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Canelo Alvarez "could be a heavyweight champion if he put his mind to it", according to his stablemate Frank Sanchez.
Canelo is the pound-for-pound boxing king at the moment and has won world championships in four different weight classes in his illustrious career.
He's won gold in light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight and is to jump up two divisions to 190 lbs and face WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu at some point this year as he vies to become a five-weight world champion.
Canelo, is just 5ft 8, with the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder absolutely towering over him.
However, unbeaten Cuban heavyweight Sanchez, who moved to 20-0 with a win over Christian Hammer on New Year's Day, reckons there's no reason he can't have success at heavyweight too.
“Look, I’ve sparred with Canelo,” Sanchez told DAZN.
“I can tell you with the utmost confidence that Canelo has heavyweight power.
“He can handle cruiserweight, and in my opinion, he could be a heavyweight champion if he put his mind to it.
“Canelo is an absolute stud. He’s very serious and very respectful both with me and his work ethic.
“The biggest lesson that I learned from him is the fact that it doesn’t matter whether you’re training or you’re inside the ring, that you got to be serious about your craft, that you got to follow it with passion.
“That’s the main thing that I took away from being around Canelo, someone that I appreciate a lot.”
His comments echo Eddie Hearn stating in November that Canelo could compete with the big boys at heavyweight, while Oleksandr Usyk has said is open to a superfight.
Sanchez trains with Canelo on a regular basis under the tutelage of Eddy Reynoso and wants to be in world title contention this year.
Canelo, who supported his colleague in his last fight, believes he will attain his goals.
“He will be world champion, he will sweep everyone in the heavyweight division, because he is a special talent," Canelo told El Nuevo Herald.
Featured Image Credit: Image: PATopics: Saul Canelo Alvarez, Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury
Josh Lawless