Alvarez Should Stay at 154

[Code Red]

Lets give Saul Alvarez team some credit, they are smart enough to realize it is wise to not move him up to 160. As boxing fans we always want guys to move up as soon as they show a bit of dominance at their weight but moving up is also a time when things can go wrong.

I remember a guy name Felix Tito Trinidad, boxing fans and media had him believing he was better than what he was. Tito was great at 147 and 154, so much so that the media, his fans, and team thought he was great enough to conquer 160....WRONG!! BHop snatched the life out that kid. Sent him back down to where he was supposedly at his best weight only to become fodder for Winky Wright.

I remember a guy named Kelly Pavlik, he had some pretty good fights at 160, won the middleweight title and looked like the next best thing in boxing. Along the way his fans, team and media convinced him that he was better than what he was and he made the mistake of challenging an aging Hopkins at a catchweight....WRONG!! Defeated, exposed, and now an unemployed drunk.


I remember a fighter named Tommy Hearns who thought his height, speed and straight right hand could stop any opponent in their tracks. He was great at 147 and 154. Somewhere along the line, his team, fans, and media convinced him he was good enough to move up to 160 and defeat Marvelouls Marvin Hagler. After a superb 3 rounds Hearns lay collapsed on his back half dead (exaggeration), defeated and depleted.

So to Team Alvarez I say smart move, definitely stay at 154 because the guy is simply not good enough to beat middleweights. Its obvious, he's too slow, predictable, and seriously needs a weight and size advantage to be effective. Alvarez stuggled with Trout, Lara, and Mayweather, surely he should stay far away from the best Middleweights.

[kiaba360]

Trinidad fought Winky at 160. Tito never moved back down after B-Hop.

The problem with wanting to move back down to 154 is that a lot of his potential (legit 154lb) opponents are with Haymon.

[Code Red]

Trinidad fought Winky at 160. Tito never moved back down after B-Hop.

The problem with wanting to move back down to 154 is that a lot of his potential (legit 154lb) opponents are with Haymon.

Yep, you right, agaobst Wright he remained terrible at 160, should of never made that move.

[ИATAS]

Yep, you right, agaobst Wright he remained terrible at 160, should of never made that move.

Trinidad fought at 160 before Hopkins too, destroying Joppy and winning his middleweight title. Hopkins was also used in your Pavlik example. Maybe it's just that Hopkins devours souls.

Canelo hasn't fought at 154 since the Mayweather fight in 2013. The last time he agreed to fight at 154 he failed and had to pay Angulo $100,000. Maybe we should just stop making excuses for fighters. He's not a 154 pound fighter anymore. If Golovkin is too scary, tough.

[ea22]

The Middleweight lineal champion should stay at light middleweight. That sounds funny doesn't?

[Scipio2009]

Lets give Saul Alvarez team some credit, they are smart enough to realize it is wise to not move him up to 160. As boxing fans we always want guys to move up as soon as they show a bit of dominance at their weight but moving up is also a time when things can go wrong.

I remember a guy name Felix Tito Trinidad, boxing fans and media had him believing he was better than what he was. Tito was great at 147 and 154, so much so that the media, his fans, and team thought he was great enough to conquer 160....WRONG!! BHop snatched the life out that kid. Sent him back down to where he was supposedly at his best weight only to become fodder for Winky Wright.

I remember a guy named Kelly Pavlik, he had some pretty good fights at 160, won the middleweight title and looked like the next best thing in boxing. Along the way his fans, team and media convinced him that he was better than what he was and he made the mistake of challenging an aging Hopkins at a catchweight....WRONG!! Defeated, exposed, and now an unemployed drunk.


I remember a fighter named Tommy Hearns who thought his height, speed and straight right hand could stop any opponent in their tracks. He was great at 147 and 154. Somewhere along the line, his team, fans, and media convinced him he was good enough to move up to 160 and defeat Marvelouls Marvin Hagler. After a superb 3 rounds Hearns lay collapsed on his back half dead (exaggeration), defeated and depleted.

