The Last Time Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez Was Beaten

In recent years, no name in the sport of boxing has been bigger than that of Mexican sensation Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. The 33-year-old Guadalajara native has beaten a who’s who of fighters over the last decade and has racked up world titles in four weight divisions.

Earlier this year, the undisputed super middleweight king made his return to Mexico after 12 long years, successfully retaining his straps against Britain’s John Ryder via a wide unanimous decision. 

Return to the Ring

On October 1st, he will return to action for his second fight of the year, and he will do so against a dangerous opponent. For those wanting to place a bet on Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo undertakings, Alvarez is currently priced at odds of -400 to walk away the winner. He’s the heavy favorite to retain his titles, but the talented American underdog he’s set to battle in the T-Mobile Arena certainly has a lot to offer. 

Victories over the likes of Austin Trout, Tony Harrison, and Brian Castaño saw him become a unified champion in the light-middleweight division, and he will be hoping he can replicate the form he showed in those victories to cause another upset. 

If he does that, he will add his name to an extremely short list. Only two men have successfully defeated Canelo, the first of which was Floyd Mayweather. The second was Dmitry Bivol. 

Dmitry Bivol

Back in November 2019, Canelo stepped up to light heavyweight for the first time in his career to take on Russia’s WBO champion Sergey Kovalev. The Krusher was a feared fighter back in his day, but he was 36 years of age by the time this bout rolled around and had the sting taken out of his punches by back-to-back defeats to Andre Ward. Despite trailing on the scorecards, Alvarez would secure an 11th-round knockout victory and claim a world title in his fourth weight class. 

The next time he stepped up to light heavyweight to face a Russian champion, however, he would not be so lucky. WBA champion Dmitry Bivol was Canelo’s opponent in May of last year, and his title was on the line. Once more, many pre-fight predictions had the challenger down as winning, but the then 31-year-old wasn’t a faded veteran like his countryman before him. 

On fight night, it was clear that Bivol’s superior height and reach were going to be a problem. In addition, the impressive skills he’d developed throughout the course of 268 amateur victories came through clearly. From the first round, spectators knew that Canelo was going to be in for a long night. 

Bivol dominated the action, staying on the outside and building up a huge lead on the scorecards. And unlike Kovalev, he didn’t fold under the pressure. He managed to hold his nerve to secure a wide and deserved unanimous decision victory, successfully clinging on to his title.

Canelo has flirted with the idea of a rematch in the 18 months since however, he has, perhaps wisely, chosen to go in a different direction. Whether the pair face off once more in the coming years remains to be seen.