Boxing News: Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez creating another division at 155 lbs
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez looks to create his own weight class in boxing as the WBC middleweight champion insists that he would only defend his title at a catchweight of 155 pounds.
The WBC has mandated Canelo to defend his championship belt against WBO, WBA, and IBF middleweight titleist Gennady Golovkin, but with the Mexican champ insisting on fighting at a catchweight-stipulated match, the governing body may approve of a handicap title defense.
However, the WBC allowing Canelo to force Golovkin to fight at 155 pounds would mean the Mexican middleweight is creating a new weight division, according to Boxing News 24’s Dan Ambrose.
“If the WBC allows Canelo to force his mandatory challengers like Golovkin to fight at 155, then Canelo will pretty much be creating a new weight division at 155,” Ambrose wrote. “Canelo – or any other champion that holds a WBC title – would be able to create whatever weight that they want their challengers to fight at, as long as it fits into the parameters of whatever weight division they fight at.”
Canelo has kept on insisting that he is ready to take on Golovkin if the bout would be at a catchweight-stipulated match, where he fights better. According to Boxrec, Canelo has won his last four fights at a catchweight dwelling around the 155 pound mark, which validates his claims that he fights better at the junior middleweight class, although Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso has denied such accusations of inventing a new division.
“We are quite comfortable at this weight and it suits us,” Reynoso told ESPN Deportes. “We are not inventing a new division; it’s just part of business and everyone looks for what suits them, and whoever wants to fight with Saul will have to come down or go up.”
However, the WBC’s latest move suggests the governing body may favour Canelo on a handicap title defense against Golovkin, with president Mauricio Sulaiman wanting both fighters on the same bill on Cinco De Mayo weekend next year, but not fighting against each other, reports Boxing Scene.
It may not matter to boxing fans if Canelo’s next fight would be a catchweight-stipulated bout, but for Golovkin, whose main goal is to unify all the middleweight belts, it could be a factor as the undefeated Kazakh has not fought at 155 before.
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