The day has come… Saturday September 30th. Another mega fight for a mega year of epic fights. 2023 is going to go down in the history of boxing as the most prolific boxing year since 1986 when Mike Tyson fought 13 times and KO’ed 11 fighters. I mean, daaaammmnnnn, right. 13 fights in a 12 month period. That only happens in video games nowadays. Not necessarily a bad thing, given TBI is a very serious condition, but that makes years like this one more like seeing Halley’s Comet, something that happens every 75 – 79 years. This year and fights like this happen, thanks in some small part to the UFC and their criticism of boxing, but also due to the fighters wanting to make the fights happen and to the fact that HBO pulled out of boxing, leaving Showtime as the Mecca of boxing. Now we have another great fight in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo in which some pundits feel like Charlo might rein supreme, even though not the betting favorite. This isn’t a pick’em fight like Crawford v Spence but this is still a fight with a shitload of intrigue as both fighters started at lower weights, so the disadvantages aren’t what you might think they are. Canelo started his career at 140 pounds at the ripe old age of 15 and gradually moved up in weight and fought most of his career between 147 and 154. Charlo, the opponent in this fight, and only because he went up in weight to challenge Canelo for undisputed, started at the legendary 147 pound division but fought most of his fights at 154. This is going to be an intriguing fight and I’m going to get into what I think, but before that I have to mention my sponsors…. Right, I have no sponsors so let’s just get into it.

Let’s start with the challenger, Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo, (pictured above thinking that he should have maybe picked Hulk, the strongest avenger, since Iron Man dies at the end of Endgame) sports a record of 35 wins with 19 big wins by discombobulation (KO’s) to 1 decision loss in which, I personally thought, he won. In his last 11 fights he has scored 8 by KO. Charlo will have the reach and height advantage over Canelo, but who doesn’t, but he doesn’t have the force advantage and it remains to be seen if he has the power advantage since most of his KO’s do come past the 5th round, meaning that he maintains that force over the fight and doesn’t seem to fade late in fights. But, if I’m being honest, if he is going out looking for the KO, he will most likely loose and loose badly. For Charlo to pull off a win, he has to look at Canelo’s two losses, one to Mayweather and one to Bivol. The thing these two guys have in common are that they are master boxers that know how to utilize timing and range effectively. In other words, they know how to keep a good distance and they know exactly when to counter. They also both have exceptional defense. To win this fight, Charlo is going to have to box early and often and forget about KO’ing the younger Canelo, whose chin is made of some super natural material. My trainer, I never fought, I just took it to stay in shape and learn a thing or two, said one thing to me “Always start with number one when you get in that ring and finish with a number 1”, what I found out later is that he meant the jab and not me peeing on myself, which is how I started out and finished my first sparring match. So, for Charlo to win this fight, he has use the stick, forget about the carrot, and make it Canelo’s best friend. Charlo wins or looses with the number 1. Throw it a lot and he has a chance, forget it exists and Canelo is going to make him disappear early rather than late.

Next we go to the champion, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, (pictured above auditioning for the part of the Mexican James Bond), brings a record of 59 wins with 39 big wins by disconnect, that’s disconnecting the opponent from the waking world, with 2 defeats and two draws. Canelo has a big task ahead of him because if he did not, then we wouldn’t be buying this PPV event. For me to fork over good money, I have to make sure it will be worth my time and this fight and this undercard is definitely worth the money, to be completely honest, I thought they could have charged more just because the undercard is so good. For Canelo to win this fight, he only has to look at the Charlo v Castano fight, which is almost what will be happening in terms of size disparity not force disparity. In that fight, Charlo showed one thing, he has a good chin but he hates to be hit to the body. Canelo, being of Mexican descent, who are known for the punch to the liver, is an excellent body puncher. I believe that Charlo is going to come out moving and Canelo has to slow him down and for him to do that, he will be investing to the body like Bank of America invests in shady mortgages. If Canelo can slow down Charlo and get him to trade with him, it will make for an early night for the Mexican superstar and another big win by slumber lumber. I’m sure that their are other ways to win but this is the one that guarantees the KO. Now, absent any electric interference, this seems to be the best gameplan but who knows right, this is why they fight the fights and not just play rock, paper, scissors to determine the winner.

My prediction is, as always, that the better man will win. That’s the one that executes their gameplan the best. Good luck to both combatants, hopefully they both walk away with no serious injury but a whole lot wealthier.