As good as he is, in fact, as great as he is, and as motivated by making history as he is, could it be that superstar Canelo Alvarez makes the audacious move to the cruiserweight division one day, perhaps next year? Standing at 5’8” as he does and having a reach of just 70” as he does, it’s almost certain plenty of fans will shoot down the very question of whether or not Canelo can go to cruiserweight, and they will do so with disdain.
But Canelo, as we know, is special. And the love of challenges he has might just persuade Canelo to try to make a very special page in the history books. Imagine what an astonishing legacy Canelo would have as a man who won world titles at 154, 160, 168, 175 and 200 pounds! Imagine what kind of a red carpet the boxing historians would have to roll out for him! And there are some experts who feel Canelo can indeed go up to cruiserweight and win a belt at his fifth weight.
David Haye, who ranks as one of the cruiserweight greats, and Carl Frampton, the former super-bantam and featherweight champ, both think Canelo can do it. Working Saturday night’s fight between Canelo and the courageous Caleb Plant for BT Sport, Haye and Frampton each spoke on the Mexican’s chances of doing what might be looked at as the impossible. Interestingly, as in very interestingly, Frampton said he would give Canelo a better shot at beating reigning IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis than he would give him of beating current WBC/IBF light-heavyweight ruler Artur Beterbiev.
“I’d take a Briedis fight over Beterbiev at light-heavyweight. I think he has a better chance – Briedis is an amazing fighter by the way – but I think he has a better chance of beating someone like Briedis than he does Beterbiev,” Frampton said of Canelo. “Beterbiev, I would tend to stay away from. He’s Canelo, he’s an unbelievable fighter, but I just think Beterbiev would be a step too far.”
For the record, Briedis stands at 6’1” and he has a reach of 75.” Could Canelo really get in there and beat him? Frampton seems to think so, but what about Haye – does he think Canelo can pick up a major belt at 200 pounds?
“Talking about [Canelo] going up to cruiserweight, Roy Jones went up to heavyweight, beating John Ruiz, and he was originally a middleweight, so anything’s possible…..he seems that good that he could go up there and do the unthinkable and fight cruiserweights,” Haye said. “Cruiserweights are 200 pounds and I think it’s possible, he’s that good.”
There are other experts who also believe Canelo can do it. But will Canelo try? It would be a truly historic fight/event if Canelo did go after a reigning cruiserweight champ, that’s for sure. How much more does Canelo need to achieve before he is looked at by just about everyone as THE greatest Mexican fighter ever? Would the winning of a major belt in a fifth-weight-class do it for him? Maybe.
Too many divisions. Too many Champions from each Division. Too many organizations. Too many promoters. Too many belts.
UFC gets it right. One promoter, one belt in each division, fewer divisions, always pitting the best vs the best, top contenders EARNING their ranking and eventual title shots by defeating other top contenders in their prime. And they fight often. UFC guys make considerably less money compared to Boxing’s elite, but a more vicious and entertaining sport from top to bottom. Inarguably so.
Roy Jones beat a heavyweight whom you had to drive a stake in the ground to see Ruiz move. Sure, if Canelo finds the “right match-up”, he can go up to grab another belt, like Roy did. Send Canelo to heavyweight against Tyson Fury and see if he pulls that off. Caleb Plant was another embarrassing challenger. Back up, leaning over your back leg, and flick out a few jabs, and let Canelo walk right thru you, and drain your tank, which is what the larger Plant should have done, just as Buster Douglas did to Mike Tyson. Plant just saw his prime-time come to an end, now he can enjoy his payday and settle in to fight B-level fighters from here on out. And for the record, Canelo needs to have a garage sale to unload that obnoxious number of “championship belts” they covered him up to keep him warm with; must have had 12 belts for how many titles? That too is what’s wrong with Boxing.