CANELO ALVAREZ has just been acclaimed 2021’s Fighter of the Year thanks to three spectacular KO victories in nine months.
The Mexican marvel, a four-weight world champion, has now mopped-up the super-middleweights to unify the 12-stone division.
Alvarez found out he is much too good for his own good because he has run out of worthwhile opposition.
To find someone to stretch him he’s planning to challenge DR Congo’s Ilunga Makabu for his WBC world cruiserweight crown.
That’s a formidable two-stone jump in weight.
If that seems somewhat far-fetched Frank Sanchez, a 6ft 4in 21-fight unbeaten heavyweight contender, has made the preposterous claim that Canelo is capable of taking on Tyson Fury.
Sanchez spars regularly with Canelo who, he says, more than holds his own.
Because of the enormous physical disparity between Alvarez and the Gypsy King, it would be like matching Tom Thumb with Goliath.
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Canelo at 5ft 9in is a foot shorter than Fury, he would be outreached by 14 inches and outweighed by at least seven stone.
History has a habit of repeating itself though, so it should be remembered it wouldn’t be the first time a world middleweight champion has tackled the heavyweight king.
In 1909, Stanley Ketchel, the Michigan Assassin — who was exactly the same height as Alvarez — faced the legendary Jack Johnson in California.
Ketchel and Johnson were hell-raising buddies who often visited gambling joints and brothels together.
There has always been a strong suspicion Johnson had given his word to go easy on the little guy.
As the pair were on a percentage of the fight film takings, they agreed it should last the full 20 rounds to ensure bumper cinema audiences.
Everything was going beautifully to plan until the 12th round when Ketchel forgot the script.
He swung a roundhouse right that crashed flush on Johnson’s chin and sent him sprawling.
Johnson, who was far more humiliated than hurt, was furious as he got to his feet.
His promise not to hurt Ketchel disappeared in a red mist and he hit his opponent with a right uppercut with such force it not only laid him out unconscious but knocked out all Stanley’s front teeth.
Johnson was seen on the film carefully picking out four of the teeth, which had been embedded in his glove.
A year later Ketchel’s life came to a tragic end. While having breakfast at a friend’s Missouri ranch he was shot in the back and killed by a man he had accused of ill-treating horses. He was just 24.
There’s not the slightest chance a clash between Alvarez and Fury will happen.
At least that means Canelo will never have to worry about spending a small fortune on dentistry.
