By Norm Frauenheim-
Canelo Alvarez’ pursuit of unification is about more than just belts. It’s about consensus.
Canelo, fresh off his stoppage of Billy Joe Saunders Saturday, figures to win the fourth and final piece to the super-middleweight title in a projected bout against Caleb Plant.
Contracts have yet to be signed, but betting odds already have been posted.
Canelo is at -600, meaning he has an 85.71-percent chance at taking Plant’s IBF version of the 168-pound title in a fight expected to happen in mid-September.
Las Vegas looks likely, perhaps at Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 11, two nights before the Raiders opener against the Baltimore Ravens Monday Night Football and five days before Sept. 16, Mexican Independence.
The Raiders’ new home is booked Saturday, Sept. 18, with college football, Iowa State-versus-UNLV.
Where ever or whenever, indoors or outdoors, it’s clear Canelo belongs on the biggest possible stage. Against Saunders on the Cowboys home field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington TX, a crowd of 73,126 set boxing’s indoor record.
His popularity is growing. Canelo is boxing’s biggest draw. No doubt about it. Meanwhile, odds are that soon it’ll be hard to argue with his dominance of the super-middleweight division. David Benavidez might have one and it’s a good bet that we’ll hear it more than once. If Canelo takes that fourth belt, however, he wins the debate.
But consensus is not as simple. Polls never are, and there have been plenty lately about where Canelo belongs, both today and among Mexico’s all-time greats.
Canelo continues to say he wants to make history. Mexico’s boxing history means one face: Julio Cesar Chavez. In a Boxing Junkie poll last week, Canelo was fourth, behind Ruben Olivares, Salvador Sanchez and – of course — Chavez at No. 1.
Over time, the theory is that Canelo might one day supplant Chavez. There are plenty of factors. First, he has to beat Plant, which might not be as much of a lock as early odds suggest. Then what? A fight against a still-maturing Benavidez? A jump to light-heavyweight, which would mean Artur Beterbiev and/or Dmitry Bivol?
Time is still Canelo’s ally. He’s 30. He says he might fight for seven more years. That’s a span that offers countless opportunities to fight major bouts before huge crowds. Think of it as a political campaign. Each bout is a way to eliminate rivals and convince skeptics.
In effect, that’s exactly what Canelo has been doing in that other debate, the current pound-for-pound race. Six months ago, the argument raged. Canelo or Terence Crawford?
Crawford looked good in a stoppage of former champion Kell Brook on Nov. 14. Crawford’s body-of-work, his overall resume, is dismissed by critics, who question the quality of his opposition.
But Crawford’s supporters are impressed by the immediate, the eye test that seems to say that nobody at 147 pounds could beat Crawford’s thorough skillset and predatory instinct.
Trouble is, there’s been no test for any eye to measure since Crawford’s victory over Brook six months ago. There was talk about Manny Pacquiao. Rumors, only rumors.
Crawford has been idle.
Meanwhile, Canelo has been busy, fighting three times – a unanimous decision over Callum Smith on Dec. 19, a stoppage over Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 and a stoppage of Saunders on May 8.
Busy is convincing, especially in a pound-for-pound campaign that is essentially political. It’ll continue. It always does. Maybe, Crawford gets a chance to re-state his case in a fight against the Josh Taylor-Jose Ramirez winner May 22 in an intriguing junior-welterweight showdown (ESPN) at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels. There’s talk that the winner will make the jump, from 140 pounds to 147, for a shot at Crawford.
For now, however, Canelo is winning the debate in a couple of ways. There are notable victories within the ropes. And huge crowds outside of them.
