Canelo Alvarez has arguably become boxing’s biggest superstar over the last decade and he cemented that status with an impressive win over Jaime Munguia this month.
Alvarez is the current undisputed super middleweight champion, owning the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring titles and defended those titles with an impressive unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Munguia.
The Mexican boxer has become one of the most popular fighters in the world thanks to his superb punching power and technical skills in the ring.
Alvarez has a collection of noteworthy fights and important wins that have positioned him as the pound-for-pound force he is in boxing today.
While we wait to discover his next opponent for an expected September fight date, here is a look at his impressive fight record so far
Contents
- Ricardo Cano, 2007
- Antonio Fitch, 2009
- Shane Mosley, 2012
- Floyd Mayweather, 2013
- Miguel Cotto, 2015
- Gennadiy Golovkin, 2017
- Gennadiy Golovkin 2, 2018
- Sergey Kovalev, 2019
- Callum Smith, 2020
- Caleb Plant, 2021
- Dmitry Bivol, 2022
- Jermell Charlo, 2023
Ricardo Cano, 2007
Canelo added the first bit of hardware to his collection when he defeated Ricardo Cano for the Jalisco welterweight title in his 15th career fight in 2007.
He was young, but showed signs of the superstar he’d become not too long after. His hand speed and precision helped earn him the win. This was his first fight with significant implications, and he did not disappoint.
Antonio Fitch, 2009
Alvarez looked scarily good against Antonio Fitch as he continued to build a name for himself at welterweight. There wasn’t much to the fight outside of Canelo’s dangerous overhand rights that had Fitch stumble back and force the referee to call the fight. Alvarez took home the vacant NABF welterweight title with the win.
This victory came at the tail end of Alvarez’s four-and-a-half year run in the 147-pound division. He would move up to light-middleweight a year later and strive toward a major world title.
Shane Mosley, 2012
After getting his hands on his first world title — the WBC light middleweight crown against Matthew Hatton in March of 2011 — Alvarez made the fourth defense of his belt against Shane Mosley in 2012. Canelo’s power and aggression overwhelmed Mosley from round to round and his defense proved impenetrable.
He scored a huge win over his first expected Hall-of-Fame opponent, and made the then-40-year-old all-time great look like a shell of himself, which ‘Sugar’ Shane came to grips with after losing the one-sided affair, saying this after the bout.
“He can go a long way. When the kids start to beat you, you might need to start going to promoting. I didn’t expect him to be that fast or that good.”
Floyd Mayweather, 2013
Alvarez took on the face of boxing, pound-for-pound king, and pay-per-view star Floyd Mayweather in the greatest test of his career. Usually, Alvarez was the calculated counter puncher, but in this fight, he had to deal with Mayweather’s counters, as well as his excellent defense.
The fight was exciting and generated $150 million from 2.2 million pay-per-view buys. The latter of which was the second-best figure in history at that time. Canelo couldn’t break Mayweather Jr.’s storied undefeated record, but this fight helped him reach new heights in popularity and transitioned him into his prime.
Miguel Cotto, 2015
Canelo had his sights set on Miguel Cotto’s The Ring middleweight title after moving up from the 154-pound ranks in 2015.
Stylistically, this was one of Canelo’s best fights to date. Cotto was a very mobile fighter who fought with finesse and speed. Despite the Puerto Rican’s savviness in the ring and great head movement, Alvarez was able to counterpunch and pick his spots to collect a majority of the rounds and the victory when it was said and done.
The win made him an accomplished two-division world champion. Canelo would go on to fluctuate between middleweight and light middleweight before engaging in a trilogy with one of his fiercest rivals two years later.
Gennadiy Golovkin, 2017
Canelo Alvarez vs Gennadiy Golovkin 1 was one of the most hyped fights of the decade. Right after Alvarez defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in May of 2017, he called out ‘GGG’ in his post-fight interview, looking to add more major belts to his name in the 160-pound division.
Golovkin came in the ring to confront him and confirm the bout for his WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight belts later that year.
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Canelo entered the fight as a +120 betting underdog. Once the bell sounded, Golovkin took to the inside of the ring, and kept Alvarez on his back foot as the expected aggressor.
The two fought a close fight; so close, that it was ruled a draw. This laid the groundwork for their trilogy to unfold.
Gennady Golovkin 2, 2018
Alvarez proved he was the better fighter in his rematch with Golovkin in 2018. He had an answer for ‘GGG’ at every turn. Fans lauded the intense battle as a true fight in the phone booth, and though Golovkin did not back down, a close eye showed that Alvarez was the more effective puncher. He improved to 50-1-2 with the win.
The two would go on to settle the score in a third fight, which Canelo also won in a unanimous decision, despite Golovkin showing clear signs of deterioration at age 40.
Sergey Kovalev, 2019
At this stage in Canelo’s career, he had already fought in five divisions and he faced Sergey Kovalev for Kovalev’s WBO light heavyweight title in 2019.
Alvarez withstood the four-time champion’s sharp jab and piled on with crisp 1-2 combinations, culminating in a body shot to the ribs and a right hook that took Kovalev’s legs from under him in round 11. The win made him a world champion in his fourth weight class and the 21st quadruple champion ever.
Callum Smith, 2020
This fight for Callum Smith’s WBA (super) and The Ring super middleweight titles was another day at the office for Canelo. Smith, the much bigger fighter at 6-foot-3, kept busy, but his punches weren’t landing.
Canelo stayed the course, fought patiently, and was effective with the punches he threw. Alvarez dominated from start to finish to become unified champ at 168 pounds with the unanimous decision victory.
This was a major win for the 5-foot-8 boxer, as he again proved that he could wear down a much bigger fighter over the course of 12 rounds.
Caleb Plant, 2021
Things got heated between Alvarez and Caleb Plant before their bout for the undisputed super-middleweight title. Canelo savagely trash talked the then-IBF super middleweight champion in one of their pre-fight press conferences and Plant tried to slap him after getting shoved during the face-off.
When it was time to legally exchange blows, Canelo was on the hunt from the jump and showed a great ability to crack through Plant’s defense, scoring powerful hooks in the middle rounds.
A vicious left hook-uppercut combination knocked Plant down first in round 11 and a flurry put him away moments later, earning Canelo the undisputed title. Many pundits touted Plant as a threat to Alvarez, but not enough to label him the favorite, which proved to be the correct stance.
Dmitry Bivol, 2022
Canelo climbed back up to 175 pounds to try and dethrone Dmitry Bivol in 2022, who greatly bothered the former light heavyweight champion with his unique stance and longer reach. As the bigger fighter, Bivol kept Alvarez at bay.
On top of that, the Russian fighter’s hand speed added another element to the fight that allowed him to fend off Canelo, who likes to fight in close. Alvarez took a rare loss, making it the second defeat of his career.
Jermell Charlo, 2023
Canelo came under fire by boxing analysts like Stephen A. Smith for not taking David Benavidez’s challenge to fight at 168 pounds, and instead fighting junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, who had to gain 14 pounds for their contest on September 30, 2023.
While Charlo was one of the best opponents Canelo got in the ring with, Canelo was the aggressor, continually getting him on the ropes in the feel-out rounds and landing devastating shots to the body.
Charlo came alive in round five with a series of hooks and straight rights that split Alvarez’s guard, but the Mexican champ proved to be too much, out-landing him on his way to his sixth title defense.Canelo Alvarez’s boxing record
Canelo Alvarez is 61-2-2 in 64 professional bouts. He has won 39 of his victories by way of knockout.
For information on Alvarez’s upcoming fight against Jaime Munguia on May 4, check out our boxing hub.