Undisputed Canelo.

Canelo Alvarez is well on his way to being in the discussion as the greatest Mexican boxer ever, as he stopped Caleb Plant in the eleventh round of a 12-round super middleweight world title for all four belts. 

Canelo has eclipsed Anthony Joshua by simply winning, and more than likely passed Tyson Fury based around fighting a strong schedule of competition. Beyond those two names, no other fighter is a global brand as of yet, and Canelo is boxing right now. 

The fight was respectable, but it also showed the difference in experience between the two. Alvarez used every veteran trick on Plant, as he didn’t sit on his stool between rounds, put educated pressure on him forcing him to react to each movement of Canelo. 

The win cements Canelo Alvarez as 2021’s Fighter of the Year, as he defeated two world champion in the super middleweight en route to becoming the first ever super middleweight undisputed champion, and his furthered his achievement towards historical greatness.

In short, Canelo is just great, and he is currently in his prime.

Jahmal Harvey, Rahim Gonzales win Gold.

Tomorrow on ITRBoxing.com, I will breakdown each fighter of the USA Boxing team, but I wanted to take time to celebrate the medalist from the international competition, especially the two gold medalists. 

Featherweight Jahmal Harvey won gold, and looks to be from vantage point the number one guy in this amateur class if we were to make a draft board of these fighters. Harvey is a talented fighter, but his toughness, demeanor and determination set him apart. Harvey winning gold was a statement.

Light heavyweight Rahim Gonzales, who I assume will be the team captain for the 2024 Olympic Games, is someone who I feel is taking a Eastern European and Cuban approach to boxing as he will fight will into his mid-20’s as an amateur to accomplish his dream of becoming an Olympian. Gonzales has some amazing athletic traits and in spots reminds me of Roy Jones Jr., the big thing is just gaining experience for Gonzales, who won a gold in a hard fought finals bout. 

Welterweight Omari Jones came up short winning a silver, but either my bias, or the way I score fights, I favored Jones in terms of landing the better punches. Jones looks to be a very good fighter, who I think most, if not all, should be aware of as he a god-given trait of being able to punch with his opponent and time them. Jones is incredible at adjusting in the second-and-third rounds meaning he will probably be a better pro than amateur. 

Flyweight Roscoe Hill won silver as well, and once again I favored his work. That being said, if I had money laying around Hill would be one of the guys I would keep a keen eye on. Hill has a style similar to Floyd Mayweather, and is a slick counter-puncher. Hill has a tremendous upside, and his potential is seemingly endless. I will be watching closely at what he does next. 

Congrats to Team USA for putting together a stellar team.

Canelo undercard 

Anthony Dirrell stopped a friend of ITRBoxing.com in Marcos Hernandez. The fight was very close until a lead right uppercut from hell floored Hernandez second into the fourth round. Much respect to Dirrell who landed the shot, and Hernandez, who seemingly pushed Dirrell to point where Dirrell got out of autopilot mode. 

Rey Vargas won his undercard bout, and debut at featherweight. The bout was tactical, and not the most exciting. Vargas should be in the world title mix for his next bout.

Elvis Rodriguez debut on Premier Boxing Champions programming for the first time since being cut by Top Rank Inc., after his loss to Kenny Sims Jr., and showed rust, losing the first few rounds, before his power was the difference. Rodriguez is going to be someone who lives by his power, and dies by his power.

Mikaela Mayer Wins, unified champ.

Mikaela Mayer and Maiva Hamadouche fought in a fight of the year-type bout that sadly wide scorecards that didn’t reflect the fight itself, might have dampened the tenure of the bout as a whole. For those who didn’t see it, think of the scores for Oscar Valdez versus Miguel Marriaga. 

Mayer continues to prove that she is a dog and willing to fight on the inside, and at the world level is starting to show a bit of a likeness to former world champion, Paul Williams.

Mayer is now a unified world champion, holding the IBF and WBO 130 lbs women’s titles. Mayer is the best fighter in that division in the world. 

Abdullah Mason

The young Ohio fighter who is only 17-years-old, and had one of the most dominant national title victories over Joel Iriarte, at the past nationals, is now pro with Top Rank Inc, and managed by J Prince, two industry leaders. 

Mason is someone with all the talent in the world, and a great team behind him, to build him into position to go to the next level, but the big thing is development. Let’s give Mason plenty of time to develop, and as his next few years will be him learning things about the pro game, but most of all himself.

Mattice vs. Melendez

Thomas Mattice caught a bad break against Luis Melendez, as Mattice an Ohio fighter who mostly mostly on ShoBox, seemingly got a career defining win against Melendez, only for the judges to not see it that way. Look for Mattice to get another chance against a Top Rank prospect in the future after such a good performance.

Tyler Howard loses. 

Ian Green outboxed Tyler Howard, who probably is going to be out of his contract after this loss. Green’s jab was the difference in the fight as Howard couldn’t close the gap.

Joseph Adorno missed weight yet again, sadly, reports stated he ate a cheesesteak the night before on social media as well. Adorno is no longer training with his father, but rather coach Nelson from Florida, and it seems as though Adorno might be more focused on other things than boxing currently.