Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev - 2 November 2019

[jamesmcdonnell]

I'm having money on draw and kovalev by ko. Silly odds on both.

[Matt W]

By any logic Kovalev is too much for Alvarez but I don't trust anything involving Canelo at all. Kov is by no means finished. Alvarez isn't stopping MWs so the idea that he breaks down Kovalev is absurd to me. Kovalev is still a heavy handed LHW who can box. Canelo is in for a very hard night and I hope Kovalev beats him. The idea that Canelo could be big and powerful at LHW is one of the things that is very wrong with boxing today.

[jamesmcdonnell]

The only way I see him stopping kovalev is if the ref jumps in and stops it very prematurely.

[leejonesjnr]

I am going with Alvarez for the win, probably points but wouldn't be super shocked to see a body shot stoppage. If he wins I really believe that he will keep a keen eye on WBA regular heavyweight title in the hope that a winnable fight pops up.
It is crazy to think that he is having a crack at Light Heavy when he was too small to take 160 MW fights when he first moved into the division.

[Matt W]

I am going with Alvarez for the win, probably points but wouldn't be super shocked to see a body shot stoppage. If he wins I really believe that he will keep a keen eye on WBA regular heavyweight title in the hope that a winnable fight pops up.
It is crazy to think that he is having a crack at Light Heavy when he was too small to take 160 MW fights when he first moved into the division.

It certainly is. Don't trust the man at all. We need a needle emoji on here.

[Grilling Machine]

Remove the drugs and bribery and I'd go for Kov all day. But we've seen Canelo rob Golovkin (arguably twice), and though Kov's 20lb heavier than G, he's also closer to the end of his career and weaker to the body. I imagine Canelo's currently 175 to Kov's 190.

Canelo's gonna alternate working to the body and running — we know this, and the ref won't mind if a number of those shots are Wardside. So there is a chance of him stopping Kov that way. Else Kov'll have to really smash him to avoid a points loss if he can't find the stoppage.

[margaret thatcher]

Most 'experts' on the ESPN poll go Canelo by stoppage. 11-2 overall plus Ward saying Canelo KO in a separate article :

https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/ ... ctions-win

[bigjack]

Canelo by wide decision/late stappage

[margaret thatcher]

It will almost seem bizarre if Canelo loses now. Like, an interesting phenom as to why so many ran so hard with him moving up 2 divisons to fight Kov when he wasnt stopping world class opponents at 154 or 160

[Counter-puncher]

I am going with Alvarez for the win, probably points but wouldn't be super shocked to see a body shot stoppage. If he wins I really believe that he will keep a keen eye on WBA regular heavyweight title in the hope that a winnable fight pops up.
It is crazy to think that he is having a crack at Light Heavy when he was too small to take 160 MW fights when he first moved into the division.

It certainly is. Don't trust the man at all. We need a needle emoji on here.

I'd put the 'too small for middleweight' in some pretty heavy scare-quotes, though? I mean, from memory, wasn't he some colossal in-ring weight when he was a lightmiddleweight, like 175lbs or something?

[margaret thatcher]

I am going with Alvarez for the win, probably points but wouldn't be super shocked to see a body shot stoppage. If he wins I really believe that he will keep a keen eye on WBA regular heavyweight title in the hope that a winnable fight pops up.
It is crazy to think that he is having a crack at Light Heavy when he was too small to take 160 MW fights when he first moved into the division.

Who is the best HW you'd take Canelo over if he bulked up

[leejonesjnr]

I am going with Alvarez for the win, probably points but wouldn't be super shocked to see a body shot stoppage. If he wins I really believe that he will keep a keen eye on WBA regular heavyweight title in the hope that a winnable fight pops up.
It is crazy to think that he is having a crack at Light Heavy when he was too small to take 160 MW fights when he first moved into the division.

Who is the best HW you'd take Canelo over if he bulked up

I don't imagine that he will bulk up anymore than he will for Kovalev, he is only 4' tall after all.
I imagine that he would start favourite over Manuel Charr if that were announced immediately following a win over Kovalev.
It won't be a question over who is the best that he can beat, it will be a question of who gives him a possible way to pick up a title.

