This Saturday night live on the DAZN app or PPV via OnDemand, Canelo Alvarez takes on his mandatory challenger of sorts Avni Yildrim for a WBC belt that was stripped from David Benavidez in August for missing weight.
Canelo’s opponent is of the ho-hum variety, no doubt, but if anyone was pay attention (I don’t blame folks for not pay attention), it was easy to see this fight was coming down the pipe.
It’s fine to rip the matchup, but at least we already know who Canelo is fighting next and likely the one after that as well.
All and all a stay busy bout making up for lost funds in 2020, and mapping out the year is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of this backwards world of boxing.
The split with Golden Boy was an ugly soap opera that played out slowly but surely regardless of what some press members wanted us to believe.
The writing was on the wall for a few items made it clear, but surely Canelo missing his Mexican Independence weekend back in 2019 was telling.
Golden Boy and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom USA had overpaid for fighters or individual bouts, and the chickens were on their way home to roost, so to speak.
The market was set by DAZN, and the managers were just trying to do right by their fighters and take advantage of the current situation. Hashing out the money for Canelo’s foes was becoming a shit show more and more.
Covid-19 hit, and in the summer, details began to trickle out, making it crystal clear that GBP and Canelo were not on good terms. Long story short, Canelo found out about an alleged agreement between Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN that he was unaware of.
The names of acceptable marquee matchups to ensure Canelo gets his full guarantee were laughable, including Oscar De La Hoya. Without Alvarez knowing he had been duped by his own promotional company having paperwork with GBP but not DAZN left him in a tough spot.
The threat of a lawsuit that was filed led to Canelo’s exit. Canelo decided to stay with DAZN for the next 3 fights as it turns out signing a co-promotional deal with Matchroom USA.
This weekend Canelo faces a walk over to an extent anyway in Avni Yildrim. Yildrim got the fight dating back to his successful petition when he lost via injury to Anthony Dirrell.
Avni has yet to defeat a top-level fighter that said he did fair well in the Dirrell fight. Some thought he was leading on the cards before the technical-stoppage. Obviously, we can’t forget the success he was having against Chris Eubank Jr. but let’s be honest, he was starched badly thereafter.
Next up for Canelo will be a potentially tricky-style for Billy Joe Saunders who’s best wins occurred at middleweight. Canelo will be back in his normal Cinco De Mayo slot in May, and from the sounds of it, Alvarez will take on IBF belt holder Caleb Plant in September in what could be another interesting fight because of the slickness Plant can bring to the ring.
If successful and not injured, maybe Canelo finishes the year with a December bout or gets out early 2022. It’s funny; so many people in the media and fanbase complain about fighters not fighting enough times per year.
A fair point for sure; however, when Canelo does exactly that, he gets dumped on by portions of that same crowd, and I’m not just talking about Golovkin fanboys, although there’s plenty of them in the media core.
Could you imagine what boxing twitter would be like when fighters fought several times a year versus club fighters? Anyway, it won’t take, but a few rounds for Canelo to figure out what punches will result in stopping Yildrim.
Not calling for an exact duplicate of Eubank’s knockout, but if that’s the case, Canelo will go viral, which would help make this fight worth it beyond the huge purse he’ll receive.
My Official Prediction is Canelo Alvarez via mid to late-round knockout.
Side Note: Unfortunately, all-action brawler Jesus Cesar Martinez sustained an injury so that he won’t be fighting McWilliams Arroyo. Still, maybe we can get some form of entertainment out of the FOX card that features Anthony Dirrell vs. Kyrone Davis, as well as prospects Jesus Ramos and Vito Mielnicki.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio & Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio
