Canelo: I would definitely beat Floyd today

WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders says he’s the best fighter WBC/WBA super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez has faced since Floyd Mayweather, who defeated Canelo by decision in 2013. “We’ll see that on fight night,” stated Canelo in an interview with Univision.

Regarding the loss to Mayweather, Canelo commented, “I would definitely beat him today. It would be a very different fight. I am a more mature fighter. I have more experience and I learned a lot. That loss left me a lot. After losing I promised to become the best and I achieved it. At that moment the loss hurt me a lot because I wanted to win, but only God knows why he does the things he does.”

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  • sure, ridiculous…
    floyd is 127yrs old and hasnt had a real fight in almost 5 years
    sure,
    at Canelo’s weight, 168 to 175lbs lololol

    • I think he means that the Canelo today would beat the Mayweather of 2013. What do you think?

      • The best Canelo does not ever beat the best Mayweather.. period. Floyd is smarter than Canelo. Floyd will adjust and outthink Canelo.. while Canelo is working on plan B, Floyd has already been setting traps to counter Canelos plan C

        • Just like the best Mayweather beat all those past their prime champions.

          • Rick Hatton
            Miguel Cotto
            Sharmba Mitchell
            J.J Marquez
            Diego Corrales (favorite to beat Floyd)

            Yeah all of those “past their prime champions”. Have a seat.

          • Floyd was older than Pacquiao and past his prime. Fact is there are certain style Pac will never beat. He avoid Spence when he was suppose to fight the winner of Spence vs Mikey Garcia. Crawford is slightly more vulnerable but he will still beat Manny and you will use age as an excuse even though he beat younger champion Keith Thurman.

        • Like you said, Floyd’s greatness is in his ability to adjust on the fly. Many feel he lost to GGG twice (I personally think he won). If Many felt he lost twice he obviously doesn’t have the ability to adjust the second time around. Floyd would do the same.

          • the millions that said Canelo lost to GGG were the same ones who guaranteed GGG would KO Canelo so im sure they lost alot of money, and if in that 1st fight that was Floyd instead of Canelo the scores would have been a 120-108 shutout Canelo outboxed the piss out of the boogeyman and people were pissed saying he ran lol then in the rematch the smaller guy stood his ground and NOW GGG wants to run and try to box??? Canelo won both fights and all this BS about Floyd having a plan B and C for Canelo prime for prime lol his plan A,b,and C did work against the brawler Miadana then he goes into a rematch and scrapes and holds to a points win lmao

          • Canelo DID run in fight 1 and lost bout 2 as well. He’ll never fight as a middleweight again for the precise reason that he does not think he can ever beat GGG.Did u even watch these fights??

          • Why doesn’t GGG go up and fight Canelo?! That bum is tall and big as hell why doesn’t he EVER move up and challenge himself? Why isn’t he criticized for it. He ducked Ward

      • If he was doing that he’d have to say 30 yr old Canelo vs 30 yr old Floyd. Still loses

      • I think you are right. But the weight difference would be too much now even if Floyd was ten years younger.

    • @rwb Agreed. That fight can’t be made at a reasonable weight limit, and Floyd has been away from real competition for too long to even consider a fight with Canelo. I believe that if a rematch had happened within 3 years or so after their first fight, that Floyd would have won again, but we’ll never know.

      “What might have happened, we don’t know. What did happen, we do know”

      – Larry Merchant

    • Good comment! I’m amazed that you received 33 thumbs down. I guess there are some really silly, low wattage people out there!

  • I will admit Canelo has improved in his fighting since he first fought Mayweather. However, Mayweather is a very slick defensive fighter and hard to hit period when he is on his “A” game. Currently, Alvarez still walks fighters down in the ring with his brute since his fighting style governs that ability. Not sure that style would beat Mayweather on points. How about Canelo on a knockout chance? Boy, hard to hit a target square on the button when it moves at all angles, uses a shoulder roll, and accurately counter punches to offset your offense. Alvarez gonna have to work overtime to catch Floyd.

    • Maidana did and by far is less skilled than Canelo same Jose Luis Castillo, Judah and Mosley. I believe the best Canelo won’t beat a prime Mayweather, but for sure the one he faced, assuming the same weight they fought.

