C riminally underrated, despite being home to a host of boxing greats, the 168-pound division will be getting the worldwide spotlight on September 13, when undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez takes on the challenge of fellow four-division titleholder Terence Crawford in a Las Vegas superfight. It’s the kind of fight that not only satisfies the purists interested in seeing if Crawford, a former 135-, 140- and 147-pound champion and current junior middleweight titleholder, can jump up two more weight classes to shock the Mexican superstar, but one that will also draw a wider audience tuned in to Netflix on the night of the fight. And while there are pockets of supporters in Crawford’s corner, many believe that circumstances are clearly in Alvarez’s favor. Most in the latter group point to Alvarez’s size as the deciding factor. But the real reason may be that in a storied 67-fight career that has already secured him a place in Canastota’s International Boxing Hall of Fame, Alvarez has accomplished the most at 168. Would the undisputed king agree? “Yes, I feel this is my best version because I feel strong and I’m feeling my best,” Alvarez told The Ring on the day his fight with Crawford was made official. “I don’t need to cut so much weight, so yeah, I’m feeling my best at 168.” Before arriving in the division made famous by such iconic boxers as Joe Calzaghe, Roy Jones Jr., Andre Ward and Chris Eubank, just to name a few, Guadalajara’s Alvarez began his pro career as a 15-year-old junior welterweight in 2005. He eventually started to make noise on both the local and
international scenes as a welterweight, but it was at junior middleweight where he won his first world title by defeating Matthew Hatton in 2011. Stardom followed for Alvarez as he engaged in bouts with the likes of Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. before claiming the middleweight championship in a catchweight bout with Miguel Cotto and making the full-fledged jump to 160 in his first of three bouts against Gennadiy Golovkin. By now, it was the fall of 2018, and while he had a super middleweight bout with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in May of 2017, a decision to make a permanent move north came after his majority decision win over Golovkin in their rematch. “For me, making 154, I almost felt like I’m going to die,”
MASTER CLASS
CANELO ALVAREZ HAS FACED THE BEST OF FOUR WEIGHT DIVISIONS, BUT SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT IS WHERE HE REIGNS SUPREME By Thomas Gerbasi
Rocky Fielding succumbed to Canelo’s attacks in the third round.
108 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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