For a long time, Canelo Alvarez was considered the pound-for-pound king in many boxing fans’ eyes. Several lists bore that out, too, and it made sense. Alvarez ran through five different divisions, becoming a world champion in four weight classes. He beat up on fighters smaller and larger than him, cementing his legacy along the way. But then came May 7, 2022.
Returning to light heavyweight, Alvarez finally met his match. Dmitry Bivol made easy work of Alvarez, in a way that fans were simply not used to. It was a risky fight from the get-go, so Alvarez was given a pass. But since then, he hasn’t shined with the same dominance and brilliance that turned him into one of the all-time greats. This past weekend’s performance against William Scull put a cap on that notion..
It wasn’t all Canelo’s fault. Scull was running around the ring and avoiding any type of contact. But Alvarez was extremely slow to cut off the ring, and it’s now been seven fights and two and half years since he knocked out an opponent.
Canelo Alvarez could drop in P4P rankings after Scull fight
While fans have soured a bit on Alvarez, so have pound-for-pound lists. Uncrowned’s ranking has Alvarez at 7th, behind Bam Rodriguez and Artur Beterbiev. ESPN has him 4th, although his win over Scull didn’t move the needle at all.
A month before the fight against Scull, Alvarez was down to 7th on The Ring’s notable pound-for-pound rankings. After his uninspiring performance against an evasive Scull, we could see that ranking drop when the updated list releases.
Alvarez doesn’t concern himself with rankings and all of that. He’s in it for legacy and money. But the Mexican will have a golden opportunity to climb back up the ranks and return to the good graces of fans in September. A win over Terence Crawford, particularly a convincing one, would remind many of just how great Canelo is.
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