Welcome to an Xmas edition of Magno's Bulging Mail Sack. In honor of the festive holiday season, my bloated, pulsating sack will be wrapped in tinsel and the gooey, salty truth contained within will be referred to as "love eggnog." This week, we have comments/questions regarding Canelo and his legacy, other active fighters' legacies, and Fighter of the Year.
What next for Canelo?
Hey Magno.
Quite impressive work from Canelo Alvarez on Saturday. He took a very good fighter in Callum Smith and made him look very, very regular. What do you see in the red-head's future? He can pretty much pick and choose whoever he wants next, so tell me what you see him doing in his next 3 or 4 fights and for which network do you see him fighting?
Thanks for your voice and all your hard work over the years. Have a great and safe holiday!
-- Dennis G.
Hey Dennis.
I don't know, but I still see him moving over to PBC. I think his desire to stay independent and free from promoter control fits nicely into PBC's general business model. Plus, I think they can offer him the better overall list of possible opponents. But, as you said, Canelo can do pretty much anything he wants right now and I'm sure ESPN and DAZN, who'd probably push to lock him into some sort of exclusive deal, would bend over backwards to accommodate his desires for promoter-free independence.
For the next couple fights, I see him bouncing around, playing the field. Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO belt on DAZN or Caleb Plant for the IBF title on Fox PPV will probably be next. The one he doesn't fight first will probably be the next opponent. Then, maybe Jermall Charlo or a third Golovkin clash. Canelo's staying put at 168, though. This is assuming possible opponents don't get beat in the meantime and someone else doesn't pop up to become a top contender.
Thanks for the kind words and Happy Holidays, right back at you.
Legacies (Canelo's and Others')
Hey Paul,
I watched the Canelo-Smith fight last night. Very impressive win by Canelo. This one moved the needle in regards to his legacy and greatness. I don’t think there’s any question that Canelo is #1 P4P, and probably will hold that spot until he retires. However, Canelo’s opposition over the years is a discussion in itself. Let’s just say, there was a lot of truth to what Demetrius Andrade’s jealous, hatin’ ass said after the fight regarding Canelo’s “greatness” (it was really about P4P status, but his comments were more geared to the legitimacy of his resume).
Some of the fighters today who I believe are leaving a meaningful legacy behind, striving/achieved greatness, or both:
-- Canelo
-- Pacquiao
-- Fury
-- Joshua
-- Wilder
-- GGG
-- Teofimo Lopez – trending in the right direction by beating Commey and Lomachenko.
-- Spence – he’s borderline, but I’m a fan. He needs to fight better opposition at 147 though or move to another division.
-- Porter
-- Juan Francisco Estrada
Fighters creating an illusion and/or being carried by the media:
-- Charlo Brothers
-- Crawford – I know this is controversial, but he’s only beating who they put in front of him. Hasn’t been tested.
-- Jacobs
-- Gervonta Davis – LSC fight was a step in the right direction. He is legit if he can stay active and dedicated. Could end up like Broner if not careful.
-- Andrade – NOT EVEN WORTH a mention since “boxer” is his illusion. The media will continue to carry him until he takes a loss to a B-level fighter. He hasn’t fought anyone and he doesn’t check any of the boxes to get a fight. All that shade he threw on Canelo last night has probably flushed the miniscule chance he had at ever fight him down the drain.
-- Gary Russell Jr.
-- Most PBC fighters
Any fighters that don’t call out anyone when you know they should.
If you made it this far, thank you. It speaks to your legacy and greatness as a boxing journalist. I love your work and truly respect your experience and views on boxing as a whole. Keep up the great work!
I wish you and yours a healthy holiday season and a Happy New Year.
-- Chris
Hey Chris.
As I wrote in Monday's Notes from the Boxing Underground column, I think Canelo has the deepest, most complex body of work in all of boxing with the exception of, possibly, Manny Pacquiao (who has ten more years as a pro). I think those who take swipes at the legacy that he's establishing are nitpicking for the sake of fulfilling their own agendas. Yeah, he's had his share of gift-wrapped opposition, but every "star" has a number of those soft touches on their resume.
As for your lists of fighters with/without quality legacies?
I agree with most of your assessments, except for these:
-- Wilder (I think his legacy is still very much being written. Two wins apiece over Luis Ortiz and Bermane Stiverne and a dubious draw against Tyson Fury are not exactly the stuff of legend. He needs a handful of big wins in the future to secure some sort of lasting legacy, IMO.)
-- Charlo Brothers (I think fan and media distaste and dissatisfaction is more of a result of them being marketed and sold as killers, when they are much more calculated and cautious as fighters. Both are works in progress and need to further build their legacies, but neither is a full-on hype job either.)
-- Gervonta Davis (The guy's a legit talent and I don't think at his age it's fair to be too rough with him about level of opposition. But I agree that he needs to step up now and work extra hard to avoid trouble outside the ring.)
-- Gary Russell Jr. (I don't think there's any illusion or media hype here. The guy just needs to fight more often and do what he can against whoever he can be matched against.)
-- Most PBC fighters (I don't know, man. I think, especially over the last few years, PBC has done a better job than most boxing companies in matching their young talent tough and against other young talent. In a way, that-- because of the upsets that kind of matchmaking can produce-- has made it harder to build hype for some of the young guys. In divisions where they call the shots and business doesn't handcuff them, they do tend to eventually make the best vs. best fights. But, yeah, there are hype jobs in every company.)
Thanks for the kind words and Happy Holidays!
Fighter of the Year
Paul.
I saw where Ring Magazine made Tyson Fury and Teofimo Lopez as co-Fighters of the Year. I'd lean more towards Teo, if you ask me. That Lomachenko win shook up the sport. What do you think?
-- Joshua from Ohio
Hey Joshua.
I'm usually hard on Ring Magazine-- and with good reason-- but I see their reasoning here and can't disagree all that much. I'm not one to walk fences, though. I think co-Fighters of the Year is a bit of a cop out. I would probably go with Fury over Lopez, for the sole reason that a brutally dominant stoppage of a heavyweight champ carries a bit more weight than a close decision over the lightweight champ. But, like I said, this is a very close call in a very unusual year. I'll rip the folks at Dinosaur Digest for other things, not this one.
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