It was seven years ago today when Canelo Alvarez fought and lost the biggest fight of his career. Schooled by Floyd Mayweather, who put on a masterclass, Canelo was down in the dumps after losing the decision (crazily only a majority decision, this thanks to some unfathomable scoring by one judge who somehow had the fight a draw), yet in time he would bounce back in fine style.
A whole lot has happened in the career of Santos Saul Alvarez Barragan since that drubbing at the hands of “Money.”
Canelo came back, he won the middleweight title, along with belts at light-middleweight, super-middleweight, and also light-heavyweight. Canelo fought Gennady Golovkin (twice), was lucky to get a draw at the end of fight-one, and he then tested positive for a banned substance.
That was the most talked about, most controversial event in the Mexican star’s career at the time. Yet now, with the ugly lawsuit between Canelo and DAZN/Golden Boy/Oscar De La Hoya raging, fans have pretty much forgotten all about the clenbuterol issue.
Who knows how the lawsuit issue will end, how long it will keep Canelo out of action in the ring. It’s already been ten months since Canelo fought, and it’s anyone’s guess how the time spent out of the ring will affect him.
Canelo won’t box this year, and we have no idea how deep into 2021 it will be before he fights again. Canelo turned 30 in July, he is pretty much in his prime now, and as fans know, a fighter’s prime years do not last long.
If Canelo wins the lawsuit, he will be a very wealthy man (he already is), but how many great fights/performances will he lose out on in the meantime (Canelo has already missed fighting over Cinco de Mayo weekend and over Mexican Independence Day weekend here in 2020)?
Canelo, by the time he does re-enter the ring, will almost certainly be rusty, his timing and reflexes off some. Imagine if Canelo suffered a shock defeat in his first fight back after the court case? It could happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hws-4eDDchw&t=168s
Canelo is the biggest star in boxing today, and we need him back. It might be a long and messy road he has to go down before he can fight again, but Canelo did what he felt needed to be done in filing the lawsuit. But could his actions backfire on him in a serious way?
As of now, the lawsuit must be amended by Canelo’s legal people, as it was dismissed in its submitted form due to errors. Canelo’s people have two weeks to amend the claim and file again.
This will slow the whole thing down and take up even more time, time in which Canelo should be boxing. For his part, De La Hoya says he hopes to get Canelo “back in the ring against a top opponent ASAP.”
Don’t hold your breath.
