I thought he won but the fact remains that ALL of his big wins (trout, lara and now cotto) are non-emphatic overinflated decisions. Knock out Cotto in 5, then we can talk about him as the next face of boxing or whatever.
I don't think anyone's saying he's an ATG, but he's apparently at least "great" based on years of being rated p4p
He's still a good/very good fighter. "Great" fighters, I feel, are those who achieve a lot more during their careers or show real high abilities during their peak (for instance, Donald Curry at his peak).
Hardcore boxing fans trying to push him into a fight with GGG. Same old story. GGG needs Canelo more than vice versa.
Canelo gets sh!t on for having competitive fights vs tough opposition and winning yet GGG is a ATG for beating journeymen.
He's on the right path. Took on the #1 p4p on his terms and Lara and Cotto aren't pushovers, but still solid wins over a living legend on a hot streak and one of the most avoided fighters in his prime. Showed he's not 1 dimensional and he can box very well. Let's be real. I don't think Quillin, Lee, or even possibly GGG wouldn't beat Cotto or Lara by ko either, tho Ggg would still win. Canelo-Cotto was one of those rare, actually exciting tactical boxing matches. Not a fullout war, but it was still exciting.
Have to agree, given what he's shown so far in his career. He has some good physical attributes and obviously is skilful in boxing terms, but hasn't shown that he can be truly special yet. He looked impressive against Kirkland, but that's Kirkland. As the OP has said, he arguably lost against Trout and looked pretty ordinary against Lara and now Cotto.
He's already proved that he's at least greater than Cotto at that age. In regards to his close victories vs Lara and Trout, that's what happens when you take on solid competition instead of cherry-picking your fights.
He's great like De La Hoya is great, he's no ATG puncher, he's not the most skilled, but he punches just hard enough and is just skilled enough to get the job done. That's good enough for me.
This is the best statement thus far in all of the threads combined. Welcome to the fanboy fantasy forum where beating up bums that C level fighters are dominating is considered Ali status and fighting Moseley,Trout,Mayweather,Angulo, Kirkland, Lara, and Cotto make you nothing special.
