Saul Alvarez is not a protected fighter

Here's his record: http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=348759&cat=boxer. He's 21 years old and he's been developed the right way. Since he started fighting in the US he's been fed a steady diet of decent competition and slowly been moved into taking harder fights. He'll probably take on a top 10 or top 5 guy in his next fight. That's exactly what he should be doing as one of four strap holders. I bet he goes after Vanes.

He has a long time to fight everyone so why not let him develop and do just that? Yes, he's a belt holder. But he's been fighting the same level of competition (if not a higher level) than the other belt holders.

i think that fighters like canelo just get judges harder than others. most 21 year olds are nowhere near his level. he has already beaten some pretty good fighters.

I'll say the same thing as I said about Bum Jr. I'm not paying for HBO boxing to watch fighter's "develop." HBO should be showing the best match-ups possible. Not Canelo vs Mathew Hatton. That's a FNF match-up.

Same goes for Berto and other fighter's getting overpaid for sparring sessions and showcase fights.

IF Canelo fights a top ten ranked Jr Middle, ok then.

GrantZilla wrote:I'll say the same thing as I said about Bum Jr. I'm not paying for HBO boxing to watch fighter's "develop." HBO should be showing the best match-ups possible. Not Canelo vs Mathew Hatton. That's a FNF match-up.

Same goes for Berto and other fighter's getting overpaid for sparring sessions and showcase fights.

IF Canelo fights a top ten ranked Jr Middle, ok then.

he only fought 1 top 10 junior middle. Rhodes. And Rhodes is an older fighter.

I agree with grant, it isn't the competition, it is having to watch him develop on HBO. HBO shows only so many cards a year. I'd rather watch some of the not often shown divisions with 2 top guys fighting than what Canelo develop.

Would you guys watch if he was a TV undercard? Meaning a dual site card with Canelo being developed first? Cintron was ranked as recently as a year ago. I also feel this is a double edge sword at this juncture in the sport. Friday night fights is on ESPN 2 and doesn't do shit for numbers and doesn't repeat throughout the week. Canelo can and will be a bigger household name thus bringing much needed attention and exposure to boxing fighting bigget on TV as much as possible. If Canelo scores a noteworthy KO or looks spectacular folks can see it over and over again as HBO typically replays fights on their network and archives them on their On Demand channels. Also, havent we seen everyone from Mayweather, Oscar, Cotto and Pacquiao "Develop" right now before our eyes on HBO?

Some good points hardcore.

The problem HBO had was artificially trying to make stars. Usually cooming from the same promoter or "adviser," GB and Hayman

You make stars by matching them up in good, entertaining, competitive fights. HBO tried to make Berto, Arreoal, Williams, Ortiz ect stars by having them in glorified showcase fights on HBO. What have these guys amounted to when they stepped it up?

Right now, I have no idea how good Canelo really is. But is it good for HBO boxing if they continue to pay for him fighting fringe to B-level fighters but then fights a top ten guy and get's his ass spanked?

GrantZilla wrote:Some good points hardcore.

The problem HBO had was artificially trying to make stars. Usually cooming from the same promoter or "adviser," GB and Hayman

You make stars by matching them up in good, entertaining, competitive fights. HBO tried to make Berto, Arreoal, Williams, Ortiz ect stars by having them in glorified showcase fights on HBO. What have these guys amounted to when they stepped it up?

Right now, I have no idea how good Canelo really is. But is it good for HBO boxing if they continue to pay for him fighting fringe to B-level fighters but then fights a top ten guy and get's his ass spanked?

To be fair Paul Williams beat Margarito in '07 and went and fought Winky who he killed, avenged his loss to Quintana etc. He then got greedy. Ortiz was a can't miss that got his heart torn out. Berto just sucks and Arreola was the American heavyweight hope. I agree though I 'd like to see where Alvarez stands with the tops in the division. I thought the Ryan Rhodes fight was a good choice actually, Alvarez I believe was ranked 10th at the time and Rhodes was ranked 6th. the Gomez fight I didn't like, and I liked the stoppage even less. Cintron was a good test. He's a guy who beat Angulo when he was at the same point in his career that Alvarez is. I think that Carlos Molina or Bundrage should be Alvarez' next fight on a double header World Championship Boxing Card.

I agree that Canelo gradual increase in competition is far superior to that of Bum Jr. But that's not saying a hell of a lot.

I didn't mind Gomez fight because was a undercard fight to the Mayweather fight. Only real fight I thought was a joke was fighting a Welter in Mathew Hatton for a vacant trinket at Jr Middle.

And if fighters fought more then 2-3 times a year, fighting a easy opponent isn't that big of deal. Not every fight has to be a super fight.

GrantZilla wrote:I agree that Canelo gradual increase in competition is far superior to that of Bum Jr. But that's not saying a hell of a lot.

I didn't mind Gomez fight because was a undercard fight to the Mayweather fight. Only real fight I thought was a joke was fighting a Welter in Mathew Hatton for a vacant trinket at Jr Middle.

And if fighters fought more then 2-3 times a year, fighting a easy opponent isn't that big of deal. Not every fight has to be a super fight.

I agree. Two big fights a year and three gimmes to stay in shape would be good enough for me.

The thing that makes Canelo different than those other guys is he's always been popular. He's always had a fan base so it wasn't like HBO was building him up. People want to see him. They're just showcasing a popular fighter.

Berto, Williams, Ortiz, etc. have never been popular. And their popularity is a result of HBO putting them on fights against bums (only Williams fought legitimate competition). Canelo's fought better competition on his televised bouts, been active, and followed a progression of taking on more difficult guys.

Berto fought cans and was inactive, Williams stopped fighting, and Ortiz got stopped.