Why Kovalev? Is Kovalev a fight Canelo can Afford to Lose?

[Boxing Goat]

Because they see him as an easy mark due to his being hurt to the body several times. Plus, maybe he wants a measure of revenge for B-Hop.

[lieutenant]

then why not fight callum smith??? canelo has the wba regular and smith has super. callum is ready to fight he has no other fight lined up.

u know why???? because callum smith most certainly will KO canelo. and u can't rrig scorecards when ur KO'ed cold. facts.

Callum Smith was not even given as an option for September. His list of choices got dwindled to two by DAZN. Kovalev or GGG. Canelo is obviously now fixated on Kovalev since he really wants to be a four division champion...

I've heard those words before when Canelo took the GGG fight, that he would get KO before the 6th round. That was the narrative around this forum. We just have to wait and see, because I have no doubt Canelo will eventually unify at 168 before he retires.

[boliodogs]

I don't think Canelo thinks there is much chance of losing because he only wanted to fight Kovalev and nobody else. He expects to win. A loss won't hurt him money wise because he has a contract for 35 million a fight as far as I know.A loss to Kovalev on points in Vegas where Canelo gets the generous scoring would hurt his image of being unbeatable that many of his fans have of him. A KO loss to Kovalev would hurt his reputation. Canelo would hate to lose and does not think he has any chance of losing. He might be underestimating Kovalev.

[ruedboy]

It's a real smart fight for Alvarez
Canelo sees a weak champ and a chance to win a 4th belt.
Kovalev's a big name and he's catching him at the right time.
Most fans will give him a pass on ducking GGG if he fights the LHW champ.
I don't think the idea of "not that bad if I lose" comes into it.

[boogbx]

He's been champion in three weight classes - Light Middleweight, Middleweight, and Super Middleweight. He's chasing his fourth.

I assumed he was champ at welter.

[boliodogs]

Callum Smith was not even given as an option for September. His list of choices got dwindled to two by DAZN. Kovalev or GGG. Canelo is obviously now fixated on Kovalev since he really wants to be a four division champion...

I've heard those words before when Canelo took the GGG fight, that he would get KO before the 6th round. That was the narrative around this forum. We just have to wait and see, because I have no doubt Canelo will eventually unify at 168 before he retires.

Canelo could have fought either Dervy or Andrade in September if he wanted to. DAZN would not have stopped him from fighting either of them. You have no doubt Canelo will eventually unify at 168. He is nowhere close to unifying 160. I have no doubt he will never unify 168. I would pick Smith to beat him at 168. Time will tell if he ever unifies 168.When do you think he starts to unify 168 and does he leave 160?

[boliodogs]

He’s already a 4 division Champ. Destroyed Fielding at 168 who at the time was a belt holder.

He’s chasing 5 and he should. He looked real good at 168 and as opposed Mikey and Rigondesx claiming to have seen holes in either Spence or Loma, everybody knows that Kovalev is flawed.

Very winnable fight for Canelo as well as for Kovalev.

Outside of Spence-Crawford, I’d argue that’s the best fight in boxing. Kovalev- Canelo

I’d pick it over Fury vs Wilder rematch.

Get your facts right. Canelo is a 3 weight champ not a 4 weight champ. He won world titles at 154, 160 and 168. His win at 168 was over a jr, champion. The real champ was Callum Smith who had KOed Fielding in two rounds before Canelo fought Fielding. Canelo was a 12 to 1 betting favorite to beat Fielding so it was no big deal. Kovalev vs Canelo is a great fight I look forward to.

[lieutenant]

Canelo could have fought either Dervy or Andrade in September if he wanted to. DAZN would not have stopped him from fighting either of them. You have no doubt Canelo will eventually unify at 168. He is nowhere close to unifying 160. I have no doubt he will never unify 168. I would pick Smith to beat him at 168. Time will tell if he ever unifies 168.When do you think he starts to unify 168 and does he leave 160?

There were leaks from Chris Mannix that DAZN had dwindled his choices to either Kovalev or GGG. He was one title away from unifying at 160, he was visibly angry on social media when he was stripped. I don't think he will fight GGG again, so I don't see him unifying at 160. He will probably move up to fight the champions at 168 next fall starting with Callum Smith or Billy Joe Saunders.

[BaguMka]

Ginger sees the easiest opponent in light heavyweight to get one more belt. However I don't think he will win Kovalev without catch-weight and judges help. I bet they will fight in Vegas with rehydration clause in place.

[SplitSecond]

Nope. He will derail his career if he loses. He’ll probably be a lesser fighter and forced to move back down. Which rarely works out.