[margaret thatcher]

Who is the best HW you'd take Canelo over if he bulked up

I don't imagine that he will bulk up anymore than he will for Kovalev, he is only 4' tall after all.
I imagine that he would start favourite over Manuel Charr if that were announced immediately following a win over Kovalev.
It won't be a question over who is the best that he can beat, it will be a question of who gives him a possible way to pick up a title.

Good points, just curious though about who you would put as his limit for HW

[boxing_rocks]

It certainly is. Don't trust the man at all. We need a needle emoji on here.

I'd put the 'too small for middleweight' in some pretty heavy scare-quotes, though? I mean, from memory, wasn't he some colossal in-ring weight when he was a lightmiddleweight, like 175lbs or something?

"My body isn't ready for 160" was just an excuse to duck Golovkin.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[newts92]

I sincerely hope Kovalev stops him.

Just got a horrible feeling Canelo gets him when he tires late on.

[boxing_rocks]

I sincerely hope Kovalev stops him.

Just got a horrible feeling Canelo gets him when he tires late on.

It is quite possible that Canelo gasses before Kovalev, especially with that extra weight.

[handsofstone]

I fancy Alvarez to grind Kovalev down with body shots, not really sure why as logic tells you that Canelo has struggled to put guys away at Middleweight and Kovalev only has the dubious stoppage in the Ward rematch

I'd love to see Kovalev destroy Canelo TBH, he's too much of a diva and a juicer to boot, cant knock his achievements or CV though

[Datsue]

Whilst I acknowledge JamesMcD & margs & C-P's valid points on this one, my contention is that (what with the drug-cheating & weigh-in shenanigans) Canelo's always been a middleweight, a stumpy one for the modern era but still a middleweight, & not a small one,.

Kov's looked strangely... I don't wanna say "weak" because it makes me sound like a right-wing Reddit teenager, but not physically robust lately, to me anyway. Canelo is a strong middleweight; middles jumping to light-heavy have long been a thing. Dick Tiger was able to outslug a bigger quicker guy in Jose Torres, who couldn't keep the smaller bloke on the outside.

Not saying Canelo's Dick Tiger, but I don't think this version of Kovalev is Jose Torres, either.

Putting my arse on the line, I think Canelo's so much fresher than Kov & I don't think the weight difference is so massive as everyone says. I think the Mexican's head movement & defence will surprise many, disrupting Kov's jab & one-two (the latter of which has been lacking, which I think we were discussing after the Yarde fight). Even if it's close on the cards Alvarez will get the nod. I think Canelo will beat him up inside & be quick enough to avoid the jab on the outside & close the distance down (Kov's never really had any inside game at all, hence his losses to Ward).

Would lovelovelovelovelove to be wrong, mind; I'd like Sergey to brutalise him. But I can't see Alvarez's lot taking the fight without believing 190% that something's up with Kov, some sparring experience or other thing behind the scenes, & that's why I believe Alvarez will win.

[MightyWarrior]

I don’t think team Alvarez take a fight unless sure they’re going to win; I think this two months prep notice for Kov will play a big factor in terms of the wear and tear on him ...Canelo is like a bull, rock solid - I don’t think Kov will hurt him, and I think the Mexican will get him late or get a points win

[Ezzard]

It seems to me that right now if Kov spent 12 rounds one-two’ing a heavy bag he would at some point run out of steam and become vulnerable to a stoppage defeat.

Ward was not big or powerful and whilst both fights were dodgy for different reasons the smaller man was not steam-rollered.

[dr_devious]

What time will ring walk be for this one? Might put the alarm on

[Ruthless-RKO]

What time will ring walk be for this one? Might put the alarm on

Maybe 4am

[MightyWarrior]

Evan Holyfield’s debut on undercard...

[boxing_rocks]

Any idea if there are fines in their contract for missing weight? What happens if Kovalev comes at 180?