Some of you here used to say Canelo is not an elite fighter cause when he stepped up to fight high level opponents like Lara he was't that impressive and only could win disputably, not in a clear, dominant fashion.
Golovkin now had the first opponent who is comparable to that level and he wasn't that impressive either. Just like Canelo he could only win disputably. Does that make him "not an elite fighter" then?
*answers the phone, since I'm the only one who had this convo recently*
Nobody ever said this though
The convo went:
I think Canelo is a real elite fighter today as opposed to Broner but otherwise I agree on most things
I actually picked Maidana to beat Broner before their fight cause I didn't think Broner is the guy he was being marketed at that time, I saw his limitations. Not to brag though... everybody has these moments when they predict something the majority didn't see, for me one of these were the Broner vs Maidana fight.
He beat some real top guys already (Trout when they fought, Lara) and I don't really care that these were close fights and could go either way because I personally gave it to Canelo and because it showed that Canelo can overcome the style disadvantage against very high level fighters which is a big thing imo... Canelo type of counter punchers historically struggle with natural boxer where I put Trout, Lara and Mayweather too. He lost to Mayweather but losing to the best fighter of the former generation, especially as a 22 yrs old who is still green, is no shame. Also that same green version beat a prime Trout too.
People who don't acknowledge Canelo as much as me usually say that his wins over Lara and Trout were close. That' true but I don't care for it that much as I said earlier because I think - aside that I scored both fights for Canelo - the mot important thing these fights showed that even with a clear style disadvantage against world class level guys he is able to find a way to win.
Now I'd also add that Canelo is a fast learner and he just got better and better during the years. I'd say that the current version of him is even better than the one fought Lara in 2014.
Also from his 2 main strengths: timing and combination punching he belongs to the top 3-5 P4P today in my opinion.
He also developed a very good jab over the times
but those are just pluses, as I said for me he proved it mainly with beating Lara and Trout, two nightmare styles to him on a very high level. Ironically though I heard opinions already who say he is NOT elite because of those fights and that he should have won them more easily clearly.
Well... different approaches I guess. Canelo's struggle wins over Trout and Lara for example mean more to me than GGG's KO streak against limited opposition. This is not a shot at GGG now, but that's just a close example and I think it writes down my viewpoint well.
I think Canelo will eventually solidify his place in the elite with beating Golovkin in September, Golovkin is much better for him style wise than May, Trout or Lara but still I can't count Golovkin out cause his power is really a game changer...
I think the fight will happen in September except either Canelo or GGG collects an upset L. I think Jcobs has a higher chance of pulling an upset than JCC.
All this is the reason I don't think he's elite
He's definitely a very good fighter, but I don't see him as an elite fighter at all....and it's mainly because of those reasons listed above
I think he's good enough to beat other good fighters, but I don't think he's good enough to beat A fighters.
*checks phone*
You still there Res?
Canelo still has yet to convincingly/clearly beat a prime B fighter in his division. He has controversial Ws over both Trout & Lara at 154 and still has yet to face a legit Middleweight. The only A fighter he ever faced, it wasn't even a competitive fight. That's why he's not considered an elite fighter just yet
He's on the border of being an elite fighter, but he has to get a true career defining performance where he stamps himself as ELITE.....bc his career defining win to this date is the fight vs Lara. Was that an example of an Elite fighter exhibiting his craft?
As for GGG, he's already clearly destroyed B fighters for a long period of time, which is what elite fighters do. You can dismiss the opponents, cool, but like I told Reflex, when Canelo faces these same MWs, then he has to dominate them as well since they are nothing but bums
He struggled with Jacobs and got his 1st controversial W....but he's also KOd every other B fighter he's faced. That counts for something, no matter what yall want to say. Also, no one can play consistency cops with me either, because I've argued this SAME thought process when it comes to Deontay Wilder vs people who downplay his resume as well.
Alright breh, gotta run.......Mrs. Newzz is coming
Be openly biased as a "professional" boxing journalist brehs...
