Four-division champion Canelo Alvarez has beaten a who's who of credible contenders throughout a 63-fight career that started in 2005.

Alvarez’s hit list includes wins against the likes of Gennady Golovkin (two wins; one draw), Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, Sergey Kovalev, Daniel Jacobs, Julio César Chávez Jr., Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara, Alfredo Angulo, Austin Trout, Josesito López, and Shane Mosley. 

On Sept. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Showtime pay-per-view, the undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) will take on his latest challenger, Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs).

When BoxingScene.com asked Charlo who is the Mexican star’s career-defining win thus far, Charlo chose Alvarez’s performance during his light heavyweight debut. 

“Kovalev was a really good win. He was much bigger than him, stronger. He annihilated him. So Kovalev was a really really good win I consider for Canelo,” Charlo told BoxingScene.com in an interview. 

Alvarez jumped up from 160 to 175 pounds in 2019 when he knocked out Kovalev in the 11th round of a competitive fight. 

The undisputed super welterweight champion Charlo is looking to take a page out of Alvarez’s book by banking a big win as he jumps up two weight classes to challenge Alvarez.

Alvarez has bounced back and forth between 168 and 175 pounds in recent years, but Charlo is not quite sure how he will move forward with his career moving forward.

“I could possibly be challenging Terence Crawford. I could possibly be back at 154 though. I could easily make 154, but it will probably be harder after [fighting Alvarez at 168 pounds]. I should be defending my 154-pound world titles in 2024,” said Charlo. 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.