By: Hans Themistode
Carl Froch has had the privilege of sitting ringside to watch unified super middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez, up close and personal on several occasions. That trend continued as Froch observed closely as the Mexican star pummeled British native Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas last weekend.
Though their contest was fairly competitive, Saunders was ultimately left a broken man as Alvarez shattered his right orbital bone which forced Saunders to remain on his stool for the start of the ninth round. While the scorecards were somewhat close as two judges had it 6-2 in favor of Alvarez with the remaining judge having it 5-3 in the Mexican star’s favor, Froch didn’t view their contest as remotely close.
“He was having some success landing shots but Canelo was in control of the fight really,” said Froch following the win for Alvarez. “He was backing up Billy Joe and landing big blows and ultimately, he busted his eye socket.”
What’s next for the pound-for-pound star is an open-ended question. Currently, a showdown against IBF super middleweight titlist, Caleb Plant, is number one on the agenda of Alvarez as he attempts to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of all time. If for some reason, that contest doesn’t become a reality, Alvarez still has plenty of options. Showdowns against super middleweight contender David Benavidez and WBC middleweight champion, Jermall Charlo, is a possibility. So is a third matchup against long-time rival Gennadiy Golovkin.
To take things further, Alvarez could opt to move up to the light heavyweight division in an attempt to challenge himself against bigger men.
Regardless of what he decides to do next, Froch doesn’t believe anyone will be able to compete with the pound-for-pound star. If however, in some twilight zone like dimension, WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford were to miraculously gain 20 pounds in weight, he would be the only person that could compete and possibly defeat Alvarez.
“The only fighter that I can see give Canelo any sort of trouble at all is unfortunately in a different weight division, Terence Crawford. He’s the only guy with the kind of class and ability to do anything with someone like Canelo just because of how good he is and his variety of work. Terence Crawford is too small, so who would you put him in with? There’s no one.”