Who poses the biggest challenge to Canelo now?

Canelo ain't afraid of nobody. He'll fight anybody. In 2019 he tried to fight Beterbiev but Artur was busy. So he fought Kovalev knocked his ass out. Artur hasn't fought since but looks like he has a scheduled match next month. Canelo is at his best at 168, he's already fighting one division higher than where everyone thought he belonged not too long ago. Asking him to fight exclusively at 175 is a bit much, he's not at his best weight. Beterbiev would be a big challenge for Canelo but he has an opportunity to unifiy and become undisputed this year at 168 by beating Saunders and Plant back to back. If he does that then perhaps he can move up to 175 again. After all, Benavidez doesn't seem to be able to make 168 any more, so at this point Canelo vs Benavidez would probably have to be at 175.

One thing about Beterbiev is that he's already 36 years old and Canelo has been criticized for not fighting young guys. If he beats Beterbiev they'll claim Beterbiev was too old, you know how it goes.

 

I want Jnr to get hammered so include him twice!

 

Problem is he lost his title last year on the scales by several pounds. So after that if he fights Canelo at 168 and Canelo wins, they'll claim Canelo "Drained" him. At this point for Canelo to get any credit he'd have to fight Benavidez at 175.

If Benavidez woulda made weight last year and retained his title, he would have fought Yirdirim then the winner of Canelo vs Saunders could have fought Benavidez. But now Benavidez is now pretty much out of the picture at 168.

 

Then it's only BJS.

Fortunately, we'll see what BJS is made of. I think it'll be an excellent fight and the build up will be hilarious.

 

I agree with most of what you say...if he in fact unifies 168, then he can look around for other opportunities at other weights.
No one held a gun to his head to fight at 175, and he picked the weakest, oldest, most KO'd LHW and gave him only 4 weeks of training after a brutal war with a much younger opponent. I believe that was a cynical move to make just for "legacy" purposes. Maybe it was his team that made that move, maybe not.

If and when he unifies 168, he can fight anyone anywhere from 160- 175 for a belt or not for a belt and still make tons of money. Just don't make moves like he did vs Kovalev. I lost some respect for Canelo for that one.

 

Maybe so, but he put himself out of the running when he lost his title on the scales. If he would have retained his title, that would be the match to make after BJS. As it stands I would still like to see Canelo vs Benavidez even at 175 or at a catchweight north of 168. But you know if Benavidez fights Canelo, makes 168 then loses to Canelo, everyone will claim he was drained and Canelo drained him and Canelo will get no credit.

 

I think it was DAZN who approved Kovalev as an opponent. DAZN probably saw Kovalev as the biggest "name" opponent available at that time and Kovalev wanted the payday. I doubt Canelo had much say in choosing Kovalev. His team claims they approached Beterbiev but Artur already had an opponent, so Kovalev was the only World Champ at 175 available and a big enough name that DAZN would approve.

Agreed on fighting anywhere from 160-175 after / if he unifies at 168. But again I don't think you can blame Canelo for fighting Kovalev. It was a big name and Kovalev was coming off back to back wins and he was a legit LHW Champ. It was the biggest name out there for Canelo and someone that DAZN would approve.

 

Beterbiev.....think that's it...and in a year or two I don't think he will be upto it anymore either maybe......maybe benavidez

 

If we are talking strictly 160-168, I’d say only Bivol has more than a slim chance, at the moment. That’s assuming he can make the weight and not suffer any ill effects.

IMO, Canelo has or finds an answer for every other fighter out there. TBH, I think he’d find one for Bivol, but Bivol offers excellent boxing skills and IQ of his own, is bigger, and defensively proficient.

Much of the same can be said for Saunders, but I don’t see him being able to utilize his and translate it into any offense. I think he’d potshot and be on the run after the first couple of rounds.

 

The problem is Bivol is currently WBA Light Heavyweight (Super) Champ and hasn't fought since 2019 and regardless of whether or not Bivol can still safely make 168, if he comes down to 168 to fight Canelo then Canelo will be accused of being a weight bully and draining Bivol, and hence will get no credit for beating Bivol by many fans at that weight. Same with Benavidez. With Benavidez already losing his title on the scales, and seemingly having outgrown 168, if Canelo beats him at 168 fans will claim Canelo drained Benavidez. So for Canelo to get full credit realistically those fights will have to occur north of 168. And if there's a catchweight then his detractors will call 172 "Caneloweight" so realistically these matches now have to be at 175. Canelo is trying to unify 168 now so with Bivol and Benavidez no longer at 168, at this point they're not realistic challengers for Canelo at Super Middleweight

 

Of course it’s possible, but I don’t give him a good shot. He’s never faced anyone with Canelo’s skillset or adaptability. I think the only edge he’d hold is foot speed, and I think he’d be hugely reliant on it.

He doesn’t have the power to command Canelo’s respect. BJS couldn’t really stand and trade at all. He’d be on the hard run, and that would take its toll, especially with Canelo’s body attack. I think Canelo would just keep pushing him and pushing him, while throwing and landing combos of his own. I think he’d punish him to the body to slow him down, then finish him. Just my opinion.