      • talking about Castillo who many boxing experts thought beat Floyd in the 1st fight was JC Chavez protege so a prime JC Chavez would stop Floyd prime for prime and a prime experienced Canelo because of his style still might be a close fight

        • Most boxing experts know Floyd won and the expert judges saw it the same way. Floyd wasn’t in his prime and he beat Castillo twice. Prime JCC lost to a journeyman named Frankie Randal twice really. A man who could never beat Floyd. Floyd was past his prime when he beat Canelo and he beat the 24 year old Canelo amazingly easily. He beat Trout, Mosley, Cintron, Gomez and Josisito Lopez before losing to Floyd and right after he beat Cotto, Lara, Khan and Angulo etc. no excuses

    • you mean hard to hit the head the body cant avoid punishment the fact that Floyd uses that extended bladed stance and exposes his back and kidneys im suprised no opposition ever said in the pre fight meetings to the ref either you take points from him or its fair game suprisingly Floyd didnt have any fighter with a sustained body attack against him.

  • Floyd would never let anyone look good beating him. He is too defensive and makes for ugly fights. Floyds real legacy is tricking the public into wanting to see him fight regardless if undefeated by 3 judges.

    Prime Floyd probably wins a close UD over prime Canelo in P4P fight but he loses to Leonard, Hearns, Whittaker and possibly Duran.

    Of course, he’s a natural lightweight. But, he would’ve had interesting trilogies with Duran, Chavez, DLH, Whittaker, and Mosley. I believe that latter two would have knocked the shite out of him.

    • H: IDK. IMO, canelo is the modern day Duran with some leonard and hearns mixed in. His boxing IQ has improved tremendously and that is because he is a student of the fight world. BUT, so is mayweather. I think it wld have been an excellent fight. Take note. Floyd learned old school from his dad and uncle. Canelo learned old school from Oscar and Chepo. Thats why they r two of the best

      • Difficult to compare the fighters of today with Duran.

        Duran was LW champ for 7 years and generally regarded as The LW champ.

        In comparative terms, Canelo is a 4 weight top contender, you could argue as he beat GGG (2nd time) he deserves to be considered The MW champ, but he didn’t stay at MW long before he moved up to face the fearsome Rocky Fielding…like I say, hard to compare todays fighters with Duran – he was from a bygone era.

        Today its all about numbers….quantity and not quality – welcome to 21st Century boxing.

        • Now are we drug testing… remember canalo failed 2 drug test for p.e.d… or are we forgetting anout that..lol.. o ya a guy worth 200 million. Had cheap Mexican meat.. lol all of u caseload fans need to step back..

    • Floyd had one characteristic none of these guys had. He could adjust on the Floyd. LOL Chavez, right. Whitaker and Oscar gave him a boxing lesson and Floyd would do the same. You forget Floyd in his prime could bang. He would have just as good of a chance of finishing these guys the ones you claimed would stop him.

    • He beat Whitaker as a teen in private sparring but wouldn’t disrespect. The rest we don’t know

    • Dont forget ray leonard , tommy hearns. Sugar ray robinson, all these also fought at same weight and would of destroyed canelo and mayweather on the same night. Mayweather has had referees in his pocket and judges on many occasions. Years ago he would of been scored down for not fighting. Holding and running was a bad thing in usa boxing. Only one got away with it was ali due to amount of punches thrown in each round. Billy joe sainders v canelo is interesting. Billy joe at his best wins on points. But if Canelo manages to catch him its over inside 6 rounds. Billy joe would beat mayweather and be boring running game from both sides.

      • Both JCC and Sugar Ray have both said the Floyd fight would be tough but you guys have it all figured out

  • Plant and BJS does the same thing Mayweather did and school Canelo for 12 rounds.

  • If they have been at the same weight, Floyd would have never signed to face this Canelo’s version, he would have avoided him the same way he did with the best Pacquiao (the one that obliterated Hatton). The Floyd Mayweather that signed the deal with showtime could have been beaten not only by Canelo of today, but most likely by Spence or Crawford. But knowing Floyd’s mentality of crossing the river just in the narrowly part, not in the wider side or close to the falls, those fights could have been like the Spence vs. Crawford, a social media battles

    • Good point! In addition, Boxing is a business, and making those decisions to fatten a checkbook and cherry-picking fights is part of the trade for some fighters.

