LAS VEGAS — Julio C?sar Ch?vez says he believes Saul “Canelo” ?lvarez beating Floyd Mayweather Jr. would rank among the finest triumphs of Mexican boxing, but that would not necessarily mean the 23-year-old Guadalajara native would have a place among the Mexican boxing elite or be closer to being considered the best Mexican boxer in history.
Ch?vez, the analyst from A Los Golpes and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said ?lvarez would take a giant leap with one victory, something that would be fully merited as Chavez considers Mayweather one of the best of all time.
“People want to rank him where they want. If they want to consider him the best Mexican fighter of all time, that’s fine,” he said. “It would be a great victory, but this would not catapult him to rank as the best of all time. Otherwise, Juan Manuel M?rquez would be due the same after he beat [Manny] Pacquiao.”
Ch?vez would give a lot of credit to ?lvarez and his team, as the task ahead Saturday is not an easy one. “They are facing one of the best fighters there has ever been in all history, but first you have to win and then keep proving yourself. Without a doubt he would be taking a big step forward, five steps instead of one, but he would have to face more opponents. You have to remember that he’s fighting someone lighter, not at his own weight.”
Ch?vez asserted ?lvarez’s future will be brighter should he beat Mayweather, although this wouldn’t stop any other fight from being a danger to him.
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It would be a great victory, but this would not catapult [?lvarez] to rank as the best of all time. Otherwise, Juan Manuel M?rquez would be due the same after he beat [Manny] Pacquiao. ” — Julio C?sar Ch?vez
“Let’s take things calmly — he will prove himself because he has potential,” Ch?vez said. “He’s going to have many fights and he’ll have his moment, but this win could be as important as it is dangerous. When you fight the best and then you have to face someone who is supposedly easy to beat, that’s when you take your eye off the ball and the defeats begin.”
Finally, he compared ?lvarez’s potential win with the one M?rquez had in December against Pacquiao: “It would be similar. What M?rquez did was incredible; at his age (39 years old), it’s a bigger achievement. Canelo is very young. Even I would rank Juan Manuel’s win as more important.”
Ch?vez says he believes ?lvarez has a very good chance of beating Mayweather. Erik Morales, M?rquez and Carlos Z?rate concur, although “I think that he would be at least close to entering into the elite, as not many people can say that they beat the best fighter at the time,” said Z?rate, the ex-bantamweight titleholder. “This would definitely be a giant step in his career and full credit would have to be given to him.”
Fight Credential: Mayweather-Alvarez
For more on Saturday’s Mayweather-Alvarez card, check out Fight Credential. In turn, M?rquez said beating Mayweather “would be something historic, without a doubt, but we have to go slowly. Those who we consider among the Mexican boxing elite are not there because of a single victory, but for a series of important victories.
“But without a doubt it would be very important, and additionally it would be great for Mexican boxing, because it would mean that we would have one more Mexican in the top 10 of the best, pound for pound.”
Morales agrees with M?rquez: “Everything depends on how things go. I think there is a chance to be able to beat Mayweather, because of the difference in age and weight. They can make the difference, but it would be just one big victory for him and better things would surely come. But you have to go slowly. Let’s not put a name on something that is just taking off,” said the Tijuana native, who will retire later this year.
“Here, the real winners in the event of a Canelo victory would be Mexican boxers everywhere, and the fans. Victories are always important, and one of this magnitude would be sensational.”
