Funny Judge Ggg Vs Canelo Memes
Defeat to Floyd Mayweather in 2013 could have crushed Canelo Alvarez but instead it was the ultimate learning experience – and the Mexican has since copied the Mayweather blueprint to define his own pound-for-pound superstardom.
"I learned something big that night," Canelo, who fights Dimitry Bivol this weekend, reflected on his sole official loss in 60 contests late last year. "A feeling I never want to experience again: defeat. So what do you have to do? You have to keep learning, keep training and keep winning."
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Alvarez was 23 the night he lost to the vastly more experienced Mayweather but was already a unified light-middleweight champ. When young, high-profile champions suffer their first defeat it can either make them or break them. From the outside, it appeared as if it was on a knife-edge going either way for Canelo.
He was neither stopped nor even seriously hurt in the contest, but it was a bout that verged on something every prizefighter dreads. Humiliation. The judges were kind (CJ Ross somehow scoring it a ludicrous draw) but most neutral observers had it a near shutout as Canelo plodded forward and Mayweather picked him off. It culminated in that moment in the 11th round when a crude Canelo hook missed by so far that Mayweather showboated by peering out to the crowd, as if trying to see where the hook landed, while he slid off the ropes and danced away.
Canelo looked a far cry from the man who could take Floyd's place as boxing's pound-for-pound king and no.1 box-office draw in that moment. Yet he drew strength from the defeat, describing it as "an apprenticeship". What's remarkable about Canelo is that he keeps gradually improving, year on year, to the point where the patient, calculating destroyer is now a world away from the boxer who lumbered after Mayweather.
Even Floyd – not shy of sticking the boot in to beaten opponents – praised Alvarez in the years after, calling him a "different breed" for the way he used the setback to go back to the drawing board and add new layers to his game. "Everybody thinks because of the way I made Canelo look, they're going to be able to do the same [outbox him] which is not true," Mayweather said. "Canelo is a smart fighter; he's strong, he can box, and he can punch with either hand."
The pair's fighting styles are as different as their backgrounds. Floyd the slick, stylish, master-boxer used his fast feet as much as his flashy fists. Canelo is the cerebral slugger who wants to stand in the pocket and work an opponent out, opening them up for his vicious head and body attack. Mayweather was also a touted amateur prospect, unlucky to only win an Olympic bronze medal in 1996, while Canelo – in true Mexican style – turned professional at the grand old age of 15.
But in terms of how Canelo has mapped out his career since fighting Floyd, the Mayweather fingerprints are all over it. Put simply: train hard; target the weakest alphabet champion in each new weight class; weigh-up every bout on its risk/reward ratio; and if there's a particularly fearsome rival around, it does not hurt to let Father Time take a few rounds off him first, before you step into the ring to finish the job.
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Ironically, the Canelo of 2022 – the one who cunningly maps out his career plan alongside manager and trainer Eddy Reynoso – would almost certainly not advise his 2013-era self to take on Mayweather. It was a gutsy move but the American always looked a likely winner at the 152lb catchweight, and the feeling was that 'Money' was trying to get a future rival into the ring quickly before he matured and grew into a greater threat. This was a perfectly timed bout for Floyd, not for Canelo.
Mayweather argues his reputation for fighting his most fearsome opponents either before or past their primes is unfair. He certainly owns a star-studded CV and took on multiple challenges during his rise to the top. The young Mayweather stopped unbeaten puncher Diego Corrales in 2001 and took on the dangerous, larger Jose Luis Castillo in his first ever bout at lightweight (even fighting a rematch after his decision win was hotly disputed).
However by the time he beat Oscar De La Hoya in his first fight after the age of 30, the brash, showy Mayweather was done giving any opponent an edge. He didn't care whether fans thought Juan Manuel Marquez was too small or Shane Mosley was too old or for how many years they cried for him to take on Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather was going to pick up belts – and paychecks – where he liked. And if that frustrated some boxing die-hards, it never put people off watching – and paying for – Floyd's contests.
Canelo has, since his defeat to Mayweather, trod an alarmingly similar path, almost as if he found Floyd's strategy guide left on a seat in the dressing room post-fight. Smaller, shopworn, big names Miguel Cotto and Amir Khan were seen off in 2015 and 2016, even as fight fans bayed for Alvarez to take on true middleweight no.1 Gennady Golovkin.
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De La Hoya, Canelo's then promoter, somehow kept a straight face while telling fans that Canelo was still a bit too small for Triple G, despite clearly having outgrown the 154lb division. Eventually they did fight in September 2017 – when Golovkin was 35 and had just had a surprisingly tough title defence against Daniel Jacobs. That bout ended in a controversial draw but Canelo improved in the rematch, standing his ground to win a close decision in a thriller.
The Mayweather gameplan was working and Alvarez was not about to drop it now, as he bounced up to 168lb to take a (WBA regular) title from Rocky Fielding, and soon after stopped dangerous but ageing light-heavyweight Sergey Kovalev to become a four-weight world champion.
None of this is to suggest Canelo is ducking a challenge. He has now cleaned out 168lb, after being the linear champion at 160lb, and is now fighting an unbeaten and high-quality light-heavyweight champion. But there is a reason it is Bivol first rather than the division's true no.1: Artur Beterbiev, who boasts size, strength and a 100% KO ratio.
Beterbiev, 38 in July, will be there when the time is right. And everyone in boxing now follows the Canelo timetable, just as everyone once danced to Mayweather's tune. Ricky Hatton told talkSPORT this month that Mayweather may have "created a monster" when he outpointed Alvarez. He certainly did; Canelo is now a different beast both inside and outside the ropes.
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Source: https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1103241/canelo-alvarez-vs-floyd-mayweather-jr-result-highlights/
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