WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says it would be ‘very difficult’ for Canelo to recover from defeat Gennady Golovkin

When you consider the lofty heights Canelo reached just in 2021, it is hard to believe that he is just one loss away from the point of no return.

However, that is the opinion of WBC president, Mauricio Sulaiman, as Canelo prepares for his trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin on September 17.

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Earlier in 2022, Canelo suffered a shock defeat to Dmitry Bivol, losing soundly by unanimous decision while attempting to win the WBA light heavyweight world title.

This was only the second loss of Canelo's career, with the first coming when he was just 23-years-old at the hands of the self-proclaimed 'Best Ever', Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It was expected that Canelo would take an immediate rematch with Bivol, but instead he chose to take on Golovkin for a third time due to the time pressure surrounding the fight with the man from Kazakhstan being 40-years-old.

The pair will be competing for Canelo's undisputed super middleweight crown, which includes the WBC title and Sulaiman, believes that this is a must-win fight for his fellow Mexican.

"Canelo felt the loss to Bivol immensely," Sulaiman told journalist Tono de Valdes. "If he loses to Golovkin on September 17, I think it'll be very difficult for his career to go back to his actual status.

"He took a big risk when he decided to go up a division to face an undefeated world champ, he lost and now he risks everything against Golovkin."

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The first fight between the pair in 2017 ended in a controversial split decision draw, with many fans and pundits alike believing that Golovkin had done enough to beat Canelo.

In the rematch a year later, Canelo came out on top by majority decision, although once again the decision was disputed.

Now as the pair meet for a third time, despite coming off the back of a loss, Canelo is in the prime of his career and the fight is taking place at his preferred weight.

As for Golvokin, he has not fought any world-class opposition since his last clash with Canelo, although he did secure a solid win over Ryota Murata last time out.

And while the veteran will undoubtedly be the underdog, he could have just about enough left in the tank to get the job done.