Saul “Canelo” Álvarez, popularly known as Canelo, is a Mexican professional boxer who has held several world championships in multiple weight classes. But, what is the actual weight class of Canelo? We’re going to explore this in this post along with his stats, major victories, upcoming fights, and more.
Canelo is one of the best counterpunchers in the world who exploits any opening in his opponents’ guards while avoiding punches with exceptional head and body movement simultaneously. He is also a beast body puncher which has helped him win unified titles in three weight classes and lineal titles in two.
Let’s find out everything about the Mexican boxing maestro with a brief look at his career.
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What is the Current Weight Class of Canelo Álvarez?
Mexican MMA superstar Canelo Álvarez currently fights in the Super Middleweight (168lbs) weight class in the UFC. He last weighed in for his fight against Jermell Charlo in September 2023. Canelo Álvarez weighed around 167.4lbs at the time of weigh-in and the fight took place in the super middleweight division.
On fight night, Canelo made a statement by defeating Charlo via unanimous decision. He scored the only knockout of the fight in the seventh round and dominated the American opponent throughout the bout. Despite fighting at an upper weight class, Canelo moved swiftly and controlled the pace of the fight.
The Mexican beast never had an issue whenever he moved up or down a weight class. He can quickly adapt to the changes, adjust his maneuvers accordingly, and bring the best out of his skills to ground his opponents.
Canelo’s Career Weight Classes: A Complete List:
Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán, known as Canelo Álvarez, is a Mexican professional boxer who has held several world championships across multiple weight classes. He is an intimidating talent due to his insane counterpunching techniques and remarkable defense skills, making him an all-around fighter.
Canelo Álvarez has been a part of four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight. He won unified titles in three of those and lineal titles in two weight classes. He’s currently ruling the super middleweight class where he holds all four major titles to reign as an undisputed champion.
Before proceeding, here’s a quick look at Canelo Alvarez’s stats:
- Record: 60-2-2
- Wins by KO: 39
- DOB: July 18, 1990
- Age: 33
- Stance: Orthodox
- Reach: 70½″ inches
- Height: 5-foot-8
- Current weight: 167.8 lbs
1. Light Middleweight:
Canelo Álvarez turned professional at the age of just 15 with a championship win at the Junior Nationals. In his first 19 months as a pro-fighter, he knocked out 11 of his 13 documented opponents. The fun fact is that most of his opponents were significantly older than him.
The first major title for Canelo Álvarez in the Light Middleweight class came via a sixth-round TKO against Luciano Leonel Cuello for the WBC Silver Light Middleweight belt. In March 2011, Canelo Álvarez defeated European welterweight champion Matthew Hatton via unanimous decision, for the vacant WBC light middleweight belt.
The Mexican beast managed to defeat commendable boxers like Kermit Cintrón, Shane Mosley, López, and Austin Trout with sheer dominance. However, he also faced a major loss in this division against Ring magazine’s #1 ranked light middleweight boxer, Floyd Mayweather.
After his loss against Mayweather via majority decision at the MGM Garden, Canelo Álvarez moved to the Catchweight division. However, he returned to light middleweight later and defeated the 27-year-old WBO champion Liam Smith for the title.
2. Middleweight:
Just after defeating Chávez Jr., Canelo Álvarez moved up to the middleweight division to fight Gennady Golovkin in September 2017. The bout, which was deemed ‘classic’ by several media outlets, turned out to be one of the most controversial fights in history as Golovkin and Álvarez fought to a split draw.
The arch-rivals fought in a rematch which was also controversial as Álvarez defeated Golovkin via majority decision after twelve rounds. Both the fights were highly successful financially.
Álvarez also battled Daniel Jacobs in this division for the IBF middleweight title in a unification bout. He successfully defended his WBA (Super), WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight titles and defeated Jacobs for the IBF middleweight title.
3. Super Middleweight:
Canelo Álvarez moved up to the super middleweight division for the first time in his career in October 2018. He fought and defeated 31-year-old British boxer Rocky Fielding in a dominating fashion for the WBA (Regular) Super Middleweight title at the MSG, New York.
He also dominated and defeated Callum Smith in a high-stake bout for the vacant WBC title, WBA (Super), and The Ring Super Middleweight title. Álvarez won via unanimous decision and left Smith with a detached left biceps injury. After that, Álvarez successfully defended his titles against Avni Yıldırım and Billy Saunders.
Canelo Álvarez also fought undefeated IBF champion Caleb Plant in an undisputed bout for all four major world titles in the super middleweight division. He defeated Plant via eleventh-round technical knockout to become only the sixth fighter to unify all belts in one division in the four-belt era.
Canelo Álvarez also battled Gennady Golovkin for the third time in the super middleweight division to defend his undisputed titles. Álvarez then defeated Golovkin via unanimous decision. In March 2023, Álvarez also defeated WBO interim champion John Ryder via unanimous decision to defend his titles for the second time.
4. Light Heavyweight:
In September 2019, Canelo Álvarez moved up two weight classes to challenge WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and fought in the light heavyweight division for the first time. He managed to defeat Kovalev with a devastating left hook to become a four-division world champion.
Álvarez was named the Fighter of the Year by The Ring Magazine, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2019 for this feat. His second fight in this division came against undefeated WBA (Super) champion Dmitry Bivol which turned out to be a surprise upset.
Bivol defeated Álvarez via unanimous decision to hand him the second defeat of his professional career. However, a rematch between the two didn’t take place as Canelo moved on to fight Golovkin instead.
5. Catchweight:
Canelo Álvarez had some significant non-title fights in catchweight against names like Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara, and James Kirkland where he miraculously defeated all of his opponents with domination. He also defeated Miguel Cotto for the WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight titles.
Another highlighting matchup of Canelo in Catchweight came against British boxer Amir Khan who moved up two weight divisions to fight the champion. Álvarez managed to knock Amir out with a destructive right hand in the sixth round at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
However, the most notable fight of Canelo Álvarez in this division came against the returning Julio César Chávez Jr. Álvarez won stunningly via a shutout unanimous decision.
What does the Future Hold for Canelo Álvarez?
Canelo Alvarez most recently fought against Jermell Charlo to defend his WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO super middleweight titles via unanimous decision. As per the experts in the industry, Alvarez hasn’t met anyone who challenged him and his fighting style in his last few fights.
The Mexican beast himself believes that he is the best at the 168 LBS (Super Middleweight) weight class, so he’d spend some time here. His next challengers for the title could be former 2-time super middleweight champion David Benavidez or another former multi-division champion Terence Crawford.
However, nothing is official yet. We’ll have to wait to see who’s going to be Canelo’s next victim in this weight class. He’s a natural killer here and it’ll be incredibly hard for anyone to dethrone him.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is the best weight class for Canelo Alvarez?:
The Super Middleweight (168 LBS) weight class is perfect for Canelo Alvarez as he’s a natural beast in this division. He has impressive speed, counterpunching technique, and a solid defense. Additionally, he also has a height advantage that allows him to take down any opponent comfortably.
2. How much does Canelo Alvarez weigh right now?:
As of January 2024, Canelo Alvarez weighs around 167.8 LBS. He competes in the Super Middleweight class and his last fight came against Jermell Charlo where he won staggeringly via unanimous decision to retain his WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO super middleweight titles.
3. Who has beaten Canelo Alvarez?:
Only two people have beaten Canelo Alvarez as of January 2024. The first one to beat him was Floyd Mayweather via unanimous decision in September 2013 and the second was Dmitry Bivol who surprisingly defeated Canelo Alvarez in May 2022. His record stands at an impressive 60-2-2.
4. What is Canelo Alvarez best known for?:
Canelo Alvarez is best known for being the first and only boxer in history to become an undisputed champion at super middleweight by winning the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring Magazine titles in 2020, and the IBF and WBO titles in 2021. He’s also among the very few people who have held several world titles in multiple weight classes.
5. How many belts has Canelo won?:
Canelo Alvarez has won several world titles in four weight classes, from light middleweight to light heavyweight. He’s currently the undisputed champion in the super middleweight division where he holds all four belts (WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF). He’s also the Ring Magazine champion.
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