Kovalev vs Alvarez

This was confirmed last night, fight at the full light heavyweight limit - no catch weight. 

November 2, Las Vegas. Kovalev getting a career high 8 figure payday.

This is probably being lined up as a 4th weight World Title for Canelo. You've got to wonder though how his great chin will stand up to a full sized Kovalev LHW smack. It's not like he's going to get hit by a Chavez. Kovalev is a big LHW and a nasty one at that.

Wow. I am actually interested in a Canelo fight. You can bet that it's more likely to be a Canelo win than not (at least one judge should have received an envelope by now)* given that's Kovalev is not quite the fighter he once was but you can bet he won't let his title go without a fight.

Dodgy draw again??

*this is of course a pure fabrication and utter lies.

Alvarez is a great fighter in any era....Not sure why People put him down...

Only ever lost to a Top 10 great...

Wins against top Jr middleweight. Lara...Trout.....Rhodes was as good a win as Hagler v Sibson.

Moved up and beat Cotto...Had two great fights with GGG...Beat other top middles and has moved up to 168..Something Golovkin hasn't the Bollox to do..

If Pedroza is a great...This guy has more than fulfilled the requirement.

Duran lost to every great fighter he fought...Benitez.. Hearns...Leonard...Hagler..Dejesus..

So the Mayweather fight shouldn't be too much of a negative..

If People want to moan about GGG 1...Well it was not much worse than Barkley v Duran....But Duran is popular so we will give him a pass.

Enjoy Canelo..Boxing needs stars.

I like Alvarez but a lot of the negativity comes from how often he gets beneficial decisions, I don't think there's been one single shocker but on balance he shouldn't have won all of the fights he has, you'd expect a lesser name to have dropped a couple of the following; Trout, Lara, Cotto and Golovkin.

Duran deservedly beat Barkley with the knockdown.

Every great fighter has had some look with the cards...

Ali v Norton....x 2
Ali v Young....

Fact is apart from Golovkin 1.......Which I think he lost...You can make a case for him winning all the other decisions..

I thought Reid beat Calzaghe...But I don't begrudge Calzaghe..

There was a lot made of Oscar winning a few close ones but he also lost his fair share, arguably should have lost to Quartey and easily won against Trinidad, overall it balanced out whereas with Alvarez it's all very one sided in his favour.

Also to add that Alvarez was caught using PED and only banned 6 months which is why a lot of people dislike him 'contaminated' meat or not. Having said that I agree his record is very good and he does take on the best in his divisions, for that he should get some credit.

I really like this fight. I think they have seen enough deteriation in Kovalev to think they can win. I think its fair to say his power and chin aren’t what they were and certainly he is past his peak. Having said that he can still bang with a considerable size advantage. Alvarez showed he has a great chin after GGG but Kovalev will hit much harder.

I think Alvarez might just stop him late. Use his smaller size and footwork to ware out Kovalev then a late onslaught to stop him on his feet. I wouldn’t bet on that though as any result in this fight wouldn’t surprise me.

I was really surprised when I first heard rumours of this, but I'm glad it's happening.

I'm not sure there's such a thing as a "household name" in non-domestic, non-heavyweight boxing anymore (apart from Pacquiao). But these guys are as close as they get. Boxing needs more high profile events... mega-fights... the top names facing each other. Even if it means jumping a division or two.

Makes sense for both fighters, but IMO a particularly smart move for Canelo - if he were to win, then it puts his legacy beyond question. If he loses then it doesn't really tarnish his reputation, as he's a MW fighting the best LHW out there.

Meanwhile, Kovalev has to fancy his chances, and it's probably the best pay day available for him.

No ifs...No buts....Canelo is an all time great fighter..

But what did McGirt come up with as a plan ??

Making a big hitter with old legs go pitty pat and let the smaller fight take the centre of the ring...

Great win though.. GGG...Jacobs...Trout...Lara...Kovolev....

4 weight champion..

Special fighter.....Now if only GGG could find some Bollox and lose to Callum Smith instead of midget hunting...
.

Glad Canelo got the win via KO because it added to his legacy; had he got the decision on the cards (he was amazingly up on two of the 3) then I think it would have been another asterix next to a decision victory.

