This is the best boxer in the world right now, according to heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua

Canelo Alvarez is one of the most popular boxers competing today.Getty Images

• Anthony Joshua says Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is the best fighter in the sport today.
• Canelo won the junior middleweight world title against Matthew Hatton in 2011.
• The Mexican boxer’s ability to continually improve his style has impressed British fighter, Joshua.

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Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez is the best boxer competing in the sport today, according to IBF and WBA world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Middleweight contender Álvarez features in all of the top ten lists of world ranking bodies like Boxrec, The Ring, and The Transnational Boxing Rankings. Joshua believes he is “phenomenal” and continues to improve with every training camp.

“Canelo — Canelo is my guy,” said Joshua to talkSPORT when he was asked who the world’s best boxer is right now.

Álvarez started boxing at 13 years old and turned professional within two years, in 2005. When he was 23 he began competing against boxing’s elite and scored victories over Shane Mosley in 2012 and Austin Trout in 2013.

Though he came unstuck against Floyd Mayweather in 2014 he has been unbeaten since, having dispatched Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in dominant fashion.

This year he challenged unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and left the Las Vegas ring with a controversial draw, in September. The middleweight rivals are expected to negotiate a rematch next year.

It is Alvarez’s performance against Golovkin that impressed Joshua. “Golovkin has got explosive hands, power in both hands,” Joshua said, before claiming Álvarez was able to prevent “Golovkin from detonating his bombs.”

Canelo Alvarez fought Gennady Golovkin to a draw in September.Getty Images

“He was moving out the way, taking them [punches] on the gloves. And normally they cause a lot of effect on other opponents but Canelo found a way to dismantle what he was trying to do.

“If you look at Canelo… he’s only 27, still young. At training, in every camp, he’s added something new. In all sports, some athletes get stuck in a routine and the people around them aren’t adding new routines or new structure to the training camps.

“Canelo has added head movement, rolling, slipping. And I saw all that come into play when he fought Khan and when he fought Golovkin.

“He has really improved since the Mayweather fight,” Joshua concluded. “He’s phenomenal.”

Canelo fights exclusively on HBO and the broadcaster produced this highlight package last year: