Sergio Martinez vs Canelo Alvarez

Agreed

 

I like Canelo’s fundamentals, underrated defensive abilities, and powerpunching hand speed in this one.

 

Sergio wins a round or two just jabbing from the outside. Gets confident, darts in, and eats the hardest, cleanest counter shot of his career. Fight over. No need for attrition to wear him down in counter exchanges or body work. He got dropped even in his best performances. I don't rate him super highly outside of his era. Fun to watch though. Was a stylist unto his own.

 

When was Martinez ever stopped by single counter punch? (of which he took many)

 

Do I look like Boxrec to you

 

That'll be "never", then!

 

Good thing the argument didn't rely on that missing history.

Who was supposed to set up a singularly crushing counter on him? Macklin? Williams? Margarito? None of their fortes. Not to the extent Canelo can sit back, time, and land one. Sergio versus Lara would've been a good bellwether.

 

I doubt Martinez is getting taken out by a single shot. And, whilst Canelo has good one-punch power, he has, more often than not, worn his opponents down by heavy-handed persistence.

Not sure if a Martinez vs Lara bout would serve as a useful enough measure, given the contrasting styles between the former and Canelo. I actually see Martinez presenting the type of challenge for Canelo that Lara gave him; a more aggressive, albeit less defensively minded, version of Lara.

 

That's fair. I do think a lot of people tried to chase Sergio. A shot that waits for him to be out of position would be cleaner. He would get in awkward positions regularly. Especially if he got tagged a few times. That's the comparison between Canelo and Lara. They aren't identical fighters, none are, but they both have patience and set traps for clean counters. Both are clever with snappy power. Sergio didn't face a top fighter like that. It's a limited comparison on a limited point that I think would certainly matter in that match up and perhaps define it. Maybe that has to play out a few times to put down Sergio as opposed to once. I was being rather decisive.

 

I think Martinez who never wanted to see GGG in the same ring, is a little under rated. I view him as a border line hall of fame who if he had a few more title defenses, or fought better option from 1997-2008, would have solid case.

I agree, he wasn't that good on defense, and Canelo's quick counters would defeat him on points.

 

Agreed

 

This is a plausible speculation. I think there certainly would be windows of opportunity for Canelo and we know he can wait and make use of these. However, they may not be all that frequent; perhaps, not sufficient enough to nail Martinez as consistently as required.

As good a boxer as Canelo is, he doesn't appear to handle speed, movement and volume from his opponents all that well. A peak Martinez brings all of these to the table; along with his own brand or unorthodoxy and toughness.

It can sometimes look untidy and unsteady, which can make him look vulnerable on occasion. But, in my opinion, these seeming weaknesses also meant Martinez wasn’t all that easy to predict, either. He also, at his peak, had the speed and wherewithal to make rapid, corrective adjustments and reassert himself over and over again, in a fight. This was until his legs and speed began to fail him.

I understand what you’re suggesting about the Lara/Canelo comparison and, whilst one might consider Martinez as not having fought that level of opponent, I really do think we’re talking very fine lines here. An eccentric, pacey stylist like Martinez, who was unlikely to fold under pressure, brings something of a unique challenge; a style and mentality that maybe neither Lara nor Canelo had quite faced before.

Lara was a class act, for sure, but he didn’t take the risks on pressing the offensive against Canelo, to bag what might have been a clear victory for him, had he done so. Martinez, by his very nature, would take such risks.

He may falter in the face of Canelo’s counter-offensive, but I think he has as much chance of making the distance as Trout, Mosley, Lara or Cotto - and leaving some healthy scorecards in his wake.

 

Canelo is like Cotto, but better, faster sharper, bigger, stronger and Cotto beat up Martinez mainly due to levels so I do think that Canelo would level him similar to his James Kirkland fight, too fast and Martinez isn't hard to hit either