Bob Arum Delivers Brutal Canelo Alvarez Verdict

For over six decades, in some form or fashion, promoter Bob Arum has been a presence in the sport of boxing.

From his early days as an intermediary to promoting fights featuring Julio Cesar Chavez, Evander Holyfield, Roberto Duran, and Oscar De La Hoya, among others. Through interviews and press conferences, Arum made a living by not beating around the bush.

Canelo Alvarez is established as a generational fighter, with world titles in four weight classes. That includes the undisputed super middleweight championship. But when asked about Alvarez's upcoming fight against Christian Mbilli for the latter's WBC interim super middleweight championship, the promoter fired this salvo.

Bob Arum says Canelo Alvarez is 'finished'

"Alvarez belongs on the golf course, not in the ring," Arum told The Ring. "I think Alvarez is finished. I have no idea if Alvarez should retire or not, but I like Mbilli in the fight."

In Arum's defense, Alvarez's career, especially his last years, was marked by extended brawls. In his last nine bouts, the 35-year-old went the distance eight times. That's 108 rounds, 324 minutes of ring time. However, how many more decisions does his body have left before completely breaking down?

Meanwhile, Mbilli, who is four years younger, can claim only 30 fights on his resume. Yet, he's managed to finish 24 of them. Unless you are George Foreman or Bernard Hopkins, the fight game is not kind to veterans who have accumulated monster round numbers.

At this point, Canelo looks to go the distance, patiently plotting his approach, countering, and waiting for the right moment to initiate. Mbilli will use a high-pressure style to force the issue.

Arum used Alvarez's last fight, a 12-round decision loss to Terence Crawford, as the example.

"I’m not surprised that Alvarez looked bad against Crawford. Terence is a great fighter. Canelo has been a tough guy and a good fighter but not a great fighter on the level of Crawford, who's totally unique and very skillful. Crawford has all of their numbers.”

Using a decision loss against an all-time great fighter could be considered a reach. On the other hand, some wrote off Alvarez after he lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2013. Yet, he's gone 21-2-1 since and has never been knocked out.

Canelo's fight against Mbilli, which was originally set for September 12th in Riyadh, has now been pushed back, with reports suggesting it will take place in late October.

Can he claim yet another world championship, or will M'billi prove Arum's words as prophetic?

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