Canelo career arc (2025, 2026, 2027)

So it's not about Belts anymore? Undisputed all of a sudden doesn't matter? Why fight Mbilli when you can fight a World Title Holder in Scull and become 2X Undisputed?

 

How so? If you take issue with the IBF stripping Canelo for fighting Berlanga instead of Scull, then OK. But the fact is that they ordered Scull vs Shishkin for the vacant title and Scull won. Now that decision was hotly debated but much of this forum did not think Scull could win that fight. The fact is he won the fight and if it's about titles, if it about Undisputed, then that's who Canelo needs to fight next. I just find it funny that so many of the people who have been preaching for years about how it's all about collecting titles, how Undisputed is so important, now doesn't even factor that in as it relates to Canelo and who he should fight next. We have people saying that Canelo should drop everything he's doing to move up to 175 for a non-title fight with Benavidez.

 

I get wanting to see Canelo Benavidez, but this is getting ridiculous. We have people literally arguing that Canelo's "too big" for Crawford so that shouldn't happen, but Benavidez is not "too big" for Canelo. But when it pertains to Canelo Jake Paul, the weight difference doesn't matter and Canelo would win easily. You can't make this stuff up.

 

I'm not trying to justify it at all!! I've said repeatedly that I don't want to see him fight Jake Paul. Though I agree with you in that people are discounting the size difference. That's my stance. I want to see him fight Scull next, because Scull has the IBF belt and Canelo can re-gain Undisputed with a win. That's history making, not that Scull is some world beater, though he was good enough to beat a solid Shishkin that many on here were high on. I would be fine with Canelo fighting Scull, Mbilli or Crawford.

It's ridiculous to suggest that Canelo should drop everything to move up to 175 to fight Benavidez for a non-title fight. It's supposed to be about belts remember!! If/When Benavidez becomes World Champion then the fight makes sense. Same with Jake Paul. The reason why most people are trashing the idea of Canelo Jake Paul is for the reasons I outlined, the fact that Jake Paul hasn't beaten a quality "real" boxer, he hasn't fought for or achieved a World Title. I'm saying, the fight may make more sense for Canelo down the road, maybe after he moves up to 175 and fights Benavidez or something. Doing the fight now is crazy, I get it from a financial perspective, this is prize fighting after all. But Canelo should stay at 168 and defend his titles, recapture Undisputed, and move up in weight to fight World Champions. Moving up in weight to fight a non-title fight is pointless aside from the $$. It does nothing for legacy to beat Jake Paul now, but maybe in 2 years if Paul becomes a World Champ, then it makes more sense.

 

Condemn? I wouldn't go that far, but I do understand that it's a very lucrative fight. The reason why I don't think it's smart is because it will cause Canelo to put on weight which will slow him down and affect his conditioning and long term performance. Canelo needs to move up in weight slowly, not jumping around between 168 and 200 lbs in a matter of months. If he beats Jake Paul lets say, then he comes back down to 168, I think he'll be easier to beat because of having to put on weight to fight Paul then drop it to get back down to 168.

I think he should focus on beating the best available opponents in his weight class! And give Benavidez and Jake Paul time to become World Champion. If they become World Champs, then fight Benavidez for Undisputed then Jake Paul for a Cruiserweight World Title. That makes sense to me. So I understand why he would choose Jake Paul, as he is the biggest draw, he brings the most money. But I don't like it, and I don't want to see it now. It's too big of a weight jump for Canelo. That said, as you also atested to, if he did fight Jake Paul, it's not the walk in the park that many seem to think it is. That's all I'm saying. The size and weight advantage Paul would have would be massive and it would be a big challenge for Canelo just from the weight alone. Would it be entertaining and oddly satisfying if it happened. Probably, but I don't think it's a good idea for Canelo's career arc.

 

Well you're entitled to your opinion, I said I understand it from a financial perspective, but I don't like it. I also don't like it from the standpoint that the boxing world was under the impression that Canelo vs Crawford was happening in September, a P4P battle, only to be replaced with the idea of Canelo vs Jake Paul. That's frustrating on many levels.

If he were fighting Crawford in September, then Scull for Undisputed makes sense for May, so that Canelo Crawford would be for Undisputed. I would also be fine with Mbilli for September instead of Crawford. But the idea of fighting Benavidez or Jake Paul now seems crazy to me. Neither of those guys have World Titles. Of course each of those fights present challenges but there is a time and a place for it and now in my mind definitely isn't the right time for either of those fights. Canelo should be fighting for or Defending World Titles. To fight Jake Paul when you have the opportunity to reclaim Undisputed is a no brainer to me. But the $$ difference is obviously huge. Apparently Scull is asking for $8 million which shouldn't be a problem but when you compare how much Canelo would make for fighting Jake vs Scull the difference is massive. But my point is that the Jake fight could still happen down the road and make just as much $$ or not more then. So might as well take care of 168 reclaim Undisputed now while you can, and wait till he's done with 168 before chasing bigger guys at higher weights.