Eddie Hearn denies Canelo Alvarez slips

From Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn insists Canelo Alvarez shows no sign of slipping in his last two fights since capturing the undisputed championship in 2021.

Taking to social media, boxing fans have noted that Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) has looked like he’s lost a few steps since his bout with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, and almost in his last trilogy match looked just as bad against 40-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin last September.

Hearn states that Canelo had a left hand injury in his last two bouts, but that doesn’t explain why he gassed after six rounds in both fights against Bivol and GGG.

The only reason Canelo won the trilogy match against Golovkin is because of his slow start. If Golovkin had started fighting hard earlier in the competition, he would have beaten Canelo, and he would now face oblivion.

Canelo has a lot to prove

2023 will be an important year for Canelo because he needs to show something to prove he’s not the faded fighter that many fans think he is.

He’s slated to fight British fighter John Ryder in May, which is basically a gimme to build his confidence. But the way Canelo has been looking lately, Ryder could give him a lot of trouble and maybe even hit him.

Assuming Canelo finds a way to defeat Ryder, he’ll then face Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in September, at either 168 or 175. This fight has the makings of a mismatch in Bivol’s favor because it’s stylistically and utterly wrong for him Canelo is far superior in terms of his boxing skills.

“He’s been fighting with an injury the last few fights,Eddie Hearn told the media of Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night when he was told the Mexican star had shown signs of slipping in the last two bouts.

Canelo didn’t have a hand injury during his fight with Caleb Plant in November 2021 and looked very beatable in this competition. If Plant hadn’t gasped after nine rounds, he would have boxed his way through to a 12-round decision by causing pure problems for Canelo until the ninth.

Hearn denies Canelo slips

“I don’t think he was at his best but look at his fight. He fought Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, Dmitry Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin,” Hearn said. “He fought that. People say, “Oh, he’s slipping a bit.”

“He fought the very best, and he also carried an injury,” Hearn said, repeating the injury excuse.

It doesn’t work for Hearn to blame Canelo’s high-profile opponent for why he didn’t look good because boxing fans expect him to be the best.

They don’t want Canelo returning to the weak position against which he’s topped his record against Avni Yildirim, Rocky Fielding, Billy Joe Saunders, Daniel Jacobs and a shot Sergey Kovalev over the past five years.

Fans want Canelo to fight best, which means he’s expected to face these killers:

• David Benavidez
• Dmitry Bivol
• David Morell
• Artur Beterbiew