1) Floyd Mayweather
One of only two defeats on the Alvarez record, this 2013 lesson at the hands of Floyd Mayweather gave the Mexican plenty to think about. Outboxed from the outset, only judge CJ Ross, who inexplicably called the fight a 114-114 draw, believed Canelo was competitive in the slightest.
2) Shane Mosley
Although cut in round three from an accidental headbutt, Alvarez remained in control of Mosley for the 12 rounds they shared in 2012, grabbing most of them to take a unanimous decision at the bout’s conclusion. He retained his WBC super-welterweight belt with the win.
3) Daniel Jacobs
In what proved to be one of the tougher fights of Alvarez’s long career, Jacobs gave him all he could handle in 2019 yet just couldn’t quite accelerate down the stretch and pull out the win. In the end, he settled for a close loss (scorecards: 116-112, 115-113, 115-113).
4) Austin Trout
Southpaw Trout was unbeaten at 26-0 when he faced Alvarez in 2013 and would end up being the final opponent Alvarez would fight before losing his unbeaten record to Floyd Mayweather later that same year. Trout was no match for Alvarez, however, bullied for most of the fight and dropped in the seventh round en route to a wide decision loss.
5) Caleb Plant
Plant got his shot at Alvarez in 2021 and gave a good account himself, too, despite ultimately being dropped and stopped in round 11. He won the odd round here and there, and never appeared out of his depth, yet still possessed nowhere near enough to get the better of Canelo.
6) Josesito Lopez
This fight, which took place in 2012, saw Alvarez score knockdowns in rounds two, three and four before eventually sealing the deal in the fifth. Lopez, for all his experience, simply had no answer to his opponent’s ferocity.
7) James Kirkland
Without doubt one of the finest knockouts of Alvarez’s career, this one-punch finish of Kirkland arrived in 2015, almost a year after Alvarez won a fortunate decision against Erislandy Lara. Far more comfortable in the presence of someone like Kirkland, Alvarez dropped the heavy-handed southpaw in round one before ending the fight in style in the third.
8) Lanardo Tyner
Only the second opponent to go the full 12 rounds with Alvarez (the first was Ricardo Cano), Tyner lasted the distance with the future Mexican superstar in 2009. He won just a single round, of course, but it was an achievement nonetheless.
9) Larry Mosley
In what turned out to be Mosley’s final fight of his pro career, the LA native went the 10-round distance with Alvarez in 2008.
10) Brian Camechis
Known as “The Golden Creek”, Camechis was Alvarez’s opponent for a 2010 fight in Mexico. Out of his depth in every possible sense, he was knocked down twice in round two ahead of being stopped in the following round.