By: Hans Themistode
Canelo Alvarez was all smiles following the conclusion of his 2021 boxing schedule. Not only was the pound-for-pound star successful in all three of his ring appearances against Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, and Caleb Plant but he managed to score concussive knockouts against each.
At the cessation of his final showdown of the year against Plant, Alvarez leaped upon the top rope and screamed into the crowd in excitement. With the win, the Mexican star became the first undisputed super middleweight champion of all time.
With the rest of the boxing world gunning for their shot at Alvarez, he’s patiently and carefully sifting through numerous offers. Alvarez was recently offered a one-fight deal by PBC’s Al Haymon to square off against WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. Promoter Eddie Hearn, on the other hand, has offered Alvarez a two-fight contract to take on current WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and longtime rival, Gennadiy Golovkin.
Although Alvarez has yet to make his decision, when asked who should be viewed as the most tenuous challenge, Hearn didn’t mince words.
“I think Charlo is the easiest fight for him,” said Hearn during a recent interview with BoxingInsider.com.
While Houston’s Charlo currently campaigns one weight class beneath Alvarez, the pugnacious power puncher, has repeatedly stated that he would be more than willing to move up in weight to acquiesce Alvarez. The WBC middleweight titlist was last seen in the ring in June of 2021, scoring a fairly wide unanimous decision against fringe contender Juan Macias Montiel.
Regardless of his overall skills, however, Hearn is fully convinced that a matchup between Alvarez and the middleweight belt holder would be the easiest of all his available options.
In the case of Golovkin, the future Hall of Famer knows good and well what to expect from Alvarez, having shared the ring with him on back-to-back occasions.
Though the Kazakhstan star believes he should have been awarded a unanimous decision victory against Alvarez in 2017, he was forced to settle for a split decision draw. One year later, the two would do it again. This time, while Golovkin adamantly expressed his displeasure with the final scorecards, he was given the first defeat of his career. The now 40-year-old has since gotten back to his winning ways, scoring three consecutive victories, including a seventh-round stoppage win over Kamil Szeremeta.
Although Bivol could be considered the lesser-known of the bunch, Hearn has always viewed the light heavyweight titlist as a legitimate threat to Alvarez. Following an uninspiring 2020, in which Bivol failed to compete at all, he reeled off back-to-back victories over Craig Richards and Umar Salamov.
Though Hearn maintains that both Bivol and Golovkin are more difficult fights, he did openly admit that Charlo is a helluva fighter in his own right.
“I see the Golovkin fight as a much more brutal fight than Charlo. I see the Bivol fight as a much more technically tricky fight than Charlo but Charlo is also is a great fighter.”