Kovalev isnt the fighter he used to be and had shown in his last 5 fights a depleting gas tank & weaker chin; that being said it was a two weight jump against a legitimate all career light heavyweight so regardless of what some might want to say he took a challenge he didn't need to take and didn't use any of the tactics previously seen (re-hydration clauses;catchweight etc)

Question marks in the wins over Lara & Golovkin as well as a failed drugs test taint the legacy he has built somewhat & some will never give him the praise he definiely deserves; thats an effect of the team around him more than the man himself (although if he at times came out and gave an honest appraisal of things then I think many would warm to him) ...strangely enough I think he would immediately get more recognition and plaudits if he had moved away from De La Hoya  3/4 years ago. Whilst he remains a golden boy staple then he will always have his detractors and in a way rightly so.

Good performance tonight; great finish & will be interesting to see where he goes next ...

I dont want to see the GGG rematch, not because he doesn't deserve it but because he has got old over the course of his last couple of fights and then man he was (even before the 1st fight) isn't the same man now. He didn't get the decision when he should have first time round,  he's never getting one now (though I think it wouldn't even get to scorecard in 3rd fight).

If he stays at Light Heavyweight then the only fight that makes sense & would get Canelo credit is the Beterbiev for me.

Should he go back down to 168 then Callum Smith is the man to beat their (World Super Series & recognized as the number 1 in the division... BJS doesn't hit hard enough to keep Canelo off him and while he may make it ugly and difficult for the first 5/6, Canelos footwork is too good and eventually he cuts the ring off and dusts him.

If he goes as far back down as 160 then it has to be Andrade; new challenge, has a belt & has a decent operating set of skills with a bit of power to boot.

The Mexican has a stellar record; has a good few legitimate wins (Golovkin, Cotto, Trout, Kovalev, Jacobs) has always looked for a challenge & has without doubt a great set of boxing skills. His tendency to at times have things in his favour (weight stips), his quite clear golden advantage he has with judges & the drug failure puts a man asterix next to his name...enough to keep him well out of the running for all time great standing amongst the truly elite; but he certainly deserves a mention as an all time great a level below, a generational talent & one of the the very best fighters of the 00's

I had Alvarez up by 2...

Kovolov pitty patting on the gloves... Doesn't work for me..

Anything of significance was done by Canelo....Plus he made the fight and took the center of the ring.

If it's a case of solely taking control of ring and throwing the odd hard shot then I assume you had Canelo beating Mayweather?

I didn't have Alvarez landing anything too significant for much of the 1st half of the fight! Certainly nothing enough to warrant him taking rounds from the champion. The old adage of going and taking the belt off a champion stands firm for though. He definitely had moments where he was on top; and later in the fight that control of the ring most certainly showed. But as I said through the first portion of fight simply didn't throw enough Kovalev was pitty patter but he pierced the guard enough, even if they weren't solid and he also worked a fair few openings for the left.

I had Kovalev winning rounds; 1,3,4,5,8

I had Canelo winning rounds; 2,6,7,10

I split 9 but if pushed would just edge that to Kovalev though wouldn't argue against Canelo taking it. That makes it either 6-4 or 5-5...but I personally couldn't find anyway to have Alvarez 2 up. As they say all opinions though.

What I will say is that Canelos footwork is fantastic; for all the plaudits people like Lomachenko, GGG, Mayweather etc get; this lad is very very good himself. Certainly improved hugely since that Mayweather bout where I think he learnt a lot about being more effective in closing range.

Yes it was just like Mayweather v Canelo wasn't it ???

Canelo was on the front foot for first half of that fight yet threw little and was popped with the jab consistently. Yes Floyds jab was landing harder and he used combinations more effectively...but he didn't take centre of ring nor did he appear to be on front foot.

Your argument for having him up was that he made the fight..(given he threw little over first 5 rounds) and took centre of ring..I was merely stating that's not enough to score a round to someone. If so then would you have Canelo up against Mayweather?

What rounds did you score to Canelo out of interest? Excluding the 11th as obviously that was end of the fight

Canelo Álvarez is still only 29 and yet he has done and achieved so much in boxing there doesn't seem to be much more for him to do or prove. However, surely he won't last too long if he fights at the higher weights - there is only so much the head and brain can take - despite him having a granite chin.

owen10ozzy wrote:Canelo was on the front foot for first half of that fight yet threw little and was popped with the jab consistently. Yes Floyds jab was landing harder and he used combinations more effectively...but he didn't take centre of ring nor did he appear to be on front foot.

