Floyd Mayweather says former opponent Canelo Alvarez is on the downside at 33 ahead of a clash with Jermell Charlo on September 30.
The boxing legend, who retired in 2017, stated Canelo is not the force he once was, three years before the age he was when he beat the Mexican superstar.
Mayweather and Canelo battled it out in 2013 when Mayweather was 36. The defensive master taught Canelo a lesson despite one of the most shocking scorecards in existence from CJ Ross.
Nonetheless, the correct fighter got the decision. Mayweather would then fight for another four years before walking away to his exhibition circus.
Canelo, in contrast, was just 23. He had his whole career ahead of him and learned plenty from the Mayweather defeat. But he used it as fuel to remain unblemished for nine years until Dmitry Bivol came along.
He did lose to Gennadiy Golovkin in their first meeting. However, judges robbed ‘GGG’ of the correct decision.
After losing to Golovkin and Bivol, Mayweather is certain Canelo is over his career peak and firmly on the way back down.
Floyd Mayweather on Canelo’s decline
“People are like, Canelo is cherry-picking, Floyd is cherry-picking [opponents],” Mayweather told his usual source of FightHype.com.
“What I have to say to Canelo is this, you proved yourself already. You’ve fought many great fighters, tested yourself, and went up in weight to numerous weight classes.
“Like myself and other fighters throughout the years, Canelo is a great fighter.
“But now everyone is saying he’s not the same fighter anymore. And it’s true. He doesn’t look the same.
“But, let’s remember one thing. When I beat Canelo, I was older than Canelo is today. Now imagine Canelo at 36 fighting me at 36.
“Everybody says Canelo is on the decline. But remember when I was 36 years old, I fought him. He was 23 years old and had 43 fights. But said he didn’t have enough experience.”
What’s next for Canelo?
Having signed a long-term deal with Al Haymon, Canelo still wants to compete at the top level for the next few years. Canelo is set to face the best Premier Boxing Champions, beginning with Charlo next month.
WBC mandatory challenger David Benavidez is the one the fans want. However, if Canelo beats Charlo, facing his brother next in a revenge mission for the twins will indeed be considered the selling fight.
If Canelo can deal with both Charlo brothers, the WBC may finally order Canelo to face Benavidez or be stripped of the title.
