Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is in a race against time and he's not mincing words about it.
Prior to even forcing Avni Yildirim's corner to throw in the towel after the third round of their fight this past February, the defending WBA (Super) and WBC super middleweight champion made his intentions perfectly clear.
"I want to fight four times this year," he told DAZN's Ak and Barak. "Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity. If I get the fights that I want to fight four times a year, for sure. My goal is to give the fans great fights."
We know the latter is true, but fighting four times this year? The question that must be asked is simply: Is Canelo trying to do too much in a short period of time? Is squeezing four fights into 12 months overkill?
Well, let's start off attempting to answer those questions by checking out Canelo's current slate.
The history-making road ahead
The arguable best pound-for-pound boxer will have his second fight of the year on May 8 of Cinco de Mayo weekend, when he faces WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders in a unification fight, live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.
That bout will mark a 70-day turnaround from demolishing Yildirim. If successful against Saunders, there's no doubt that Canelo will mash the dash on the urgency to book a showdown with IBF champion Caleb Plant, who would then represent the missing piece of attaining undisputed super middleweight glory. From there, it remains to be seen whether Canelo would defend his newly-won undisputed crown or relinquish it to chase another historical feat outside of the 168-pound division.
Defending the undisputed championship vs. Benavidez
If it's defending the crown, a clash with David Benavidez as Canelo's fourth fight this year would be major. Alvarez would be giving up 4 1⁄2 inches of height and nearly seven inches of reach against the younger, undefeated David Benavidez. At 24, Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) is already a former two-time WBC super middleweight titleholder who is known for being one of boxing's best switch hitters with thumping power in each hand. During an interview with DAZN News in March, Benavidez spoke about Canelo's roadmap, while eyeing a mega bout with the superstar.
“Honestly, I think people lose a lot of respect for him if he does that,” Benavidez said, regarding the possibility of Canelo becoming undisputed champion and not fighting him. “I’m the only person — outside of those two (Saunders and Plant) — that people want to see fight him. I feel like people want to see him fight me more than they want to see him fight Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant.”
Or ... Canelo in a 'super fight'
If Alvarez defeats Saunders and Plant, perhaps a super fight would be the only way to top being crowned the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world. Instead of going the route of a trilogy with rival Gennadiy Golovkin, just imagine Canelo inviting unified welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr. up for what would be nothing short of an absolute mega bout.
The 31-year-old Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) has all the tools of being a pound-for-pound king himself and the fact that he walks around in the 160-pound range makes the possibility all the more mouthwatering. Stack that against the 30-year-old Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) and his history and boxing fans would be treated to must-see fireworks. Besides, what better way for Canelo to cap another historic year?
The verdict
All this being said, we go back to the question at hand: Is Canelo trying to do too much in a short period of time?
If it was any other boxer, we'd lean toward saying yes. But until proven otherwise, we can definitively state no — Canelo is not trying to do too much in a short period of time.
Why? Well, he keeps using different ambitious goals as a means to satiate his hunger. Such was on display in November 2019, when he dared to be great by moving up two weight classes to light heavyweight before blasting Sergey Kovalev via an 11th-round KO and becoming a four-division world champion.
Alvarez then had a 13-month break — largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic — before scoring a dominant unanimous decision over Callum Smith in December 2020 to become a unified super middleweight champ.
And that brings us to 2021, which Canelo jumpstarted with a destruction of Yildirim. With all due respect to Yildirim, Alvarez made him look like a sparring partner on Feb. 27.
So, we're essentially looking at three fights, not four. Albeit, Saunders and Plant each pose unique challenges with their technical boxing prowess. But let's not act like Canelo is showing holes in his game. If anything, it's the opposite. Alvarez, at 30, is in his prime and the results have been scary.
So, no, trying to squeeze in three more fights this year, starting with the Saunders bout, isn't overkill for Alvarez. It's more like his hunger for ambition moving forward accordingly.