“Canelo [Alvarez] is Not Who He Was”: Weeks Before Jermell Charlo Fight on New $100,000,000 Deal, Shawn Porter Predicts Mexican Icon’s Fate Against Former Opponent Terence Crawford

Is Canelo Alvarez still fighting the way he used to? Over the past weeks and months, it has become an overtly contentious issue. With a $100 million PBC deal in his kitty, Alvarez awaits Jermell Charlo. The two will face each other by the month’s end. But old contentions about the Super Middleweight champion wilting seem to pop up now and then. If so, what sort of outcome could fans expect if a fight with someone like Terence Crawford breezed in? ‘Bud’ has already hinted at a willingness to transcend divisions to meet Alvarez.

Former Welterweight champion Shawn Porter would probably be able to shed some light. After all, he fought and lost his last career bout to Terence Crawford two years ago. Two years after he lost the WBC Welterweight title to Errol Spence Jr., ‘Showtime met Crawford in Nevada’s Michelob Ultra Arena for the WBO Welterweight belt. However, the venture proved disastrous, as the Nebraskan knocked him down twice in the tenth round. Finally, his corner threw in the towel.

It doesn’t augur so well for Canelo Alvarez vis-à-vis Terence Crawford – Shawn Porter

So Fight Hub TV‘s Marcos Viegas asked Porter, “Crawford going up to 168 to face Canelo, uh, you were in the ring with Crawford; you felt his strength. Do you feel that he can be competitive against a guy like Canelo or Jermel if he were to win at 168 pounds?”

‘Showtime’ replied that a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford would be exciting. He said, “…I think that Canelo is not who he was three – four years ago, and I really wouldn’t say he’s declining; definitely not fast….” Then, raising his left hand upward, he surmised that Alvarez’s career was not progressing. Neither has it been going smoothly over a horizontal trajectory for the last two to three years, “so obviously…it ain’t a fast decline, but he is Canelo, certainly just not who he used to be.”

So, Shawn Porter has his doubts in place. Murmurings were already floating in the air. The loss to Dmitry Bivol could be termed an aberration. It was his only second attempt at the Light Heavyweight. However, the trilogy fight with long-time rival Gennady Golovkin, followed by the John Ryder fight eight months later, raised quite a few eyebrows. Was it the same Canelo Alvarez the world was so accustomed to watching? As the fight unfolds at the T-Mobile Arena on September 30, fans will soon have an answer.

Read More: “That’s When I Fell in Love With Boxing.”: Canelo Alvarez Relives the Memory Which Made Him Start Boxing Despite Disapproval From His Father

Do you agree with Shawn Porter’s assessment of Canelo Alvarez? Please share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.

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