sport news What comes next for Canelo Alvarez after beating Gennady Golovkin? trends now

Canelo Alvarez returned to winning ways on Saturday as he boxed his way to a unanimous points win against Gennady Golovkin to end their trilogy.

The first two contests between the pair had led to debatable decisions by the judges, with many fans feeling Golovkin decided to win at least one of them, but this time there was no doubt as to who was the better man on the night. 

Yet Canelo was still far from his best. Prior to this year, he had been on a sensational run which had seen him move up to light-heavyweight to beat Sergey Kovalev before cleaning out the super-middleweight division in the space of 11 months.

But he was made to look ordinary in his defeat to Dmitry Bivol in May, and he failed to dazzle against Golovkin as well, despite getting his hand raised at the end.

Canelo turned professional at just 15, and has had 62 fights across his 17-year career to date. It is no surprise that he is starting to show a few signs of wear and tear.

Is he now on a permanent decline or has 2022 been a mere blip for the pound-for-pound star?

Sportsmail analyses the potential reasons for the drop-off in his last two fights, and what the future could hold for the 32-year-old. 

Canelo revealed after his fight with Golovkin that he has been struggling with an injury to his left hand for a number of months. 

He even claimed that he 'can't hold a glass' at the moment, and will require surgery to alleviate the pain.

Despite this issue, Canelo was still able to control his fight against Golovkin with his lead hand, but this perhaps explains why his trademark left hook lacked its usual snap, which meant that the bout never looked like ending inside the distance.

He was also unable to trouble Bivol in May, and it was noticeable that he did not bring his jab into play regularly in that contest. 

Canelo has admitted that he does not know when he will return to the ring post-surgery, and an extensive period of rest may be what he needs to rediscover his spark.

His talent has never been in doubt, but at 32, he cannot afford to be carrying significant injuries into the ring or more sub-par performances will follow.

The Mexican superstar has fought at three different weight classes in his last eight fights. 

Canelo's willingness to move up and down in weight ought to be admired as he looks to add to his legacy, but it may have affected his performances.

He fought four times at super-middleweight between December 2020 and November 2021, and consistently delivered outstanding performances.

Yet his two fights at light-heavyweight have seen him look a little more cumbersome, and his stamina was a concern against Bivol as the Russian dominated the second half of their contest.

He was back down at super-middleweight for Golovkin, but he looked fatigued once again in the final third of the fight.

This allowed the Kazakh brawler to have more joy late on, although he never looked like seriously challenging for the win after giving up so many early rounds.

There have always been question marks over Canelo's fitness, but it has become a particular issue in his last two fights, and it might not have been helped by him regularly adjusting his weight recently.

He has held world titles in four different weight divisions, and perhaps now is the time for him to settle back down in a specific division so that he is not demanding too much from his body.

There is the obvious factor that could be affecting Canelo's display - his age.

At 32, it would be too early to say that the end of his career is in sight, but there is a real possibility that his best years are now behind him, especially when you consider that he started in the paid ranks as a 15-year-old.

It is hardly unusual for fighters to

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