What a difference six months makes. In September of 2013 Canelo was considered by many as the “chosen one,” destined to dethrone Floyd Mayweather. At the time Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo was poised to become a champion in his own right. Yet, both suffered setbacks in their last appearances in the ring; Álvarez to Mayweather and Angulo to Erislandy Lara. Now each needs the other to get their respective careers on track. It’s a difficult scenario as a loss for either could dim their star or worse yet, relegate them to “stepping stone” opponent. So what can we expect Saturday March 8th when the two meet in a bout being billed as “Toe-to-Toe?” Who will win Canelo v. Angulo? Check out our take.
The Canelo and Angulo Paths
Canelo Álvarez has been carefully groomed by his trainers and promotion company Golden Boy to essentially be the next golden boy. To date it’s been a massive success, with Álvarez winning 42 bouts, becoming the junior middleweight champion at just 21-years-old and amassing a following large and loyal enough to make him one of the biggest draws in boxing and a virtual rock star in his native Mexico. Despite this, Canelo has had his share of critics. One of the common gripes being the quality of his opposition and its meticulous curation that is being made to assure the Canelo train keeps running. It’s a notion Angulo seems to agree with. In a pre-fight conference call Angulo stated,
“Canelo has a lot of fans, thanks to the work that they’ve done with him in the media…People do love him, and I respect him, but I think that he is a boxer that has had his career handed to him. Canelo hasn’t fought anyone aside from Floyd Mayweather. I’ve earned my respect through my fights.”
To his credit, Canelo seemed to quell some of that noise when he defeated then unbeaten Austin Trout in a title unification bout. Trout was the quality opposition critics had been clamoring for and Canelo stepped up his boxing game and defeated Trout. The victory helped him get the shot at Mayweather, but the result may have proved the critics correct. Mayweather clearly out boxed Canelo when they met. So were the critics right? Or was Canelo simply in the unfortunate position of having to face one of the best of boxers of his generation? This fight against Angulo looks to serve as a confidence builder and put his career back on track while perhaps answer these questions. However, there is risk. Angulo is no walkover; he’s hard hitting with knockout power, one misstep and Canelo will find himself in Victor Ortiz territory.