By: Hans Themistode
For better or for worse, Canelo Alvarez has become the face of the boxing world. In addition to carrying his homeland of Mexico on his shoulders, he also bears the burden of expectations. In just a few short hours, those aforementioned expectations will skyrocket as Alvarez takes on Billy Joe Saunders at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
In the mind of many, Alvarez should claim the WBO super middleweight title currently in possession of Saunders to add to his WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine titles. With so much on the line, Chris Algieri believes one bad performance could become an indictment against the Mexican star.
“There’s so much on Canelo’s back now,” said Algieri during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “He has to perform time and time out. He’s going out there four times a year so he really can’t have a misstep.”
Alvarez, 30, has rolled through the competition as of late. In May of 2019, the pound-for-pound star picked up a clear decision victory over former middleweight champion, Daniel Jacobs. He quickly followed up that win by moving up in weight and stopping former light heavyweight king, Sergey Kovalev before moving back down in weight to easily beat Callum Smith for his WBA, Ring Magazine and vacant WBC super middleweight titles. In his most recent ring appearance, Alvarez turned super middleweight contender Avni Yildirim into the laughingstock of the boxing world as he easily stopped him in the third round of their contest in late February.
Still, despite the long list of former champions and great fighters that are currently plastered on his resume, Algieri simply has a hard time when asked if he believes Alvarez will make it look just as easy against the Saunders.
“I just don’t think so,” continued Algieri. “He has an 0 for a reason. He goes out there and performs when he has to but he’s (Canelo Alvarez) been perfect and seems like he’s getting better and better. I don’t think it’s going to be easy but I’ve got Canelo coming out mostly by decision.”