Canelo Alvarez vs Rocky Fielding Fight Preview
Canelo Alvarez will attempt to become a three division world champion when he takes on WBA regular super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding December 15.
This bout came out of nowhere! Thought to potentially face hard-hitting former middleweight champion David Lemieux, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez clearly had different plans.
The Challenger: Canelo Alvarez
The 28 year-old Mexican superstar and pound 4 pound fighter boasts an impressive record of (50-1-2, 34KOs). The names on his resumé are equally as impressive.
Alvarez has been in the ring with the likes of Kermit Cintron, Shane Mosley, James Kirkland, Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, Floyd Mayweather and Gennady Golovkin twice.
The edge in experience and being on the biggest stages in front of the brightest lights has shaped him into the superstar he is today.
The Champion: Rocky Fielding
Rocky Fielding, although the champion, will go into this bout as the underdog. With a record of (28-1, 15KOs) he is a solid fighter that possesses a MASSIVE height and reach advantage over his opponent.
Breakdown
This fight has been set up for Canelo to look good in his DAZN debut while winning a title in a third weight class.
This fight, on paper, tells you Canelo Alvarez is the superior fighter regardless of the significant height and reach disadvantages. I see this fight starting off very slow as both men will look to feel each other out.
Canelo, the much shorter fighter, will look to close the distance and get inside of Fielding’s jab and long reach. His upper body movement in particular is going to be very important in this fight. His ability to slip shots while getting close to fire off shots of his own will be key.
For Fielding, he’s going to simply have to fight smart. That will be using his reach to keep the shorter Alvarez at bay with his jab. He also needs to fight tall.
He can’t allow himself to be drawn into a firefight where he neglects all the advantages he has; thereby making himself an easy target. He has to make Alvarez earn every bit of offense he gets.
Prediction
This fight has a chance to be much more competitive than most think. A new division and having a disadvantage in terms of the size disparity will be foreign territory for Alvarez.
You also must take everything else into account. How much weight will he come in at? Will his stamina hold up for all twelve rounds? Will his hand speed be effected? More importantly, will Fielding simply be too big for Alvarez? All of these things we’ll find out.
However, with that being said, I’ll tip my hat to the two division champion Alvarez to find a way to get the job done. I expect him to be tested throughout this fight as he tries to figure out and breakdown his much bigger opponent.
I see him winning a clear, but close unanimous decision to become a three division world champion.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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