- THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas
- Posts
- 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 Undisputed vs Undisputed
🇲🇽 🇺🇸 Undisputed vs Undisputed
The Fight Team
September 29, 2023
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.
Every Friday We Bring You:
A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.
Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.
Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.
How to’s and tips for Boxing from Teddy himself.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
Belts On The Line
Saturday night sees, for the first time ever, two undisputed male boxing champions face off against each other as super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez faces Jermell “Ironman” Charlo, who reigns supreme at 154lbs.
The majority of the boxing world was surprised when it was him, not his (slightly) older twin brother Jermall, who was selected as the next opponent for Canelo.
The younger Charlo seemed set for a showdown with interim WBO champ Tim Tszyu, who will now be elevated to full champion upon Charlo entering the ring on Saturday as a result of them failing to meet in the ring.
Charlo’s belts technically aren’t on the line, but the opportunity to skip a whole division and go straight up to become the undisputed champion at 168 lbs, cementing a place as an all-time great in the process, was simply too good to turn down.
Canelo fights for the first time since beating John Ryder by unanimous decision back in May, when he returned to fight in Mexico for the first time in over a decade.
Even though this fight is another defence of his undisputed super middleweight status, it carries a significant amount of danger compared to last time out, and we’ll see if the Ryder performance was the start of a decline for the face of boxing, or just a bad night at the office.
Either way, it’s a box-office level fight, between two pound-for-pound level fighters. The loser will be disappointed, but there’s little shame in losing to the very best at this level.
What to look for in the fight:
Size. Whilst Charlo is technically the smaller fighter in terms of coming up two weight classes, he is physically broader and more built. It’ll be interesting to see how Canelo handles his more direct approach.
Movement. Charlo is a lot more in your face than Canelo’s previous physically bigger opponents. Bivol of course got the better of him, and Caleb Plant managed to steal rounds by boxing. Charlo may employ this tactic to some degree, but it’s not his natural style.
Inside work. Tony Harrison had success against Jermell by standing in the pocket and imposing himself. Canelo’s inside game is elite, and he hasn’t been significantly rocked in a long time. Look for him to go to work here in the second half of the fight.
Also On The Card…
Every once in a while, Boxing shows us it has learned a thing or two from the UFC in terms of beefing up fight cards with competitive fights, and the Canelo vs Charlo card seems to fit the bill.
The co-main event sees former WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas battle it out with former WBA super-lightweight title holder Mario Barrios. Both men will look to make a case for either a shot at the undisputed king Terence Crawford, or potentially a shot at a vacant title or two if there is a dispersal.
Just before them, undefeated Jesus Ramos takes on former interim 154 lbs champion Erickson “Hammer” Lubin in what will likely be a very competitive if their last performances are anything to go by.
Neither of these fights are lay ups for the A-side, but genuine 50/50 match ups that could go either way.
More of the same going forward, please.
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Canelo vs Charlo (Saturday 30th September/Sunday 1st October)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 8pm Eastern/ 5pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 1am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western | Main event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western
Boxing: Opetaia vs Thompson (Saturday 30th September/Sunday 1st October)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/ 2pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 7pm | Main Event: 10pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 5am Eastern/ 3am Western | Main event: 8am Eastern/ 6am Western