So to Team Alvarez I say smart move, definitely stay at 154 because the guy is simply not good enough to beat middleweights. Its obvious, he's too slow, predictable, and seriously needs a weight and size advantage to be effective. Alvarez stuggled with Trout, Lara, and Mayweather, surely he should stay far away from the best Middleweights.

-Felix Trinidad was a monster at 147/154, but it's not like he was a bad fighter at 160; it's just that he was a good fighter at the weight facing off against a great fighter at the weight (Hopkins). With his confidence rattled the way it was, anything after that was moot. You remove the Hopkins matchup, and I don't think you can point to any other middleweights at the time who would've shattered Trinidad's confidence like that.

-Pavlik was more a case of his hard-living life derailing him, so I'm just gonna leave that alone.

-Thomas Hearns won world titles in five weight classes (147/154/160/168/175), with his power even holding up at cruiserweight; taking on Hagler was a bad matchup for him.

Alvarez's camp sees history for what it is, and they're making sure that they look after Alvarez the best way they can. With him already being a money fighter at this point, Alvarez's camp is now insisting that every fight going forward takes place where they know/understand Alvarez is most comfortable.

There's no rush for him to chase anything at 160 and, in camp, everyone still seems rather confident that Alvarez could get to 154 without any issue if needed; how much longer he can physically do that (no different than Danny Garcia hitting the point where 140 no longer made sense about after the Matthysse fight), is anyone's question.

[Scipio2009]

Trinidad fought Winky at 160. Tito never moved back down after B-Hop.

The problem with wanting to move back down to 154 is that a lot of his potential (legit 154lb) opponents are with Haymon.

Not necessarily, especially with Alvarez being the money man at the weight; Liam Smith is standing there, with the WBO 154 belt around his waist. Likely not a gimme fight, but if Canelo can win that fight, the Cotto rematch, and fights with Gabriel Rosado, Michel Soro, and Patrick Texeira are all in the cue.

It's not like Alvarez would be heading back to 154 to spend the rest of his career; I doubt that he'll be able to keep boiling that ~20lbs off his body (difference between his fight night weight and the weigh-in) to fight by the time he's getting to 27. At the most extreme, Golden Boy would be looking for 4 fights at 154, counting the initial title fight (so, in actuality, three fights, though one of those could be a rematch).

[kiaba360]

Not necessarily, especially with Alvarez being the money man at the weight; Liam Smith is standing there, with the WBO 154 belt around his waist. Likely not a gimme fight, but if Canelo can win that fight, the Cotto rematch, and fights with Gabriel Rosado, Michel Soro, and Patrick Texeira are all in the cue.

It's not like Alvarez would be heading back to 154 to spend the rest of his career; I doubt that he'll be able to keep boiling that ~20lbs off his body (difference between his fight night weight and the weigh-in) to fight by the time he's getting to 27. At the most extreme, Golden Boy would be looking for 4 fights at 154, counting the initial title fight (so, in actuality, three fights, though one of those could be a rematch).

I'd be surprised if Rosado can make 154 tbh, he looked like **** against Charlo. Teixeira is fighting Stevens at MW presumably; I don't see Stevens going down to 154 if he manages to win. I'd guess it'd be Smith, Cotto and Soro. Do you think he'll have another PPV bout this year?

[Basco]

Canelo's drain tactic is going to back fire eventually. He needs to move up and fight boxers his size before an average fighter capitalizes. If you are that good, stop taking advantage of smaller fighters!!!

[HandsofIron]

Trinidad fought at 160 before Hopkins too, destroying Joppy and winning his middleweight title. Hopkins was also used in your Pavlik example. Maybe it's just that Hopkins devours souls.

Canelo hasn't fought at 154 since the Mayweather fight in 2013. The last time he agreed to fight at 154 he failed and had to pay Angulo $100,000. Maybe we should just stop making excuses for fighters. He's not a 154 pound fighter anymore. If Golovkin is too scary, tough.

Joppy's a bum and until Canelo fights officially at 160, he ain't a middleweight.