    • You’re full of it. Freddy Roach admitted on camera that it was pac who ducked the fight because he didn’t want drug testing plus Floyd is older than pacman so wth are you talking about? Floyd also tried to fight pac before he had to
      Go to jail but pac through Arum turned that fight down too. Pac went on to win the title again and is still fighting so wth are you talking about? Floyd is not hatton. Sure pac whipped hatton quick. It was fire against fire. Floyd is water. Floyd whipped Marquez without breaking a sweat while pac went life and death with Marquez and got put to sleep. Styles make fights

  • Cinnamon needs to get over Floyd already that shits almost a decade old! get a life mr freckles

  • Canelo is such a señorita. Floyd schooled him easily and one judge tried to steal it from him back then so if they did fight today, Floyd would win but the judges would steal it in favor of Canelo. BUT if Canelo wants to fight Floyd at 147 or maybe a catch weight of 150 tops, go for it, but that’ll never happen.

  • I guess it’s kind of fun to talk about what ifs , but I do think it is a bit unfair when you can talk about one fighter maturing and not the other. Canelo is better now yeah, but Floyd was not at his peak when he beat Canelo before either. One fight I do find is an interest measure of how Canelo would deal with a ‘boxer’ today is the Kovalev fight. Kovalev really did cause Canelo some problems with his jab at range. If i remember right, a few had Kov ahead at the halfway mark. BJS is probably a more skilled boxer than Kov, but Canelo will likely not respect his power in the same way, so the fight will look completely different. I got a ticket for this Canelo vs BJS fight anyway, so BJS better not do something stupid to get the fight cancelled haha

  • Canelo will never beat Floyd because Floyd is not fighter is an acrobatic clown
    He can be undefeated but he never convinced anybody with his orthodox boxing style that’s why nobody remember him he does not know how to fight like man toe to toe

    • How idiotic. Floyd is a defensive fighter who can ko ppl as well. If every fighter was just a dumb brawler it would just be boring rockem sockem robots!

  • Providing they are the same age and weight I don’t think he could still beat Floyd. Floyd was always mentally 2 or 3 moves ahead and no one made better adjustments than him. Floyds would bait the counter and then counter Canelo’s counter just like he did in the first fight. Canelo has beat some strong fighters since his last fight with Floyd but they did not have the ring IQ of Floyd Mayweather.

  • It’s fun to discuss mythical matchups. Prime Floyd vs Canelo today. My guess is it would be very close. Today, Canelo would use some of what Castillo and Maidana did against Floyd as well as using the things he now has in his arsenal. It’s possible Canelo wins by close decision but not probable. Close majority decision either way.

  • Canelo has improved a lot since then. He still cannot beat Mayweather. He might be able to do some things better, but even if he fought Floyd 3-4 years later and had another 10-15 fights he would not get the W.

  • Floyds team was smart enough to fight a 23 or 24 year old canelo. They wanted nothing to do with canelo in his prime

  • Canelo is fighting bigger SLOWER guys and hasn’t face anyone in the league of a Floyd Mayweather (there aren’t many). He hasn’t even fought anyone with the skillset of an Errol Spence. His competitive nature will always tell him, it will be a different fight but Floyd beats him 10/10 at 147. Canelo has improved as he’s demonstrated against GGG by making him miss by a mile most of the fight but GGG is no Floyd Mayweather.

    • I totally agree…the fighters that Canelo picks to fight cannot hurt him even if they get a clean shot with the exception of GGG (I think that GGG clearly won the first fight. The second fight was even because Canelo adjusted). Canelo also pick fighters that cannot adjust during the fight.

  • God may have had more pressing concerns that day and overlooked the fight.

  • Floyd defeated Saul already…I remember watching HBO’s 24/7 Saul was ready & no excuses, when Floyd was the younger fighter in the ring with some of the greats they always make excuses after the fight the opponent’s past his prime, when Floyd defeated all these young fights they report they were not in their prime; I’m a Ray Leonard fan forever & very biased by saying he’s the BEST EVER but as much as I dislike Floyd I believe he is the better than Ray & every fighter before & after

    • True, he has one characteristic none of them have. He can adjust on the fly. The others have lost because they were not able. He also adjusted his style. When his hands were good he was a knockout artist. When his hands were bad he played more defense to reserve his hands and still remained undefeated. Take away Ali’s speed, Take away Tyson’s power, take away Duran’s power, take away Manny’s speed, etc. He lost a major asset and still maintained. That is greatness.

