Canelo Alvarez and Avni Yildirim: A Date With Greatness

BY: JORDAN ROSAS

“I want to commend this young, strong champion, because he will carry the torch.” 

That’s a quote from the Pay-Per-View King, Floyd Mayweather, following his dominant victory over a young Saul “Canelo” Alvarez back in 2013. More than seven years later, his prediction has come true. With Mayweather retired, Canelo, now in his prime, has risen to become the most dominant boxer on the planet. With a professional record of 54-1-2, containing numerous world champions, it’s difficult to find another active resume in any fighting discipline that can compete. 

We last saw Canelo fight in December 2020 against Callum Smith, when what was supposed to be an exciting battle of two undefeated super middleweight champions quickly became a lopsided clinic. The 6-foot-3 British World champion towered over the 5-foot-9 Mexican with a 7.5-inch reach advantage to match. And yet, the brilliant Canelo calmly and consistently moved inside behind his jab, pressured the body of his lanky opponent, and essentially used Smith’s advantages against him. For 12 rounds, Canelo made Smith an oversized target whose extended arms couldn’t match Canelo’s punches’ speed and power at close range. 

To Smith’s credit, the fight did go the distance, but all three judges ruled in favor of Alvarez. It was almost as dominant as his 2017 UD win over Julio Caesar Chavez Jr, in which all three judges scored every single round for Canelo. But Chavez Jr was a journeyman contender. Callum Smith was supposed to be a fellow titan. Now, Canelo faces Avni Yildirim, who is neither. Simply put, Yildirim is the level of fighter that loses to the guys who lose to Canelo. 

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to upset Yildirim in a dark alley, and he has a respectable record of 21-2. He’s fought in two world title fights against Chris Eubank Jr. and Anthony Dirrell. However, those were the only two bonafide high-level opponents he’s faced. Both of them would be underdogs against Canelo. Both of them beat Yildirim before the final bell.

Yildirim is tough. He has respectable power and a decent enough chin. But he lacks good head movement. Bringing that kind of technical flaw against a precision counter puncher like Canelo, he might as well be a punching bag. As far as a puncher’s chance? Canelo has one of the best chins in the game. The cinderblock on his shoulders has withstood the best shots of Miguel Cotto, Sergey Kovalev, and GGG, twice, all of whom are more dangerous than Yildirim. In other words, the chances of Yildirim beating Canelo are about as good as Jeff Skinner being named team captain by Ralph Krueger. And Yildirim is 21-2, with 12 KOs.

So where does that leave Canelo?

The pound-for-pound king of the sport is a four-division champion who has gone all the way up to light heavyweight (175lbs), where he beat the Russian Krusher, Sergey Kovalev, who had an impressive rivalry with former pound for pound king (and natural light-heavyweight) Andre Ward.

Forced to pick a division title and vacate the other, Canelo chose not to defend his light heavyweight title and returned to a more comfortable super middleweight (168 lbs), whose WBA, WBC, and Ring titles he’ll defend against Yildirim. The next division up is cruiserweight (200 lbs). That’s more than a tall ask from a 5’9” man whose natural fight weight is a good 30 lbs lighter. It’s downright crazy for anyone who started their career as a welterweight. 

If Canelo decides to return to light heavyweight, undefeated Russian monster Artur Beterbeiv, who has won every pro fight by KO, including a unification win over previously unbeaten WBC champion Olexsandr Gvodzyk, awaits him. And Beterbiev is a natural light heavyweight. A trilogy fight with future Hall of Famer Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, arguably Canelo’s greatest rivalry, would make money, but GGG is 38.

Unlike Floyd Mayweather, who aged like fine wine and remains the last man to beat Canelo, GGG is over the hill, if not “washed up.” In my opinion, he’s no longer capable of beating a prime, age 30 Canelo Alvarez. Canelo could step down to middleweight to face unbeaten WBC champion Jermall Charlo, a fight that Canelo has expressed interest in. However, before then, are super-middleweight unification bouts with undefeated champions Caleb Plant (IBF) and Billy Joe Saunders (WBO), assuming, of course, that Canelo beat Yildirim. Yet all of these fighters should be considered underdogs to Canelo, except for perhaps Beterbiev, whose greatest advantage is his size. 

For now, though, Canelo’s focus is on Avni Yildirim. This Saturday, there are numerous exciting fights across several cards. On Fox, Unbeaten upstart welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr appears on the undercard of Anthony Dirrell. Tommy Fury, younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson, perhaps better known from the dating show Love Island, fights on a London card. Former heavyweight champion Joseph Parker fights on DAZN from New Zealand. The best, though, is a different card on DAZN. So sit back, relax and enjoy greatness. But don’t blink. 12 rounds is a long time against Canelo Alvarez. 

Prediction: Canelo by 5th round KO.

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