In this Thursday’s post-Canelo vs. Charlo Sack, we got nothing but Canelo-related questions and comments (with a little bit on the rumored end of Showtime Boxing and Fury-Usyk). So, expect a touch of cinnamon with my salty load of wisdom this week.
Canelo-Charlo in Perspective, Plus David Benavidez
For a guy whose only fought once in the past 24 months and going up two weight classes. Charlo did a helluva job in my opinion. His strategy was obvious. Stay moving, don't get caught on the ropes and throw the one-two combination when you find yourself getting backed up. Nonetheless, Charlo’s chin held up very well and when he did throw those two-punch combos he had success and was able to keep Canelo at bay at times. His chin and gut held up very well, better than most 168 lb fighters who I've seen fight Canelo.
Canelo respected his punching more than he respected others. Which is why the fight went 12 rounds. Did Canelo win 10 of those 12 rounds? Of course he did, but it was calculated and he didn't walk through Charlo like he did Saunders and Plant.
Conversely, when it comes to Canelo v Benavidez. Based on what I saw last night. If I'm Benavidez I'm licking my chops. If what I saw Saturday night was the best version Canelo has to offer, Benavidez is going to have a Bivol like performance against Canelo. Charlo’s ability to land the check hook and finish those two-punch combos changed my mind as to who would win in a fight between Canelo and Benavidez. Benavidez is a bigger puncher and has greater hand speed, with the ability to throw 4 and 5-punch combos with precision while controlling the distance. With all due respect to Charlo, he's nowhere near the polished boxer that Benavidez is. However, his height and reach advantage was similar to Benavidez. He just wasn't skilled enough to use it.
Was Canelo’s performance dominant? Not necessarily, given the logistics of the fight. Did Charlo fight just to survive? Not at all! He fought the fight that gave him the best chance at victory. He deserves some sort of respect.
Canelo didn't look as good as I thought he would against Charlo. I'm the biggest Canelo fan there's been over the years. I never called him a ducker or anything of that nature. However, I'm questioning as to if he's playing the weight gain game with Benavidez. Is he waiting for Benavidez body to fill in to where he can barely make 168? As good as a matchmaker Eddie Reynoso is, he has to have some type of trajectory as to when and how they take the Benavidez fight. But based on what I saw, it's not looking good for Canelo going up against Benavidez anytime soon. I honestly feel that the earliest we'll see Canelo v Benavidez is May 2025. I don't see the fight happening under the current 3 fight deal Canelo has with PBC.
– Nail Rahman
Hey Nail.
The thing that caught my eye first was how much stronger and sturdier Canelo looked compared to Charlo. I was one who didn’t think size would be an issue in this fight, but it clearly was. What kept Canelo from walking through Jermell was Jermell’s foot speed and his hand speed. Canelo was wary of both and that’s what kept him from just coming in and eating him up like he did against Saunders and Smith, for example. This was always going to be a tough fight for Charlo. To win, he was going to have to change much of who he is as a fighter. For me, that was always the issue. Charlo is a calculated, low-output/high-efficiency counter-puncher at heart who is brilliant at using his hand speed and reflexes to exploit an opponent’s mistakes. Canelo just doesn’t make that many exploitable mistakes and is very smart with his offensive pushes. Charlo could’ve done to Canelo what Bivol did, but that was going to require a change in mindset, from clinical and reserved to aggressive and proactive. He needed to get off first and not allow Canelo that comfort to operate at the rhythm he likes. At the end of the day, as I wrote in Monday’s Notes from the Boxing Underground column, a man usually ends up being who he is. Charlo was Charlo on Saturday and that wasn’t enough to beat Canelo being Canelo.
Now, getting into that whole “Charlo didn’t try to win” nonsense that started sprouting up throughout the weekend. That’s a load of shit and it kind of spotlights how little regard and respect some fans and media have for the fighters and how little they actually know about boxing in general. You can check out what I wrote about that, again, in Monday’s Notes from the Boxing Underground column. I also touched on the subject on my Twitter/X feed (@Boxing_Tribune):
“Remember in Super Bowl 53 when the Rams went into the big game and didn't bother trying to win, already having decided that getting the Super Bowl loser payout was enough? Or when Kyrgios tanked Wimbledon in 2022 vs. Djokovic for the same reason? That totally happens in sports.
“All I'm saying is that being shut down is not the same as "not trying." Only in boxing do fans and media think like that when it comes to the athletes..Why? Because people have injected race, class, etc. into the mix in this sport and there's a culture of ignorance and disrespect.”