  • Floyd can fight vs Tyson fury and Floyd will win because he does not fight he is very acrobatic orthodox fighter even so he got a gift against José Luis castillo 1

    • Floyd is a boxer…Defense is equally important…I agree…I think that Castillo won the first fight…

  • Floyd was a B+ fighter. Most overrated fighter in history. Las Vegas let him get away with murder in the ring ( framing opponents with his forearms before delivering his cheap shots and sucker punches). Like Marquez said, ” You couldnt beat floyd because he did not want to fight. A sucker punch and then he would shell up for the rest of the round. Unless he fought a bum. Then he would go surgar ray robinson on his arse. If you got to close to him he would basically put a forearm across your neck and then hit you over the top. Canelo sucked when he fought floyd. Miguel Cottos brother and Gomez gave him tough fights.

  • you should have done it when you were in the ring with him if you wait till they get old your always ahed

  • After reviewing the following boxing attributes/backgrounds, please answer the below listed question:

    1) Great chin;
    2) Good puncher with both hands;
    3) Great jab;
    4) Great endurance;
    5) Great boxing IQ;
    6) Great combination punching;
    7) Great hook;
    8) Great mental strength;
    9) Great ring generalship;
    10) Great defense;
    11) Great ring movements;
    12) Great trash talker;
    13) Good physical strength for prime weight class(es);
    14) Great gym rat;
    15) Great body puncher;
    16) Great record;
    17) Always in great shape;
    18) Great uppercut;
    19) Great hand speed;
    20) Best fighter during his prime;
    21) Great list of fighting other world champions;

    In absence of any personal dislike(s)/excuse(s) for a fighter, does Floyd Mayweather, Jr. satisfy all of the above listed boxing attributes/backgrounds?

    Good luck.

  • Fighters who were champions were the best in their era. Its nice to speculate, but it serves no purpose really. Ali is proclaimed the GOAT. By what merit? The crop of fighters were better than in most eras, but he wouldn’t last with many modern fighters of the last 20 years. He had a larger than life personality which I think overshadowed his skill level. Getting beat in his prime by fighters I don’t think would barely make the top ten today. No doubt he was very skilled and beat major thug type fighters like bonavena, foreman, shavers, and etc. Canelo is not the same kid now. I think hes the pound for pound best in the sport now. At 160 to 168. Not 175 where the likes of bivol and beterbiev would severely test his meddle. i think one of the most underated fighters was evander holyfield. klitchko was considered champion of a poor era. But how many old time fighters would beat him or vitali at the top of their game? At the end of the day its nice to speculate, but you just have to appreciate whats in front of you at the moment. Look at the guys at 147 and 160 in the late 70s and 80s. Its frustrating for sure not being able to see those guys now. roberto duran and ryan kingry? give me a f***ing break. It just is what it is.

  • Pure nonsense. Floyd Mayweather was simply a great fighter, and he easily demonstrated that in beating Canelo. End of story.

    Canelo is good, just not great. After Floyd beat him nearly 8 years ago, Canelo has fought 14 times, twice a year until 2020 when the pandemic emerged. He lost to GGG in the first fight but was awarded a draw, did no better than a draw in the rematch, but was gifted a decision he didn’t deserve. He fights not to lose. He picks opponents who pose little threat, even better if they have a title or well-known name, are fading, and are on the tail end of their careers. Not impressed.

    The only thing that Canelo has gotten better at, is picking opponents he’s sure he can beat.

  • Canelo is my favorite boxer but Floyd is like 44 now so of course you’d beat him. You were 24 when you guys fought and he was 36 you were bigger and had beaten many great fighters. He whipped you amazingly easily at his advanced age and made you cry. I could probably beat Larry Holmes now (still probably not) but you get my point

  • Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Canelo or Logan Paul would be this years easiest choice.

  • Most boxing experts know Floyd won against Castillo and the expert judges saw it the same way. Floyd wasn’t in his prime and he beat Castillo twice. Prime JCC lost to a journeyman named Frankie Randal twice really. A man who could never beat Floyd. Floyd was past his prime when he beat Canelo and he beat the 24 year old Canelo amazingly easily. He beat Trout, Mosley, Cintron, Gomez and Josisito Lopez before losing to Floyd and right after he beat Cotto, Lara, Khan and Angulo etc. no excuses

  • When will Canelo challenge Charlo? He is an active fighter that has been waiting for the chance to face Canelo for years.

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