Your argument for having him up was that he made the fight..(given he threw little over first 5 rounds) and took centre of ring..I was merely stating that's not enough to score a round to someone. If so then would you have Canelo up against Mayweather?

What rounds did you score to Canelo out of interest? Excluding the 11th as obviously that was end of the fight

Not even vaguely similar situations, if a round is close as they were in the Kovalev fight then usually you go for the aggressor trying to make the fight whereas in the Mayweather fight it was in anyway close and he beaten to the punch for the whole 12 rounds.

So I'll ask ask....this time to yourself...what rounds did you have close across the first 6...I only had Canelo winning two of those...2&6.

I'm asking as genuinely intrigued as to how others had it scored up till then. Always interesting to see how and why others viewed it a certain way.

He didn't throw anywhere near enough to win any other rounds for me in those first 6. And while Kovalev didn't land anything huge he threw more, and used the jab effectively enough to keep that aggression from Canelo at footwork only rather than getting inside and landing.. Canelo may have been the aggressor in terms of moving forward but it took him to the mid point to actual turn that aggression in too any significant action.

Again I'm not slating him; his footwork early told later in the fight and he obviously had a plan and executed brilliantly. But I couldn't possibly give him more than a share of the lead after the tenth. Most ringside pundits/experts/media had Kovalev ahead after the 10th too so clearly wasn't the only one.

Alvarez is indeed a special fighter in today's world, but he will always have that asterisk against his name for me. By the letter of the law he cheated by using performance enhancing drugs.

This isn't athletics, where you could run faster or chuck an iron ball further. It's punching someone in the face for money. And Canelo decided he wanted to do it with extra help. Whilst I can appreciate his achievements, I have no love for the man and will never support him in a fight.

I desperately wanted Kovalev to detonate a big right hand on Canelo's chin just to see what happened, but I think we all know that Kovalev was cherry picked as he was the least dangerous of all the title holders in that division. He was years past his best. To be the absolute best you should take on the best. Would like to see him take on Beterbiev at 175 or Callum Smith at 168.

But where now for Alvarez? Golovkin is a busted flush and way past his best now. Saunders would probably be tempting but nobody outside Britain remembers who he is - he's hardly top box office material. Smith for me.

Only 11 weeks between fights for Kovalev which is unheard of at world level nowadays.

Mr Bounce wrote:Alvarez is indeed a special fighter in today's world, but he will always have that asterisk against his name for me. By the letter of the law he cheated by using performance enhancing drugs.

This isn't athletics, where you could run faster or chuck an iron ball further. It's punching someone in the face for money. And Canelo decided he wanted to do it with extra help. Whilst I can appreciate his achievements, I have no love for the man and will never support him in a fight.

I desperately wanted Kovalev to detonate a big right hand on Canelo's chin just to see what happened, but I think we all know that Kovalev was cherry picked as he was the least dangerous of all the title holders in that division. He was years past his best. To be the absolute best you should take on the best. Would like to see him take on Beterbiev at 175 or Callum Smith at 168.

But where now for Alvarez? Golovkin is a busted flush and way past his best now. Saunders would probably be tempting but nobody outside Britain remembers who he is - he's hardly top box office material. Smith for me.  

Golovkin can fight Smith....Fight someone decent for a change..

Tiresome how Alvarez gets his top class opponents questioned while the dwarf basher always escapes criticism.

Alvarez was a 154 pounder taking on a 175 pounder with a big punch..Credit where it's due...

GGG is a 160 pounder who hasn't the Bollox to tackle anyone decent at 168.

Truss this isn't about Golovkin. He is done at the top table and I don't really care what he does. This is about Alvarez and his questionable methods. He will go down as a great and I salute him for what he's achieved, but in my eyes he's a cheat.

Do you genuinely believe that Fielding and Kovalev in the twilight of his career are the best in their division? Nope.

Am hoping that Alvarez takes on Smith myself. Would be a cracker.

Leonard preferred Lalonde to Virgil Hill.....Avoided Michael Nunn like the plague...

But still had a wonderful record..

Canelo's CV...Mayweather...Lara..Trout....GGG....Cotto..Kovolev...Jacobs on it (Good fighters) and yes a 154 pounder fighting a still decent 'Champion' at 175 is a damn good win..

Beats a guy like GGG hands down that won't move from 160 to 168.........Because Macklin...Geale and Johnny-no names are less risk....

