler said, it is difficult to get up for work when you are sleeping in silk pyjamas.

So that is the tension in this fight. Sooner or later Canelo will experience another Bivol-like moment, a night when no matter what he tries he comes up short.

Undisputed super middleweight world champion Canelo Ãlvarez, of Mexico (AP)

Charlo thinks this is it. I’m not so sure. Canelo is in the final stages of his career, but he’s not quite done yet. Though Charlo is a world champion at light middleweight, he is the taller, bigger specimen in this fight.

Like the majority of fighters Charlo drops to an artificially-low weight to gain a perceived advantage. He stepped of the scales at 154 pounds at light middle but would be at least 20 pounds heavier when the first bell went.

Indeed he will probably be shedding a stone to make the 168-pound limit for this fight. Canelo stands a tad over 5ft 8ins. Charlo is a fag paper shy of 6ft. I doubt he will weigh less than Canelo in the ring.

It wont be an easy fight for Canelo. I’m not sure if Charlo has the class to win but he can fight. He has a decent dig and takes a shot.

It turns on how much Canelo has left. Too much, I expect, for Charlo.

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Barry McGuigan