Canelo Recalls The Kovalev Fight, Draws Comparisons With The Charlo Bout

In some recent boxing news, Canelo Alvarez has recalled his fight with Sergey Kovalev. 

The fight was arguably one of Alvarez’s biggest wins, given the difference in weight. Alvarez jumped up two weight classes in order to fight for the WBO light heavyweight title.

This required a move up from 160 to 175 pounds following his last fight against Danny Jacobs. But rather than being overwhelmed, Canelo managed to stop Kovalev in the 11th round to secure a huge win that made him a four-division champion.

That will be the challenge facing Jermell Charlo, who will equally jump up two weight classes from 154 to fight for all of Canelo’s belts at 168. And yet, given that Charlo is a much taller man, Alvarez saw the differences between his achievements and Charlo’s move. 

Canelo On Kovalev

“I think he’s gonna do well because he have height and he’s a strong fighter. To do that for me is crazy, right? But I think he’s gonna do better [at] ’54 because maybe he has struggles to make weight at ’54 because he’s big. But I don’t know. He took that challenge like I took that challenge before, and that’s it. For me, it was crazy because I’m not that big. But I felt great. I felt strong,” Canelo stated 

Nevertheless, weight classes do exist for a reason. Canelo’s second attempt at 175 was far less successful. The Mexican was outboxed and bullied by Dmitry Bivol.

Although Canelo did require surgery in the aftermath on his wrist, with suggestions that he was hampered in the fight, the Mexican had no answer for the barrage that was coming his way.

The loss ultimately could not get rectified as the attempts at a rematch failed. Alvarez wanted to rematch at 175, which would have removed doubts over his capabilities at the weight class.

Charlo On Canelo

Meanwhile, Bivol favored a rematch at 168 to fight for all of Alvarez’s belts. While weight was an issue in those negotiations, Charlo had dismissed that from being the case when it came to his chances. He backed himself to perform, dismissing any worries over the weight class. His following comments confirmed as much. 

“Making the weight shouldn’t be an issue. It feels good. I kinda feel it, but I kinda don’t. You still gotta work to make [weight] and come in at the same weight he is,” Charlo said

“I’m just a naturally big motherf*****. I’m not a little guy. The world of boxing only sees me when I weigh in. They don’t know my real size. I’m six feet [tall]. They don’t know I can fill out and beat a naturally bigger guy in that ring,” Charlo stated 

With fight time almost here, both fighters know that they must back up their words on September 30th, 2023. A win for Canelo confirms what many will have thought, that he was expected to win.

Meanwhile, victory for Charlo changes his career as he will become a two-weight-undisputed champion. So, moving forward, there is plenty to play for.