Well, here we are - the top five. We're getting into rarefied air here, folks. And that means the remaining fighters who will be ranked have really - in my opinion - made their mark in 2017. My #5 pick is a man who has brought about a bit of derision over the last several years, but is still someone who I think firmly belongs in this position. And that's why Saul Canelo Alvarez holds this year's #5 ranking. Is he the most talented fighter in the world? No. But he's damn good, and has only gotten better over time.
Canelo only fought twice this year (notice a trend here among these high level boxers?). What's more, one of those two fights was a total blowout - against Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. Still, Canelo risked it all by facing middleweight terror Gennady Golovkin. Sure, you could say his back was against the wall with the public, but the man's popularity has assured him that he could pretty much fight anyone and get the love from his enormous fan base. Simply put - he did the right thing by facing GGG.
There's more to credit than just getting into the ring with a frightening opponent, though. For Canelo did GOOD against Golovkin. Sure, many, if not most, thought he should have lost the fight and that the official decision of a draw was nonsense, but no one can deny Canelo didn't put on a good show. For those who said he'd be flattened, there wasn't a whole lot to criticize when the final bell of the Golovkin fight rang. Canelo was still standing after having faced one of the best in the world - and, at the very least, the man had kept it competitive.
Such things, in my humble opinion, are noteworthy.
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