Comments Thread For: Canelo Could Face Yildirim Sometime In February If He Beats Callum Smith

[whollisboxing]

Just a question or 2 but why is it Canelo had no desire for the WBC belt until it became vacant and do you think he will ever fight Benavidez?

I get Canelo is top dog in the sport and he does fight big names BUT he doesnt exactly leave much room for error. IMO he is following a Mayweather blueprint to strike it rich and the legacy is debatable later on apparently.

Floyd fought the best names possible but critics would say he fought them when he had the upper hand not at their best. The same could be said about Canelo couldn't it?

Thanks for the questions.
I can’t speak to Canelo and the WBC belt because I honestly don’t know. I do know that the WBC decided to sanction Canelo-Smith as a title fight and Benavidez is the reason why the the belt is vacant in the first place so I don’t put that all on Canelo.

Will he ever fight Benavidez? I think there is a greater possibility now that he is a free agent. If Benavidez can make weight, pass drug tests, and win a big fight or two then I think Canelo would fight him, especially for Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day

I think that there will be critics no matter who Canelo fights. For example, people say that Callum Smith is a cherry pick but wouldn’t they also ask “who is John Ryder?” if Canelo picked him instead?

I know that Artur Beterbiev and Dimitr Bivol are popular names but they could fight each other to get in position for Canelo. Same goes for Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade, although Charlo at least has a win over Sergei Derevyanchenko.

[Silver Spear]

Early February would give him plenty of time to rest and prepare for a big fight in May. Now who would be available in May and who would be willing to fight Canelo? I doubt Canelo steps foot at 160 ever again. I doubt he steps foot back in 175 anytime soon either. After testing the waters at 175 I think he feels most comfortable at 168 and going back down to 160 and putting that strain on his body physically and mentally is probably not worth it for him. Charlo is not a big enough name and there really is nobody else worth fighting down there.

[deathofaclown]

Fight BJS, unification

Saunders said he’s happy to fight Canelo if he gets a full camp. No reason to believe it’s not true when they were a day away from the press conference.

Saunders is in the gym too, he was sparring today, so he’s staying ready.

[STREET CLEANER]

I agree.

At first I was like I prefer a headline that Canelo would want to unify in May which would mean the IBF or WBO... but then I thought, if he wants to stay active in February then why not?!

I think Canelo is approaching it responsibly in that 2020 was too much time laid off, and the get back in Feb adds momentum for him to be sharp. I think Canelo wants to forget 2020 all together because he was in the gym all year waiting for nothing! Lol

His counter punching style is better to stay active. Too bad for Yildrim that he is going to find out what it is to fight a fighter that is in the next level.

[Dean_Razorback]

Canelo has fought #1 ranked guys is these divisions.

154- Trout, Mayweather, Lara
160- Jacobs, GGG
168- Smith
175- Kovalev

come on man, i love the krusher but he wasn't number 1 when they fought, it was beterbiev who had beaten gvozdyk the month before

[Oldskoolg]

And he wants $35m for this?

[GodfatherIV]

Yildirim isnt even ranked number 1 by the WBC. They still have Benavidez ranked as nunber 1 so why Yildirim?? But honestly if Canelo is back in 2 months then again in May with a bigger fight, I dont think I'd complain too much.

[GodfatherIV]

By the way wouldnt the WBC make him the franchise champion and the WBA would make him super champion so he would be free of the mandatories right? Then maybe they would order the top ranked fighters to fight for the "regular" belts. Or since he's ranked 1 ny WBC and 3 by WBA, Benavidez could be the mandatory for both and done

[Clegg]

Hearn promotes Smith not Canelo but he's already talking about who Canelo fights next. OK we all think Smith loses but you're his promoter ffs

[ShoulderRoll]

No problem with that fight if it's a quick turnaround and if it gets him the WBC belt.

Sets him up for bigger matchups later in 2021.

He shouldn't look past Callum Smith, though.