Never in the long and illustrious history of boxing has an undisputed champion faced another in the four-belt title era. They said it wasn’t possible but this has been a year of mega fights that were always difficult to produce and they have been delivered.
Gervota Davis dominated Ryan Garcia in April. Two young stars battled for lightweight supremacy and they settled that debate. We are a few weeks past from the mega fight with Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. that determined welterweight supremacy and possibly the best pound-for-pound fighter.
Davis continued to make his mark with a commanding win over Garcia. Crawford would shut down the skeptics with a masterpiece and Spence went home without the titles as undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Tuesday afternoon, Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo at the Palladium Times Square in New York City faced off with the first of a two-city press tour to promote their upcoming showdown between the undisputed super middleweight world champion versus the undisputed junior middleweight champion. Saturday, September 30 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Showtime Pay-Per-View is a historic matchup.
It’s historic because they are reigning and undisputed champions in two weight classes on opposite sides for the first time in the four-belt era. Boxing has seen a change in direction of the mega-fight and putting aside the politics that has prevented two undisputed champions from meeting each other.
So what worked this time in securing two undisputed champions bypassing the politics of sanctioning bodies and mandatory defenses of their titles? To those with knowledge of how this works it continues to be the Canelo Alvarez legacy and perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter. Alvarez is considered the face of boxing, regardless of the Crawford win, and holds a title with Canelo Promotions.
Promoters, including the PBC management company seek his continued interest and popularity, a first time unified super middleweight champion with an ability to take on all challengers. Charlo is popular, moving up two weight classes, and despite a year hiatus has eyed the challenge of dethroning Alvarez.
“With two great fighters in there, you get nothing but fireworks,” Charlo said Tuesday. “When this fight presented itself, it was a no-brainer to make this happen.”
And different from mega-fights that see two adversaries trade insults and vulgar language, Alvarez and Charlo had no animosity. This was about respect for their accomplishments and what this fight means for boxing. Then again, promoters look for that animosity and buzz to draw more interest for pay-per-view numbers.
“Thank you to Jermell for taking this fight,” Alvarez said without the use of a translator. “I’m very happy to be in this position and to be in big fights. Jermell is a great fighter who takes on big challenges just like I do. I always take risks.”
He added, “Jermell is a great fighter and this is a fight that’s been out there as a possibility for a long time. Now is the correct time for this fight.”
Alvarez has been looking to avenge a loss to Dmitri Bivol, a quest not successful for the light heavyweight titles and chance to unify another division. He does take risks because he is in that position as that so-called face of the sport. But there are others who deserved the opportunity to dethrone his titles at 168, including a long and anticipated matchup with the supposed mandatory for David Benavidez
Though this fight hardly needs a buzz. Alvarez has a successful ratio of wins on pay-per-view platforms with rival promoters at Golden Boy and Matchroom returning for a two-fight deal with Premier Boxing Promotions. In the four-belt title era, he has been that face, a superstar and perhaps bypassing Hall of Fame legend Julio Caesar Chavez as the iconic Mexican fighter.
Charlo is the first undisputed 154-pound world champion in the four-belt era and could join Crawford as the only male fighter to become undisputed in two-weight classes.
But there are always questions of how much longer can Canelo Alvarez continue his legacy? Taking on Charlo could be a risk or another step to that Hall of Fame legacy. In a hometown championship fight at Estadio Alcron in Guadalajara, Mexico in May, a spectacle fit for a king with over 55,000 of Mexican supporters, fans witnessed Alvarez continuing his legacy with a wide and unanimous decision win over John Ryder.
The opponent from Britain deserved the opportunity at Alvarez’s unified Super Middleweight titles, sustaining a broken nose, rebounding off the mat from a fifth round knockdown. But this was Canelo Alvarez, 32-years old and age to him is just a number. Though there were telling signs that an illustrious career could be on a decline, he could not finish off his opponent with a vintage knockout or that patterned TKO of body punches.
“It’s good that people are saying I’ve lost a step,” he said. “It’s fine. I know why I didn’t look as good in my last two fights. I know why and I’m different now. I’m preparing now for a different type of fighter.”
Indeed, Charlo will be different moving up in class, though fighters tend to weigh in a day prior and enter the ring above the contracted limit because that is a way this works. Alvarez, though, with exception of his loss to Bivol, seemed to be overmatched against a light heavyweight.
Recall, also, Alvarez dethroned Sergey Kovalev in November 2019, then for the light heavyweight titles with a 11th round stoppage. That was the beginning of a legacy that has continued.
“I have everything that he says he has as well,” Alvarez said about his latest challenge. “I have experience and I’ve been in this position a lot of times. That’s why we’re here. We’re going to find out if he’s got enough on September 30.”
Undisputed this is, a legacy that could continue for Alvarez and as they say a fight that had to be made.
Reprinted with permission via nysportsday.com.
Rich Mancuso: Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
About the Author
Rich Mancuso
Rich Mancuso is a regular contributor at NY Sports Day, covering countless New York Mets, Yankees, and MLB teams along with some of the greatest boxing matches over the years. He is an award winning sports journalist and previously worked for The Associated Press, New York Daily News, Gannett, and BoxingInsider.com, in a career that spans almost 40 years.