How Much Has Canelo Improved Since Losing to Mayweather?

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has only lost once in his career, yet he doesn’t rate it a real defeat considering the circumstances under which the fight was held. With 57 wins and a single loss, only Floyd “Money” Mayweather has been able to get the best of Canelo in an official boxing match.

After Canelo knocked out Caleb Plant, the question of whether he would be able to beat Mayweather now has been thrown around a lot.

In order to determine rather impartially whether that could happen or not, let’s take a look at how much Canelo has improved as a fighter in the past few years.

Facing All Sorts of Challenges and Coming Out on Top
Canelo Alvarez has fought many of the boxing world’s biggest names. Smart fighters, quick fighters, and lethally strong fighters – yet there’s one thing that all of those matchups have in common: Canelo has always won, even if he has struggled in some of them.

Khan, Chavez Jr, Cotto, Lara; you name it. Canelo has managed to beat the most challenging of fighters in the world of boxing and remain unbeaten except for that Mayweather fight when he was younger. His ability to adapt to different opponents has improved massively across the years, as well as the way he reads fights and how he approaches them.

A Fighter that Learns from Tough Challenges
It is clear that every opponent that Canelo has faced has offered something different to him. Skeptical boxing fans may have told you that Canelo hadn’t improved at all a mere 3 years ago, but when looking at the way he won versus Plant, even those who dislike him must now admit that his boxing IQ is at a completely different level to how it was when he fought Money. It’s fun to ponder what the 2 would post for odds if THIS Canelo met the 2013 Mayweather, yes?

Even though his physical attributes remain largely similar and his boxing style hasn’t changed as much, it’s impossible to say that he hasn’t improved. Canelo’s biggest change through the years is how he handles opponents.

Canelo turned pro at 15. He’s 31, and still getting better!

A Crowning Achievement: Canelo’s Victory Versus Plant
One could say that Canelo’s victory over Plant is the Mexican’s most important achievement of his career. Canelo took is now the undisputed super-middleweight champion after taking the title from Plant’s hands.

With his victory over Plant, he became the first-ever Mexican fighter, as well as the first-ever 168 lb boxer, to win four different belts from the most important federations in the world of boxing. This achievement encapsulates his growth as a complete fighter and makes him an undisputed legend of the sport, as well as an all-time great.

The general odds for Canelo to beat Plant made Canelo the -800 favorite, whilst Plant was seen as the underdog and his victory was paying +550. You can read the2 review on the Betsson Casino if you’re considering betting on future Canelo fights.

Could Canelo Beat Mayweather Now?
So, taking all of Canelo’s improvement and growth into consideration, would it be fair to say that Canelo now stands a chance against Mayweather? There are two main things to consider here, but the main one is the weight of both fighters.

Taking Weight into Consideration
One would argue that the main reason why Canelo got so utterly destroyed by Money all those years ago was that he had to lose a lot of weight to get into Mayweather’s category.

Naturally, Mayweather is arguably the smartest fighter that Canelo has ever fought against. That’s not hard to determine seeing as how Money is arguably the best of his generation, as well as the fighter with the highest fighting IQ.

But, Canelo had to lose a few pounds back then, which is thought to have been done rather quickly and Canelo’s body may have also been on a less “fight-ready” state than it should have before facing one of the all-time greats.

In any case, the argument of who would win in a fight between Canelo and Money is utterly dependent on both fighters’ weights, as well as their current ages. Pound for pound, current Canelo may have been able to beat Mayweather back then!

A Much More Competitive “What-If” Fight
If 2021 Canelo were to fight 2011 Mayweather, one would argue that Mayweather would still win. His speed and intelligence on the ring is something that even a world-class version of Canelo will have issues dealing with – and even more so if Canelo were to lose as much weight as he had to back then when they first fought.

One thing’s for sure, though: Canelo has grown as a fighter more than many could’ve predicted. His ability to take down any opponent and remain with a single loss in his career is not to be taken for granted.

If they both were to fight today under the same circumstances as they did almost a decade before, chances are that Mayweather would still win – but Canelo would put much more of a fight. Still, depending on who you talk to, some will tell you that Canelo stands a chance against Mayweather at his best.