Boxing needs to be careful. The public at large is a fickle and judgmental consumer of content, and when the sport starts to go on a positive roll and deviates from that, fans will begin to chant again that boxing is dead. Case in point: Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo, the unlikely matchup that received a lukewarm response when announced and delivered a soft performance at best.
En route to the unanimous decision win for Alvarez on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Charlo was unwilling to engage in his typical “lions only” fashion. Alvarez, who made the third defense of his undisputed super middleweight championship, didn’t have to do much to look stellar.
He won by a wide margin, with two judges scoring the fight 118-109 and the other giving it to Canelo 119-108.
Don’t Waste Canelo’s Time
“Nobody can compete with this Canelo,” said Alvarez, ESPN’s No. 4 pound-for-pound boxer. “Two months in the mountains [training near Lake Tahoe] without my family. I still love boxing. I love boxing so f—ing much. Boxing is my life. Boxing made me the person I am today.”
Charlo tried to dream big and punch up two levels above his fighting weight for a chance to dethrone boxing’s currently reigning box office king and take his super middleweight undisputed championship.
Instead, he lost his undisputed light middleweight world championship for the chance to face Alvarez and probably many fans. However, after a string of successful events for boxing, like Spence vs. Crawford, Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Haney vs. Kambosos Jr., and more, any aberrations cast doubt on boxing’s rising phoenix effect with the new generation.
Additionally, at a pay-per-view price of $84.99, it will be hard to convince people to continue to pay for events that barely provide the edge-of-your-seat thrills they expect at an almost hundred-dollar price point.
PBC Can’t Go Backward
Also, unfortunate outcomes from matchmaking have taken a toll on one of the more prominent stables in boxing: trainer Derrick James’s gym. From his star pupil Errol Spence, Jr.’s epic fail against Crawford and now Jermell Charlo, James and Premier Boxing Champions lost a lot of real estate in their fighter’s athletic brands.
The only fights within the PBC system that make sense for Alvarez, who is on a three-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions, are David Benavidez and Terence Crawford. They can both get it with no fillers, no gimmicks, and no waiting, by Canelo’s post-fight interview response.
Whoever,” Alvarez said when asked whom he would fight next on Cinco De Mayo weekend. “I don’t f***ing care.”
