(Los Angeles) Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the favorite in a fight between undisputed champions against the lighter American Jermell Charlo, contested on Saturday (8 p.m. local, 11 p.m. in Montreal) in Las Vegas.
Star of the noble art, “Canelo” takes the opportunity at 33 to show that he is not on the decline, in a shock to his hand, but perhaps not as unbalanced as expected.
Alvarez (59 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) is putting his four IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super-middleweight (less than 76.203 kg) championship belts on the line against Charlo, his super-middleweight counterpart. average (less than 69.853 kg), i.e. two categories of difference.
“Charlo is taller (1.80m vs 1.75m), but Canelo has the power going for him, plus the timing. Two weight divisions apart is a bit too much for this fight,” judges American Dewey Cooper, coach of Cameroonian fighter Francis Ngannou.
“It’s a fight to get people talking, to sell tickets, to make money, but for me there will be no suspense, “Canelo” will win, in the worst case on points,” adds Christian. Mbilli, interviewed by RMC.
Self-proclaimed candidate for a world chance at super-middleweight, the 28-year-old Frenchman is champing at the bit as he continues to progress in the world hierarchy (25 professional fights and as many victories), and dreams of facing the reference “Canelo “.
The 33-year-old Mexican veteran is hoping to recapture his former glory at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, following a loss to Russian light heavyweight Dmitry Bivol in May 2022 followed by lackluster victories against aging Kazakh Gennady Golovkin in September 2022, and Britain’s John Ryder in May this year.
“People will always find ways to criticize, I just have to prove that I’m still at the top,” he said at a press conference.
Jermell Charlo, who has not fought since a knockout victory against Argentinian Brian Castano in May 2022, commented virulently on his fight against Ryder.
“He (Charlo) never believed in my skills. I have the opportunity to prove him wrong, and that motivates me,” assures the Mexican.
His American opponent, also 33, described himself as a “warrior.” “‘Canelo’ has faced great fighters before, but none of my caliber. I have qualities he hasn’t seen before.”
“I like Charlo’s attitude in the ring,” commented renowned trainer Freddie Roach, a neutral observer for this fight.
“He’s tough-skinned, not afraid to take a beating. I think Charlo will show too much power for “Canelo”.
“‘Canelo’ absolutely needs to stay away from Charlo’s left hook. But I don’t think he’s capable of it,” predicted the former mentor of Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya.
