I think I've mentioned this before but now it has come to my attention again due to canelo not having many opponents left at super middle and middle. If you had a normal top ten over the years of big light heavies that were all great he has no chance but I see this as a good finale for him. If he loses at end of his career to beterbiev or bivol he still as tag of a great super middle and middleweight but I think this is the worst top ten light heavy division maybe ever. Dont get me wrong I think it's a great division to watch as there are so many good fights to be made. But come on bivol and beterbiev being the top 2???? Yes bivol is technically superb but doesnt punch and could actually make super middle. Beterbiev is great to watch but with his style you need to have a granite chin which he doesnt quite have, yes he has solid chin and has very heavy hands but he isnt even a top 5 in some light heavy eras. I'd say any fight at light heavyweight is viable for someone as good as canelo. Vs bivol he would have a tough night and it would be a chess match or even a fencing dual but I see more in canelos arsenal and funny enough would hold the power. Beterbiev could hurt canelo if he landed flush but I dont think he lands flush and canelo would land at will. Final thoughts: light heavy is a big step for someone of canelos size and I'm not saying he definitely wins but this is his best era to do something at that size
Why not? They does have belts and why then Canelo is in SMW division top? Not cos he does have belts? Or you think ranking should be done according to boxer's passport? Sure only for you. Beterbiev could hurt any one when he was 30-35 y.o, didn't had injury and rehab and inactive period & this covid era. Now, when he is 36 and looked that is aging, ppl are brave to talk about how overrated he is etc things. Gvozdyk is really huge dude for LHW division and can box, does have power and still can outbox opponents. He outboxed Beterbiev and most likely he did had won on cards vs Beterbiev if fight ended on cards. Beterbiev is highly experienced in amateur ranks and when he turned into a pro. He does not box for cards. He also is not headhunter 1 punch artist. He slowly damages guys to wear them down with gradual damages and punches everywhere he is able to land: arms, shoulders, ribs, lower ribs, core, liver, splenum and ofc also head. If fight goes till cards, I think Bivol if in good shape and Gvozdyk had outboxed Beterbiev till decsion win. IF they could managed to last till end of 12 th round. Bearing in mind, that he might had stayed with his 1 belt and beat bums in row for title defense fights : he instead of this easy road had fought vs Gvozdyk to attempt get next belt. No one boxing org could enforce him fight vs Gvozdyk.
He is simply too small for LHW. Yes, he beat Kovalev, but it was calculated risk. Kova wasnt at his peak, and also to one dimensional for Canelo with his long ranged style and mostly straight punches, bad chin too. Top durable LHW like Arthur would walk Canelo down... There are still some 3-4 ok-ish fights for him. Since he is a cash cow, guys from middle weight like GGG, Charlo, Andrade would like to fight him. And that not mentioning Caleb Plant.
Benavidez, Berlenga at 168 aswell. I completely agree about Kovelev being calculated, I don't think Canelo is gonna take that risk @175. Being the cash cow he can sit at 168 and force others to move up/down. How viable do we think Spence at 160 is?? I'd love to see Canelo vs Spence.
Canelo hasn't beaten anyone at light heavy.. The Kovalev fight was a clear fix /sparring session/DAZN-Canelo showcase
Kova had a motor installed in his neck that made it turn abruptly to simulate the absorption of a big shot at the end. Canelo didn't hit him hard enough to knock him out it was an illusion he actually had an actuator installed in his glove that he triggered as he threw the final punch
Canelo wasted Kovalev easily. Therefore he could be the undisputed light heavyweight champion. BUT, I don't think he can beat Dmitry Bivol.
He did not this easily. Kovalev had outboxed him all fight ( I do know that Canelo fans most likely had scored all rounds for Canelo and laughted how bad this Kovalev is and like this ) until he landed on him. Not a first time, before this fight when Kov lost 100% attention level, Yarde managed to gave him 2 rounds from the hell. Kovalev barely had survived and managed to win. Before this he had UD win vs Eleider. Before this fight Eleider took advantage when Kovalev lost attention and beated up him heavily and impressively. Stoppage had happened earlier than in fight vs Canelo. More than this, he dropped Kovalev not just once in 1 single round and landed on him a l lot power punches. Kovalev wasn't considered as so hard to hurt or in prime after first fight vs Eleider and fight vs Yarde, regardless that he won this one, proved again: you do not need well known boxer to put Kovalev in serious danger.
OK. Why didn't Kovalev throw any power punches in that fight against Canelo? He has the nick name "Krusher", but we didn't see any crushing punches from him that night, only pitty pat punches, like he was caressing Canelo's face.
I do know that you are Canelo fan and even will devalue other boxers wins vs the same Kovalev. Cos only Canelo is good boxer and for you only he had defeated Kovalev. Kovalev had been stopped and defeated before he had fought vs Canelo. Btw, I do know: your God is only Canelo. Other boxers for you are nobodies, typical Canelo fan.
Why is LHW too big for Clenelo it's not like he's been giving away lots of weight in any of the divisions he's fought in yet. He was coming in as high as 172 and 174 like 8 years ago down at 154 and 155 and he's obviously bulked up and is heavier since moving up to 160 and 168. He weighs about the same as career LHW Bivol and would've only been giving away 2lbs max and 2.5'' in reach to Kovalev when they fought each other. Yes I know he's giving away height but he's a freaking tank and very thick-set and powerful with a huge head, neck, and legs. Manny is also thick-set and powerful but he's only been rehydrating 4lbs at 147 and he's been routinely facing opponents who have 10-15lbs on him and 2-5'' in reach. Loma is routinely facing opponents who have huge physical advantages over him up at 135 - 7lb-10bs in weight and 2-6'' in reach in like almost every single fight which is less than what Clenelo would be giving away to Beterbiev and even less against Bivol. If they can do that routinely why can't Clen do it against opponents who have lesser advantages in weight and reach as Manny's and Loma's have over them at 147 and 135 respectively? Manny can do it because, like Clenelo, he's thick and has that huge head to absorb the power of much bigger men and the power to hurt them too. So why not Clen? That's the thing with these weight bullies who rehydrate 15-20lbs and then keep doing so as they move up - they're not giving away weight or if they are not much at all as they ascend through the divisions. Terry Crawford is another good example. Clenelo would've had a significant amount of weight on GGG in both their fights even though GGG was a career MW. He weighed more than GGG's average and very consistent fight night weight down at 154 and 155. Smith is a huge SME in terms of height and length but there would have only been a few pound separating them in terms of weight and Clenelo looks the physically stronger man against him, BJS 2.0, Yildirim who had come down from LHW, Kovalev, Rocky From Stocky etc. Again, he's built like a freaking tank. Tyson was small for a HW but like Clenelo he was as wide as he was tall, with a thick base, neck that enabled him to absorb the shots of much naturally taller, longer and bigger men and generate vicious power to take them out in brutal fashion.
@Serge I think his being able to absorb the punches and being strong like an ox is not because he is a gifted fighter. I think it is because of the whatever substance he is using. The man doesn't look normal, he is buff and that kind of power cannot be generated from auch a small body, no matter how thick he is.