As for Canelo-Benavidez, I agree. That would be a tough, tough matchup for Canelo. Unlike Charlo, Benavidez DOES have the mindset to get off first on Alvarez and make him extremely uncomfortable. I know if I were guiding Team Canelo, I’d try my hardest to work around Benavidez for as along as I could, crossing my fingers that he’d either get beat along the way or implode with some personal issues.
Old Man Canelo? What next?
Hey Paul love your stuff. When these fucking YouTube channels get on my fucking nerves, I read your column to get back to sanity. I’m a big Mexican boxing fan. I have a question-- why do these guy ride Canelo as if he is washed up? Charlo was 33 in his prime, ok, but yet they say Canelo is washed up. Right. What else does he need to do to shut these guys up? I feel his other two fights with PBC he wins Benavidez in one of them. He doesn’t knock him out, but gets the decision. The last fight of the PBC deal, he fights a nobody just to get more cash. What do you think? You always keep it 100, let me know. Ty
– AF
Hey AF.
Thanks for the kind words.
You should know by now that the haters and the cynics will never change their minds. They will always find a way to diminish, dismiss, and degrade. Whatever bug got into their behinds, it’s gonna stay there. Screw those people.
In the case of Canelo, I think three straight subpar performances led to the idea that he was on his last legs. Plus, he HAS been fighting as a pro for 18 years now. But I don’t think he’s over the hill or washed up as a fighter. At worst, maybe slightly post-prime. He’s still elite.
When it comes to what’s next, I don’t see anything else other than a David Benavidez fight. Terence Crawford moving all the way up to 168 would be interesting, but Canelo has already said that a Crawford fight is not in his plans. So, who else is out there but Benavidez right now?
If PBC were to be stone cold shrewd, they’d have Benavidez-- someone with a legit chance of beating Canelo-- face Canelo in the last fight of his PBC deal. That could serve as a torch passing moment for Benavidez and a push to next-level stardom. The question, then, would be who Canelo fights next, in bout number two of his deal. I don’t have an answer. Maybe bring in Chris Eubank Jr.? Jake Paul in a soft-touch laugher (that would do HUGE business, btw)?
Predictable Canelo, Showtime Boxing TKO?
Hello Paul
Hope you had a great boxing weekend, I will start:
-I will be brief about Canelo. I agree his stamina was decent for this fight as it must be exhausting cutting off the ring on a fighter who is moving to avoid being hit, however, I still see the same pattern he has been using that has become predictable now – feint-feint (jabs) and right hook. I have always said, regardless of your job, if you keep your imagination sharp you will perform well. It seems Canelo has just run out of imagination/inspiration, agree?
-What do you make out of the Showtime getting out of boxing rumors? The only thing I can say is that I am not surprised. I am no financial analyst, but this PPV+monthly fee model for all these platforms does not look sustainable at all. Other rumors say Showtime will only work with PPV shows, then again, I have also seen that DAZN can distribute Showtime fights (such like it did with Canelo’s and Ryan's). Is there a future affiliation of them with PBC?
-The best news I have received (boxing-wise) this year is Fury vs Usyk finally agreed. I cant wait for greedy belly vs glass belly to fight. I am rooting for Usyk big time as Fury does not care about boxing at all.
Best Regards
– Miguel
Hey Miguel.
– I don’t know about the “run out of imagination” thing, but Canelo has definitely found a style and an approach that he feels comfortable with and, apparently, he’s not open to changing all that much. You can’t really blame him, though. It’s made him lots and lots of money and it will get him into the Hall of Fame. But, as we saw against Bivol, there doesn’t seem to be a Plan B when Plan A isn’t working. Fortunately for him, there aren’t many fighters out there at the moment who can force him into needing a Plan B.
– Showtime Boxing’s future, honestly, doesn’t concern me. If they close shop, PBC and its fighters will go elsewhere. Somebody will pick them up and, who knows, it could be better for fans. DAZN won the rights to broadcast the Canelo-Charlo fight in the UK and, who knows about a future alliance? They have the money to bring them aboard, but I don’t think they have the will to dive into boxing to that extent anymore. There are also rumors of PBC possibly aligning with Amazon Prime. It’s interesting to note that here in Mexico PBC Boxing is already bundled into Amazon Prime with Fox Sports Content. So, who knows? I see morons with odd anti-PBC agendas celebrating the end of Showtime Boxing, but this really doesn’t have a whole lot of significance in the big picture. People will just have to watch the shows elsewhere.
– A lot can happen between now and Fury-Usyk. Personally, I still have my doubts about when/if this fight happens. It’s hard to imagine Fury fighting at the end of October and then getting back into the ring in December against Usyk. If the fight does happen, I see someone getting “injured” and having to put it off until next year at some point. I think Fury smokes Usyk. Btw, “greedy belly vs glass belly” cracked me up. I may steal it!
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.