After the fight: Canelo Alvarez could have an epic 2021

Canelo Alvarez easily outclassed Avni Yildirim with his elite skill set and is positioned for a monumental year in boxing. 

Avni Yildirim was never an intriguing name for a Canelo Alvarez opponent, but we can still appreciate Alvarez as a boxer after his seemingly effortless drubbing of Yildirim.

Yildirim (21-3, 12 KOs) wasn’t a worthy opponent for Alvarez, but Alvarez doesn’t deserve any flack for a severely lopsided three-round TKO victory on Saturday, Feb. 27. The blame for Yildirim’s promotion to mandatory challenger falls on the WBC.  It also embodies a longstanding problem with sanctioning bodies as a whole.

There’s a certain logic to having mandatory challengers in place, but it defeats the purpose if these challengers are undeserving of a title fight. The subjectivity behind sanctioning bodies’ ranking systems is precarious for numerous reasons.

Just because a sanctioning body says a fighter earned the right to challenge for a title doesn’t mean their word is reliable. They’re the ones making that determination, and the legitimacy of their rankings is often questionable, and that’s putting it kindly.

Whether they’re from The Ring or Boxrec.com, all rankings are subjective in nature, but at least from these two entities, they’re constructed by many qualified voices who don’t have an agenda or a bias behind their rationale. The business of boxing doesn’t taint their viewpoint.

Yildirim didn’t beat anybody of standing that makes him a justifiable opponent for Alvarez. Again, that’s not on Alvarez, and that doesn’t mean the fight wasn’t worth having or watching. Alvarez got to stay active and show his supernatural boxing ability in comparison to a slightly above-average boxer.

With a win over Avni Yildirim, Canelo Alvarez stayed active to be primed and ready for Billy Joe Saunders

Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) deserves credit for fighting twice in a two-month span. There aren’t too many big names willing to do the same thing. Not every fight can be a colossal event, but Alvarez’s willingness to stay active shows his dedication to his craft and desire to be the best. Yildirim was practice for his upcoming May 8 showcase against WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.

Yes, Alvarez will be a heavy favorite over Saunders as well, but Saunders is undefeated and has beaten some quality opponents on his way to winning the WBO title. Are there others who would be more attractive opponents? Sure, but Alvarez seems focused on becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion, then testing himself against any worthy opponents.

Alvarez fought Gennadiy Golovkin twice and has a history of fighting big names. He doesn’t come off as someone who is ducking tough opposition. Outside of Saunders and Caleb Plant, the division doesn’t have much resistance for Alvarez. He’s perfectly set up to meet Saunders in May and Plant in September. After that, people will need to move into the division for their shot at Alvarez. Golovkin included.

It would be amazing to see Alvarez in the ring against Jermall Charlo and Dmitry Bivol at some point, but they are currently fighting in other divisions. Alvarez is focusing on what is in the division right now and is working through that list systematically.

It’s impressive to see what Alvarez has accomplished at only 30 years old. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer who might not even be at his peak. He has shown tremendous growth throughout his career and is a true student of the game.

If all goes right, 2021 could be the best year of Alvarez’s career thus far, but it could still be the penultimate to further greatness. Even Alvarez might not know how high his ceiling is, but it will sure be fun to watch him test and surpass his limits.