As Canelo Alvarez enters a new and probably final era of his epic career, it is a good time to reflect on the most significant fights of his future Hall of Fame career.
While the announcement that Canelo would face William Scull — a boxer little known beyond hardcore boxing fans — was a little underwhelming, it is the start of a new chapter for the super middleweight boss.
It marks Alvarez’s first of four fights with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season and will offer him the chance to win back the IBF belt he was stripped of last year after he declined to fight the mandatory challenger Scull. A bigger fight also lies in wait for Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) — if he wins — against two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford in September, which is likely to be the biggest boxing event of 2025.
Becoming undisputed super middleweight champion again would be a major landmark in Alvarez’s 20-year career, but there have been many others.
Here’s a look at the 11 biggest moments of one of this era’s biggest boxing stars.
11. Unanimous decision win vs. Matthew Hatton — May 3, 2011
At just 20 years of age, Alvarez won his first world title with a dominant decision win over Hatton, brother of two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton.
“This was my first world title shot, but it’s the first of many and I’ll win them all for my fans, I’m going to be the next big name of Mexico,” Canelo said after the fight.
He was not wrong.
Alvarez won the vacant WBC junior middleweight title and for many boxing fans, it was the first time they had seen him in action.
Canelo, who had already been a professional for five years, earned landslide scores of 119-108 on all three scorecards at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. He was docked a point for hitting Hatton out of a clinch but otherwise won every round.
“I knew straight away he was a super fighter — he was very strong and picked his punches so well. It was a painful night for me,” Hatton told ESPN in 2021. “I was a career welterweight and he had a huge size advantage over me so I was really up against it. It was like going into battle with a pea shooter.”
10. Unanimous decision win vs. Shane Mosley — May 5, 2012
For the second successive year, Canelo recorded a career-changing win on Cinco de Mayo weekend, and this triumph was the launchpad to bigger fights.
Mosley, 40 at the time, was a shadow of his former self, with declining reflexes and speed. But claiming a victory over a boxing legend was an important boost for the then 21-year-old’s career and profile.
Canelo’s unanimous decision win was chief support to Floyd Mayweather’s win over Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and rocked Mosley multiple times as he landed 348 of 673 punches (52%).
“I didn’t expect him to be that fast or that good,” Mosley said of Canelo after the fight. “He’s up there with the top guys I’ve faced. Mayweather is fast, Cotto, all those guys I fought. He’s up there with them.”
9. Unanimous decision win vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. — May 6, 2017
National pride was never in doubt when Canelo moved up to super middleweight and utterly dominated Chavez on Cinco de Mayo weekend — and then immediately announced he would be fighting unified middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 16, Mexican Independence Day weekend.
The most exciting part about the unanimous 120-108 scores in a one-sided, predictable fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was the launchpad to a very entertaining Canelo vs. Golovkin trilogy.
The boxing world rejoiced at the confirmation of the long-awaited showdown.
Chavez was overmatched and the fight overhyped, but his name (the son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, a three-weight world champion) meant this was a big fight for Mexico. Canelo was much quicker against the biggest opponent he had ever faced. He had a 228-71 edge in punches landed and an 83-15 advantage in jabs landed.
Canelo’s victory cleared the way for Golovkin and perhaps gave Alvarez the confidence he could compete beyond middleweight.
8. TKO8 win vs. Billy Joe Saunders — May 8, 2021
After a vitriolic buildup, Canelo handed out a spiteful beatdown on Saunders in the super middleweight title unification clash.
Saunders was hit with a pulverizing right uppercut in Round 8 that closed his right eye and caused enough damage that it forced his corner to stop the fight before the ninth round.
Canelo enjoyed the final eighth round at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as he waved to the 73,126 fans in attendance (a record for an indoor boxing event) as he inflicted damage that left Saunders needing surgery to repair a fractured right orbital bone.
Saunders was tipped to give Alvarez problems with his southpaw movement and slick boxing, but Canelo delivered a performance that showed why he was considered a top pound-for-pound fighter. At the time of the stoppage, Saunders was down 78-74, 77-75 and 78-74 on the official scorecards. This win saw Canelo add the WBO title to his WBC and WBA super middleweight belts.
7. Unanimous decision win vs. Miguel Cotto — Nov. 21, 2015
Canelo became a two-weight world champion with a unanimous decision win over the popular Cotto.
Cotto, 35, was 10 years older than Canelo, but his experience as a four-division world champion led many to believe Cotto was Canelo’s toughest test since losing to Mayweather two years previously.
But Canelo was too sharp and heavy-handed as he won the vacant WBC middleweight crown at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
“I will always respect him and he’s a great champion, but now it’s my era,” Alvarez said following the fight.
Beating Cotto marked Alvarez as boxing’s next big star following the retirement of Mayweather two months earlier, and this fight reportedly generated 900,000 pay-per-view buys. It also boosted Canelo’s status in pound-for-pound lists.
6. Majority decision loss vs. Floyd Mayweather — Sept. 14, 2013
Alvarez’s first defeat only enhanced his reputation.
Canelo lost a majority decision to Mayweather on the biggest stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, in an event billed as “The One.”
One judge scored it a draw, the others had it 117-111 and 116-112 to Mayweather, who took Canelo’s WBC belt and defended his WBA title.
“Canelo is a young, strong champion. A great Mexican champion,” Mayweather said following the fight. “I take my hat off to him and to Mexico. He can take a loss and bounce back.”
