In this day and age, you aren’t an “all-time great” unless you are able to continue moving up in weight and win more titles. So, even for champions who could easily stay in one division and dominate it, there is the objective of conquering new worlds.
Plus, depth in these weight classes ain’t what it used to be. So moving up in pursuit of a bigger payday is more of a possibility than ever. And thus the standard for “greatness” has taken on a new meaning for a whole generation of boxing fans.
It is not at all uncommon for a fighter to take the “path of least resistance,” cherry picking the weakest opponents in each division in the quest for the annexation of belts. Yes, it’s pretty empty. But that’s the way it is, and most people don’t know any better.
At this point in history, the fighter of the moment is Canelo Alvarez, who has won recognized world titles all the way from junior middleweight (154 pounds) to light heavyweight (175 pounds).
Canelo’s Quest for All-Time Greatness
So in his quest for “all-time greatness,” the next logical step is to move to the cruiserweight division and find the most feasible road to another championship.
In this case, the object of his ambition has been Ilunga Makabu, the WBC cruiser champ, who is slated to defend his title against Thabiso Mchunu on January 29 on a Don King card in Warren, Ohio. Makabu lost his pro debut on a first-round knockout, but has since fashioned a ring record of 28-2 with 25 KO’s. The WBC has given the green light for the fight, and they have even dropped the cruiserweight limit down to 190 pounds, which some people think was meant to accommodate Canelo.
I have seen Alvarez listed as a -600 favorite in this prospective fight (with Makabu at +400), which gives you an idea of how imposing the Congolese native is. But who knows if that bout will remain on the table. I’m not saying it’s not happening; it may just mean that people are posturing.
An alternative possibility has arisen. Oleksandr Usyk, who scored a decision over Anthony Joshua to win the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight titles, has indicated that he would be willing to face Canelo, and do it at an agreed-upon catchweight so that the fight could be made.
Usyk was a cruiserweight champ before moving up. He weighed 221 against Joshua, who he artfully outboxed. He says he can come back down to 200 pounds.
There is a Usyk-Joshua rematch that is supposed to take place in April. And that could make the Canelo talk moot for the time being. But it would arguably be a more lucrative fight for Usyk.
While, on the surface, it’s a good idea for the Ukrainian, some boxing observers with credentials don’t think it’s so wise for Canelo to engage in such activity. And you can guess the reason.
Is Usyk Too Big for Canelo?
“To me, Usyk is too big for Canelo,” Roy Jones Jr. told IFL.tv. “So, Usyk beats Canelo EASY, in my opinion.”
Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch echoes that. “Too big and too good for him,” he says.
Sergio Mora, a former champion who won “the Contender” reality show on NBC, has stern advice for Alvarez: “Stay away from Usyk.”
Sure, inside the ring it’s a good deal for Usyk. And he would like to make it even better, at least as far as he’s concerned. Yes, he would come down in weight. Yes, he would accept the payday. But under one condition.
He’d have to be able to hold onto his heavyweight title belts.
Uh, can we hear that buzzer please?
Attention to Mr. Usyk and all the young boxing “historians” who like to talk about multiple titles and “legacies” and “lineal” championships (of which not many really exist, by the way): heavyweight champions do not engage in non-title fights.
Anytime a heavyweight champion steps into the ring (and remember, there are no “over-the-weight” fights in that division), the championship is on the line. Back in 1993, journeyman Tim Tomashek was pulled out of the audience on less then an hour’s notice when Mike Williams, the opponent for WBO champion Tommy Morrison (who, we might point out, had previously “fought” Morrison in the film Rocky V as “Union Cane”) pulled out. The WBO didn’t really want to make it for the title, but they had to.
In 1986, WBC champ Trevor Berbick, slated to defend against Mike Tyson, was supposed to fight an eight-round tuneup bout against Oscar Holman, possessor of a 9-7-1 mark. But then somebody suggested that Berbick couldn’t do a non-title fight like that. It was changed to an exhibition. We’re not making this up.
So this brings into question (1) why Canelo would fight a bigger, talented guy like Usyk without the holy grail on the line, (2) why Usyk would want to leave a load of money on the table by making the bout much less significant.
Usyk is not a magic name. He is not a big draw as a single and separate entity, despite his championship status. It just doesn’t make any sense for Canelo to chase him down for, essentially, no reason, because he can probably find more lucrative alternatives elsewhere (maybe a third bout with Gennady Golovkin?).
And even though the WBC has been known to make up new and weird things as they go along (have you heard about their “Franchise” titles or “Bridgerweight” division?), they’d need to put a foot down here.
Would they?
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