Top 3 Opponents for Canelo Alvarez in 2021

Boxing fans are like no other with their tendency to look forward and anticipate upcoming fights. The face of boxing, Saul Alvarez, put on a punch-perfect show in front of 15,000 of these fans last Saturday night (agonizingly my Sunday morning) against esteemed champion Callum Smith to win the WBC, WBA & Ring magazine Super Middleweight titles. The boxing community now speculate on the news of when the four-weight world champion will be back in the ring and most importantly who against. With opportunities from 160-175lbs, the middle & light heavyweight divisions are currently his oyster so we look at what current three names could serve as worthy opponents for Canelo Alvarez in 2021.

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3. Gennadiy Golovkin

The timing is perfect. Golovkin most recently fought a day prior to his rival’s showdown, dominating Kamil Szeremeta to win inside the distance and breaking history with the highest amount of Middleweight title defenses. So, these two are exact in terms of their fight schedule for next year. If Canelo has unfinished business with anyone in the ring, it is ‘Triple G’ who arguably gave him two of the hardest fights of his career. Courtesy of some controversial judging, the Kazakh is yet to beat Canelo but he nor fans would turn down a trilogy fight.

At 38 years old, Golovkin is still formidable as ever and holds the IBF world middleweight belt which could persuade the former Golden Boy star to cut 8lbs for his next fight. This third clash between the pair would mean so much more than just world honors, it is a chance for the Mexican to prove to his critics that he does not need questionable judges to be victorious against one of the best Middleweights in history.

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2. Billy Joe Saunders

This could be yet another Brit that Alvarez just feasts upon as he has done on countless occasions throughout his 15-year career. But the concept still poses to most as a match-up that could prove tricky and difficult to win for the P4P King. So many times, British fans have gotten behind their own who challenged Canelo, and every time they have left disappointed with the result. Billy Joe Saunders is the last hope to avenge six of his beaten compatriots, the Hatfield-native facing off against the invincible-looking boxer is nothing of a mismatch like some of his bouts with the UK fighters have been.

Styles make fights and Saunders is an elusive, slick boxer who possesses enough ring IQ to not be charged down by Canelo like Callum Smith was. The WBO Super Middleweight champion also holds a piece of the undisputed puzzle at 168lbs which will means he will be targeted next if Team Canelo’s intentions are to fully conquer this division. A bout between the pair was about to happen earlier this year before Coronavirus turned boxing upside down, but the intention was there from both sides so it’s certainly on the cards for next year.

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1. Artur Beterbiev

Each of these fights is a legacy-defining opportunity for Alvarez. A convincingly won trilogy with Golovkin will prove he does not need judges to best his rival and a unification with ‘BJS’ will put him one step closer to becoming undisputed. Meanwhile, locking horns with the intimidating Artur Beterbiev shows the world that Canelo did not cherry pick his way to a world Light-heavyweight title when he KO’d a then-36-year-old Sergey Kovalev for the WBO 175lb strap last year. The 35-year-old Russian is almost at that age too, but boasts a 100% KO record and one more belt than Kovalev had. This is possibly the riskiest of the three as it is visibly Canelo’s most unnatural weight class he has competed at, though his resume would assure you he takes these risks and fights the pure best.

Everybody expected ‘GGG’ to affect the four-weight world champ with his shots, but he barely flinched. However, a 15lb heavier Beterbiev has the power to hurt Canelo, as he did against Oleksandr Gvozdyk to become the unified Top Dog at Light Heavyweight. This match-up has the potential to be the hardest of the Guadalajara-born’s career, and hopefully it’s one that materializes by next year.

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The Mexican is still young and over half a decade away from the average age that a boxer retires. But, given how 2/3 of these opponents are in their mid-late 30’s, we cannot bank on these headliners happening in a few years time.

Alvarez is going into 2021 with momentum so he will need to hit the ground running next year with a huge name if he wants to continue to write history as the best P4P boxer in the world, and maybe one of the best in history.

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