Mayweather made Alvarez miss like no other opponent was able to do against him. Mayweather’s slick movement meant he could outbox Canelo for periods.
“I couldn’t catch him, he was very elusive,” Canelo said after suffering his first defeat.
But Canelo’s performance on Mexican Independence Day weekend, still elevated his career to an even higher level. The fight shattered the all-time record for highest-grossing pay-per-view fight of all time, generating $150 million in revenue from 2.2 million pay-per-view buys. This fight underlined Canelo’s ability to generate revenue as one of boxing’s biggest draws.
5. TKO11 win vs. Caleb Plant — Nov. 6, 2021
Alvarez became the first undisputed world champion at 168 pounds when he stopped Caleb Plant in his eighth fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo squeezed a pinpoint left hook through Plant’s guard to the temple followed by a right uppercut for the first knockdown in Round 11. He followed that up with a volley of punches to return an unsteady Plant to the canvas and secure victory.
“It means so much to me, for the history of Mexico, to be an undisputed champion,” said Alvarez, who earned a guaranteed $40 million.
Plant was behind on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage: 96-94, 98-92 and 97-93. Canelo added Plant’s IBF belt to his WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight titles.
It was Canelo’s third stoppage in a row, a hot run of form that confirmed his status at the time as pound-for-pound No. 1.
4. KO11 win vs. Sergey Kovalev — Nov. 2, 2019
Alvarez, the reigning middleweight world champion, moved up two weight divisions and 15 pounds to score an 11th-round knockout win over Kovalev to win the WBO belt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Considering the opponent (Kovalev was a career light heavyweight), this brilliant KO finish was better than those versus James Kirkland, Amir Khan, Plant and Liam Smith — all worth checking out.
The landmark win also saw a then-29-year-old Canelo become a world champion in a fourth weight class, a feat which leveled him with fellow Mexicans Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik “Terrible” Morales and Jorge “Travieso” Arce.
It was a competitive fight early on, with Kovalev relying on his jab and Canelo targeting the body. Kovalev’s size and jab limited Canelo’s success, but Canelo was on top at the time of the stoppage 96-94 on two scorecards and 95-95 on the third. Canelo’s speed, energy and combinations came to the fore in the later rounds before he landed a left hook to the jaw that staggered Kovalev, followed by a big right hand which left him draped over the ropes.
“It was a very close fight because he was defensive, he was closing up his guard. All he was doing was try to establish points, but we knew what was coming. Inevitably it would come, and everything came out the way we had planned,” said Canelo, who earned a reported $35 million for the fight.
Alvarez landed 133 of 345 punches (39%) and Kovalev landed 115 of 745 (15%), according to CompuBox statistics.
3. Split draw vs. Gennadiy Golovkin — Sept. 16, 2017
Some felt Golovkin was unlucky not to win their first fight, which ended in a split draw in 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the buildup to the fight, Golovkin-Canelo was compared to the thrilling and ferocious middleweight title fight between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns in 1985. But Canelo did not engage enough with GGG to be a classic and Golovkin did not land the clean blows that have taken out nearly all his professional opponents up to that point. Alvarez attempted to counter Golovkin, who was the aggressor and busier.
Canelo was hurt by the reaction to the first fight, which many gave to Golovkin. That fight did more than 1.3 million pay-per-view buys. One judge scored it even, another 115-113 to GGG while a third judge was heavily criticized for a 118-110 verdict for Canelo.
“This is terrible for sport, for boxing,” Golovkin said after the fight.
Canelo was even booed by some fans following the announcement of a draw, but this fight was the beginning of a trilogy that would cement Canelo’s career, and gave him the opportunity to get the better of one of the best middleweight champions in boxing history to silence criticism.
2. Majority decision win vs. Gennadiy Golovkin — Sept. 15, 2018
A positive PED test for Alvarez in March 2018 forced the rematch to be postponed, and cast more bad blood into the mix, and they entered their second fight despising each other. Alvarez blamed tainted meat consumed in his native Guadalajara for the positive test.
The second fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was better and so was Alvarez. The majority decision in his favor was also debated, but it wasn’t as hotly disputed as the first encounter. Once again, there were no knockdowns as Canelo won by scores of 115-113 twice, with a third scoring it a 114-114 draw. Canelo was the aggressor and backed up GGG, handing him his first professional defeat for the best win of his career.
“He was the one who was backing up, it was a clear victory,” Canelo said after the fight.
The victory gave Canelo the chance to move away from GGG, going 7-1 in his next eight fights before their trilogy fight.
1. Unanimous decision win vs. Gennadiy Golovkin — Sept. 17, 2022
Canelo’s trilogy with Golovkin, also at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is a story of controversy, redemption and finally triumph for Alvarez.
The final fight, four years after the second, was not as entertaining as the first two, as Canelo emerged a clear winner over a then 40-year-old Golovkin. Alvarez retained his undisputed super middleweight crown with a unanimous decision victory after scorecards of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112.
But what was important is that the victory helped Canelo to settle the trilogy with a must-needed win to respond to a decision loss to Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight just four months earlier.
“Everybody knows this is high-level class. This is the best fighter in boxing. Everyone knows who is Canelo,” Golovkin said. “This fight is more tactical. Today, Canelo is better. Congrats to Canelo.”
Canelo has been unbeaten since.