Maybe Alvarez should fight Brook next at 160



Manny Pac is a cheat.....You can forgive him..

Maybe GGG should fight Khan next at 160lbs?

Soul Requiem wrote:Maybe GGG should fight Khan next at 160lbs?

Or fight someone decent for a change..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Maybe GGG should fight Khan next at 160lbs?

Or fight someone decent for a change..

Truss, give it up. We know you don't like him. We know you believe he's not as good as most MW champions. This thread is about Canelo. Not Golovkin. Yet you hark on about him like he's relevant. Not to Canelo, not anymore. He's got bigger and better fish to fry. FFS let it go.

Everyone running from Andrade at 60

Mr Bounce wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Maybe GGG should fight Khan next at 160lbs?

Or fight someone decent for a change..

Truss, give it up. We know you don't like him. We know you believe he's not as good as most MW champions. This thread is about Canelo. Not Golovkin. Yet you hark on about him like he's relevant. Not to Canelo, not anymore. He's got bigger and better fish to fry. FFS let it go.

Didn't like Duran...Don't like Manny.....

But they are both in my Top 15 ATG.....Didn't like Reagan but I can say he is one of the most natural and effective Politicians I have seen in my lifetime..

But you are right I can't be objective about Eastern bloc fighters despite having Lomochenko above Canelo in the P4P list..

Truss you've had a chip on your shoulder since Golovkin first came on the scene. He went after the titles, fought his mandatories regardless of who they were. That's the trouble with mandatories. People like the IBF make you fight unheard of goons. I am not defending the fact that a lot of Golovkin's opponents were great, because they weren't, not all of them, but the ones that were he did pretty well against, with no stipulations re weight or waiting until they were old. You cannot say that about Canelo. I felt GGG won their first fight - the score of 118-110 Canelo was a joke. I thought Canelo got the second. I doubt you'd get many who saw it different.

But GGG isn't very good is he? Because Canelo won on a very close decision, he smacked him out of the park? Do me a favour. GGG is a good, not great fighter. Anyone can pick records to bits. But give the guy some credit - you don't win 4x middleweight belts by being rubbish. However, you go right ahead and go back to dissing him on every occasion you can, because nobody knows him like you.

I am not saying anything about being objective about EB fighters. You brought that up. However, Canelo has been the subject of some favourable judging on more than one occasion, he's been banned for doping offences and has made weight demands in his favour to win titles. He doesn't exactly play fair. But hey, money talks. He's damned good. But there's always that asterisk.

Everyone has their favourites. Canelo ain't one of mine, and Golovkin ain't one of yours. Just stop giving the guy unnecessary digs because he doesn't deserve it. (PS GGG certainly isn't a top 15 BTW!!)

The way Kovalev went out against Canelo not a particularly massive shot was that the sign of a drained fighter or was it just father time?

Decent win no more would have preferred it if there was no rehydration clause just as you’d have preferred Floyd’s win over Canelo had Floyd not severely drained him

The win is cheapened too(belt grab off an ageing champion) if Canelo doesn’t defend against Beterbiev which of course he won’t just as Ward’s win was cheapened for failing to defend against the hammer fistedRussian

Decent win though don’t want to underplay it too much as Kovalev was coming off a good win off Yard but Kovalev didn’t look strong in the fight and Canelo looked the heavier handed

Of course if Kovalev came back and defeated Beterbiev Canelo’s win goes up but Sergy deserves a pass if he kept clear of that one he’s had a great career held multiple belts had seventeen championship fights never swerved anyone a couple of years ago the Beterbiev fight would have been good but not now you’d think time to ride off I reckon if he’s really got an itch to fight Beterbiev then he needs a good win first but does he really need that

Not a particularly massive shot? It was a big right hand bang on the chin.

It was the left hook that wobbled him wasn’t it?

He looked wobbled by a right hand a few seconds before that left, was surprised that the commentators didn't comment on how unsteady he was.

I was wondering about that I’ve looked at it a few times maybe that right hand set it up as you say

The ref had just started to get on Kovalev’s case a couple of rounds before the knockout which with the pushing looking for any excuse to get in Kovalev’s head

That’s why I can’t support Canelo all the favorable treatment

Dear oh dear...

I’m sorry you didn’t pick it up but what can we expect

I don't go looking for imaginary things to complain about.

Try to be more observant it may improve your boxing experience