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Canelo Alvarez can make history by challenging Artur Beterbiev for his undisputed light heavyweight championship next. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is without an opponent due to his rematch with Dmitry Bivol being pushed back to October 2025 for the next Riyadh Season opening, and Canelo would be ideal.
The upside for Canelo in fighting and defeating Artur Beterbiev would be enormous for his legacy because he’s the best of the best at 175. Alvarez has always done well against fighters who fight aggressively, defeating Gennadiy Golovkin and Miguel Cotto in their primes. Beterbiev is the same kind of aggressive, big punching fighter as those guys, but just a little bit bigger.
Canelo is coming off a victory over the giant light heavyweight-sized Edgar Berlanga, and he showed in that fight that he had the talent to deal with a 193-lb fighter. He dominated Berlanga, who looked bigger in their fight on September 14th than Beterbiev in his recent contest on October 12th.
The superstar Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) could challenge Beterbiev, the King of the light heavyweight weight class, for his four belts and thus try to become a two-division champion.
Is It Worth the Risk for Canelo?
While there would be a chance that Canelo would fail against Beterbiev, he would receive less flak from fans than if he were to fight David Benavidez or one of the fighters in the 168-lb division and lose. Canelo would be applauded for being brave enough to face Beterbiev.
There would be more fan interest if Canelo showed bravery by moving up to 175 to fight Beterbiev than if he stayed at 168 to continue fighting lesser fighters. Canelo has hurt his brand in the last handful of fights, facing this flawed bunch:
– Edgar Berlanga
– Jaime Munguia
– Jermell Charlo
– John Ryder
Fighting those lesser guys was a mistake for Canelo, and he should moved up to 175 permanently after his loss to Bivol in 2022. Staying at 168 to fight that weak bunch hurt Canelo’s popularity with fans because it made him appear that he was just padding his bank account with soft opposition.
Canelo has more to gain by moving up to 175 to fight Beterbiev than he has to lose, and it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he were to lose to this level of fighter. Even if Canelo does get knocked out by Beterbiev, it would still be worth it.
Beterbiev turns 40 in January, and he doesn’t have much time left before he retires. If Canelo wants to face this talented champion before he leaves the sport, this would be the best time to do it. He can’t wait for another two to three years to face Beterbiev because he’ll likely have retired by then, and even if he’s still fighting, he’ll be older.
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