Roy Jones Jr says Canelo is not among the best three Mexican fighters ever

Saúl Álvarez is one of the modern boxing icons due to his impressive career and the multiple belts he has won over the years.

Canelo is the undisputed king at super middleweight and is among the best pound-for-pound boxers. With a record of 59 wins, two losses, and two draws, the Mexican superstar has some of the best names in the sport, although he has often been criticized for taking on those challenges when their opponents were past their prime.

Álvarez recently defeated John Ryder via unanimous decision, although many expected to see a knockout by Eddy Reynoso’s pupil in front of his Mexican fans at Akron Stadium. Right after that, Canelo said his main focus was to get a rematch with the undefeated Dmitry Bivol at 175 lbs, but the Russian fighter is more interested in a bout at 168 lbs.

Jones: Canelo, out of the top three

Former four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. admitted he wouldn’t put Canelo among the best three Mexican boxers of all time.

“I’m going to put it like this: times have changed. And with the change of times, I would put Salvador Sánchez as number one, and Julio César Chávez Sr. as number two, and then the list goes on with fighters like Marco Antonio Barrera, and all of them. Canelo came at a time when boxing needed a new face”, he said.

Asked about why Canelo wouldn’t be on his all-time top three list, Jones mentioned two aspects, pound-for-pound boxing skills, and media skills.

“When it comes to pound-for-pound skills, maybe he could be among the best five Mexicans in history, but that’s a tough place to be because Mexico has had some great fighters. In terms of media skills, or social networking, he’s probably in the top three, but in terms of boxing skills, he could probably even be in the top six or seven”, he stated.

“The fact that Canelo lost to Floyd Mayweather shows that he did not arrive in the way that other greats (Mexicans) arrived. Those greats arrived dominating, they did not arrive with a defeat. But still, he has had a great career, he’s had some great fights in his time. He is definitely good, and he is up there on the list of the best Mexicans in history, perhaps among the best five”, Jones concluded.

If the fight against Bivol happens and the Mexican manages to come out on top, he might go up on Jones’ list and prove his critics wrong, as they saw a decline in his latest fights, especially against Ryder.