Critics point to several favorable scorecards during Canelo’s career. An early four-round draw against Jorge Juarez left some observers believing Juarez deserved the decision. The 2014 split-decision win over Erislandy Lara remains disputed, and Lara never received a rematch.

Gennadiy Golovkin presents another major part of that criticism. Golovkin spent years calling for the Canelo fight while ruling the middleweight division. In May 2016, Canelo relinquished his WBC middleweight title rather than proceed directly into a mandatory defense against the Kazakh champion.

The two finally met in September 2017, when Golovkin was 35. By then, he had begun showing signs of decline. Kell Brook found success landing clean punches against him in 2016 before being stopped, and Daniel Jacobs pushed Golovkin through a difficult 12 rounds the following March.

Their first fight produced a draw that remains one of boxing’s most controversial decisions, highlighted by Adalaide Byrd’s 118-110 scorecard for Canelo.

Golovkin was nearly the same age Canelo is today when they fought. He had lost some of what made him so destructive during his peak years, yet many viewers believed he had done enough to defeat Canelo.

Other major fights never happened. Demetrius Andrade did not receive his opportunity while holding a middleweight title, nor did a younger, active Jermall Charlo when he was one of the leading fighters at 160 pounds.

David Benavidez became an even bigger omission. He pursued Canelo for years at super middleweight before eventually moving to 175 pounds without securing the fight.

Canelo later chose Jaime Munguia, Edgar Berlanga and William Scull at 168. All three possessed impressive records, but none had defeated the kind of elite opposition that established him as the most dangerous challenger available in the division.

Osleys Iglesias offered a much different test as a powerful, technically skilled Cuban southpaw. Lester Martinez and Diego Pacheco were among the other younger super middleweights who never received an opportunity against Canelo.

Canelo then chose Terence Crawford, an accomplished champion but a fighter moving up two divisions from 154 pounds for their super middleweight fight.

Canelo has enormous box office numbers, championships across four divisions and a place among the biggest stars of his generation. Those achievements are undeniable.

His history also includes controversial scorecards, catchweight fights, the long wait for Golovkin, the missing Benavidez fight and other dangerous opponents who never received their opportunity.

Canelo considers his legacy complete. His critics are left asking how much greater it might have been had he consistently fought the most dangerous available challengers while they were at their best.