Carlos Toro and I will go live on YouTube for the post show after Canelo vs. Charlo on Saturday. Set your notification below.


It’s Canelo Alvarez night again this Saturday. But even these days, Canelo night doesn’t hit like it has in the past. Maybe it’s because Canelo’s fight this weekend against Jermell Charlo is on the near defunct Showtime, but this fight wasn’t even on my radar until recently. Blame that on all the wrestling we cover on our podcasts. We might just be in a wrestling bubble these days. However, I still think that some of the bigger boxing fights aren’t being marketed enough to those outside of boxing.

There might also be slight Canelo fatigue. He’s gone through so many of the top contenders already that I’m sure most people simply predict that he’ll beat Charlo by decision because that’s just what he does. His greatness is his own drawing detriment.

We’re going old school here. The great Robert Silva and Carlos Toro are back to give their predictions. It’s like a Pound 4 Pound reunion. I’ll also give my thoughts.

Carlos Toro – Canelo Alvarez by decision

This fight really boils down to whether or not Jermell Charlo can answer the multitude of questions surrounding him. Can he translate his power from 154 to 168 pounds? How rusty will he be after not fighting for 16 months? Can he replicate the same virtuoso performance he had last time out against Brian Castaño when he faces a bigger and better fighter in Canelo Alvarez?

He certainly has the ability and the trainer in Derrick James to pull it off but the question marks I just brought up gave me some reason to doubt whether or not Charlo will actually pull off the upset. He’s not quite the pristine boxer that Dmitry Bivol is and Bivol beat Canelo last year.

Canelo certainly has his own question marks as to whether or not he can truly return to the form he was pre-Bivol. Canelo certainly wasn’t perfect against Gennadiy Golovkin in their encounter and against John Ryder and it’s fair to question how much he’s declining at this stage of his career. But I have more faith in Canelo coming out in top because he’s been able to keep himself busy on a (somewhat) regular basis. Canelo still has the better overall package as a boxer and I think he will slowly but surely break down Charlo, who’s had his struggles in the past against very good boxers. I also certainly don’t see Charlo, for as much pop as his punches can sometimes bring to the table, being able to seriously hurt or knock out Canelo. There will likely be a lot of inside fighting and I trust Canelo more in that regard to win.

It would take another perfect performance from Charlo, combined with a sudden drop in Canelo’s skillset as he moves further away from his prime. Is it possible? Absolutely. Do I think it will happen? No. It’ll be a relatively close fight on the cards but ultimately, Canelo leaves Vegas with all his titles.

Robert Silva – Jermell Charlo by split decision

Even though both Jermell Charlo and Canelo Álvarez are 33 years old, there is a huge difference as far as being in the prime of their careers. In my opinion, Jermell is still in his prime while Canelo’s last three fights tells me he’s past his prime. Because of this, the fight Saturday night will be a lot more competitive than the so-called experts predict. Jermell is the type of boxer who has always given Canelo hell. Great left jab, excellent movement and an accurate right cross. Even though I believe Canelo is past his prime, his relentless body work and strength advantage are still huge obstacles for Jermell to overcome. I feel Charlo is catching Canelo at the right time in his career. In a shocker, I predict Charlo, behind that pinpoint jab and right cross, will give the performance of a lifetime to win a narrow split decision.

Garrett Gonzales – Canelo Alvarez by 11th round stoppage

I’m very interested to see how Charlo does with the added weight. He says that it won’t affect him because all it will mean is that he won’t have to cut much before the fight begins. But I’m wondering how he’ll actually carry the added weight. Canelo is going to attack Charlo’s body and if that body attack is too much, we could see a stoppage. However, much like Robert said, you do have to wonder where Canelo is at in his career. Hell, he doesn’t have to ever fight again; his statue is already being bronzed.

Canelo has gone to a decision in all three of his last three fights, including the one he lost to Dmitry Bivol. I sense that he believes he’s the bigger and stronger guy even though they don’t look all that different in size and I think he would love to stop Charlo. I think this is a close fight but in the championship rounds, he finally chops Charlo down and stops him.