The Trilogy Finale gives Canelo a chance to solidify the legacy

When it comes to boxing, Canelo Alvarez doesn’t fancy much.

He turned pro as a teenager, was a champion by 20, and has made more money in nearly 17 years in the ring than legends like Joe Louis, Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali ever dreamed of.

So it would be natural to think – now 32 and with enough money to support several generations – that the Mexican-born pound-for-pound ace would be content to rest on his laurels.

That would also be wrong.

Instead of easing back and riding the mandatory defense train into a lucrative sunset, the undisputed king of the super middleweights is tilting at another challenging windmill.

Alvarez will put his status as the sport’s highest-profile star on the line again this weekend in Las Vegas, where he will face well-known foil Gennadiy Golovkin in the Kazakh’s debut at 168 pounds.

It’s a third Triple-G outing for Alvarez, who began collecting divisional belts against Callum Smith in December 2020 and finished with KOs of Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant in six months in 2021.

And now the motivation is translated into a single word.

Aftermath.

“I love boxing. And I want to achieve all the things I can in boxing,” he told Boxing Scene. “The best stuff – fight the best, fight all the champions, different weight classes.

“For me, my heritage is important.”

Actually always has been.

It’s a product of the mindset forged through a career-long partnership with trainers Eddy and Chepo Reynoso, who have been in the corner every step of the way on a path that has seen him grow — literally — from a scrawny 140-pound 15- year- old with the muscular physique he has been transformed into at 168 and 175.

He had his 34th pro fight a week before his 20th birthday and captured his first 154-pound belt three fights and eight months later, defeating Matthew Hatton by unanimous decision in March 2011.

And the pursuit of greatness was officially on.

“Everything comes because of the people around me,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen, but if you work hard and keep in the gym and stay disciplined, things will come.

“Things connect. When you love something, things connect. We never knew this was going to happen and we were going to do this and this and this. But it’s all connected.”

The first title fight aired on HBO’s second-string Boxing After Dark program, but the network’s longtime blow-by-blow man, Jim Lampley, got the chance to call several of the developing phenom’s fights on World Championship Boxing shows and remains impressed about where he came from, where he was.

“Far more cosmic and multi-talented than I first imagined,” Lampley told Boxing Scene.

“And you can say the exact same thing in the exact same terms about Eddy Reynoso. Chicken/egg. Both about as good as it gets. Counterpuncher by nature becomes indomitable striker when he wants to be? Fewer than a dozen in the history of boxing. A superstar with epic historical impact.”

He unified and defended the titles six times over the ensuing months before making the one mistake of his career — or at least doing the one thing he says now that he wanted to change — and fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The two met in September 2013, when Alvarez, though a 43-fight veteran, was still only 23 and hadn’t been in such a big event, let alone against an opponent as good as Mayweather, even at 36. The older man stunned him over 12 rounds and won a majority decision that stood as his only loss in nine years until he was once again schooled by light heavyweight Dmitry Bivol over 12 rounds in May.

His then-promoter Oscar De La Hoya told Boxing Scene that he advised Alvarez against taking the Mayweather fight, and Alvarez himself said the outcome might have been different if it had happened later.

“I feel good about my career. But maybe the fight with Mayweather could have waited a little longer when I got more experience and more fights on the biggest stages,” he said. “Maybe that one. I think it could have been better for me. But I also learned from that fight. So everything is at the right time.”

Indeed, he was a middleweight champion after defeating Miguel Cotto four fights after Mayweather and ultimately taming—or at least keeping in check—the boogeyman that was a then-undefeated Golovkin who went 12 rounds for a split-decision draw in 2017 before returning exactly. 364 days later to win a majority nod.

The aforementioned super middleweight and light heavyweight titles have followed as part of a post-Golovkin run in which Alvarez has earned five of seven victories by knockout while fighting foes ranging in weight from 160 to 175 pounds.

He fought at 160 for the last time while defeating Daniel Jacobs in fight two of the series and a career-high 174 1/2 in beating Kovalev, who had 29 KOs in 34 wins.

And while the first two Golovkin fights have been close, Alvarez is a significant trilogy decision favorite with oddsmakers at DraftKings, who have installed him as a -550 pick (bet $550 to win $100), while Golovkin is a +380 underdog (bet $100 to win $380).

Should those numbers hold up and he goes 2-0-1 against Golovkin, there will be even more legacy talk for Alvarez – specifically about where he fits when it comes to all-time discussions.

But it’s far too soon, he said, because there are six or seven years left to build the resume, and he doesn’t want to spend sleepless nights thinking about it anyway.

“It doesn’t matter to me where they put me,” he said.

“I just work hard, fight hard and fight the best. And that’s it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

This week’s title match schedule:

IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO super middleweight titles – Las Vegas, Nevada

Canelo Alvarez (Champion/No. 1 IWBR) Vs. Gennadiy Golovkin (No. 1 WBO/Unranked IWBR)

Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs): Fourth WBA/WBC title defense; Undefeated at 168 pounds (6-0, 4 KOs)

Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KO): Twenty-third title fight (20-1-1); Fourth fight over 160 pounds (3-0, 2 KO)

Fitzbitz says: I was in on the ground floor on GGG when he was just an IBO champion and I sure hope he calls for a classic rejection. But I think Canelo is too good for 168. Alvarez in 10 (85/15)

WBC super flyweight title – Las Vegas, Nevada

Jesse Rodriguez (Champion/No. 15 IWBR) Vs. Israel Gonzalez (No. 11 WBC/Unranked IWBR)

Rodriguez (16-0, 11 KOs): Second title defense; Third fight in Las Vegas (2-0, 2 KOs)

Gonzalez (28-4-1, 11 KO): Fourth title fight (0-3); Fifth fight outside Mexico (1-2-1, 0 KO)

Fitzbitz says: Gonzalez is a bona fide world-class fighter, but he’s come up short in every shot at a championship before this, and it’s no easier task here. Rodriguez in 7 (99/1)

Last week’s pick: None

2022 election record: 26-12 (68.4 percent)

Overall electoral record: 1,235-404 (75.3 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body’s full title holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA “world championships” are only included if there is no “super champion” in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.