EL REY
Canelo Alvarez hits like Mike Tyson, replaced Floyd Mayweather as boxing’s biggest star and can become greatest Mexican fighter since Julio Cesar Chavez if he topples Caleb Plant next
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is without doubt the biggest superstar in boxing right now.
We are living in an era, which will be defined by the greatness of the Mexican pound-for-pound king, who continues to break records and bones in equal measure.
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Alvarez punches like Mike Tyson, dances like Sugar Ray Leonard, moves like Pernell Whitaker and drives numbers like Floyd Mayweather.
Victory against Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday night in Texas highlighted just how much of a complete fighter Canelo is both inside and outside of the ring.
He packed 73,126 fans into the home of the Dallas Cowboys, a figure which breaks the indoor record for boxing in the US and is also the largest crowd for a sporting event since the outbreak of COVID-19.
In the middle of round eight, the 30-year-old cracked Saunders with a vicious right uppercut which shattered the Englishman’s eye, before taunting his opponent and gesturing to the crowd that he in fact smelt blood and was looking for the finish.
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Alvarez, who can hold conversations in English, decided this week would be when he showcased his linguistic talents and conducted multiple interviews in his second language, before delivering an epic press conference.
As Demetrius Andrade crashed into the event, the Mexican laughed and smiled at the middleweight champion. “Oh, man,” he said while laughing hysterically before placing his head into folded arms. “ … Man, you fight with nobody. … Please, get the f*** out of here, man. It’s my night.
“F*** you, man. Get the f*** out of here because I’m going to f*** you up right now motherf*****. … You’re never going to get the fight, man. You’re a horrible fighter.”
For some, it seemed like a real break from the normally ice cold character fans have become accustomed to seeing away from the world of boxing and when he engages fellow opponents.
“He’s just being himself,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn remarked.
Andrade, who is coming off the back of a solid win over Liam Williams last month, will not be next for boxing’s biggest star as he does not have the one thing Canelo is lacking.
One of the best fighters to have ever lived is just one belt short of becoming the first undisputed super-middleweight champion in either the three or four-belt era. The only man that can deny him this is Caleb Plant, the IBF champion at 168lbs.
As a free agent devoid of any network or promotional constraints, Alvarez can choose where and when the fight takes place – a luxury all the riches in the world cannot buy in the congested and complicated sport of boxing.
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Terence Crawford and Errol Spence are two of the biggest names in the welterweight division, yet tarnish their reputations by continuing to avoid one another. Similarly, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have teased an announcement on their heavyweight world title fight for what feels like an eternity.
Since Joshua dispatched IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in December and seemingly cleared the path to face Fury, Alvarez won his first two titles at 168lbs with a dominant display against Callum Smith.
He followed this up with the demolition of the overmatched Avni Yildirim in February and then Saturday’s defeat of Saunders to cement his reputation as one of the most active champions in the world today.
Alongside Hearn, Canelo’s superstar status is firmly enhanced with the Brit providing the theatricality and showmanship deserving of boxing’s biggest star.
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“Hopefully we can continue the relationship for a long time,” Hearn said after the Saunders win.
“It’s not a complicated (fight to make with Plant), it’s the beauty of Canelo’s decision to become a network free agent.
“(DAZN is) going to have to and they will make a huge offer for that fight. FOX will also make a huge offer. He’s free to make the fights he wants, where he wants.
“For me, I think it’s a very straightforward process (to close a deal for Plant). I think that process should begin immediately.”
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Plant is a solid, if not spectacular fighter, who has never tasted defeat in the paid ranks who won the Golden Gloves in 2011. Whether or not he can withstand the torrent of abuse Canelo is unlikely to unleash on him is a different story.
Since losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2013, Canelo is unbeaten in 15 fights and is a four-weight world champion. Under the tutelage of trainer and close friend Eddy Reynoso, it is clear he is only improving.
“He’s very much about legacy,” Ring Magazine Managing Editor Tom Gray told talkSPORT 2. “Obviously, he’s not doing it for free.
“He’s driven to become the greatest Mexican fighter of all time and, to do that, he’s going to have take out a lot of great fighters and win as many world titles as you can.
“I think he has at least another three or four years in him and he can do a lot of damage in that space of time.”
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Mexico has produced some of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport, with pugilistic prowess embedded into their DNA.
Julio Cesar Chavez watched Canelo’s masterclass on Saturday night and would have felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention as he controlled the vociferous fans with a simple wave of his arm in the eighth.
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Where Chavez boxed on for too long and his body creaked after fluctuating between weight classes, Canelo and Reynoso know the only way is up after Plant .
If Team Canelo can get out at the right time to ensure his legacy is secured, his dream of becoming the greatest Mexican fighter in the history of the sport is well and truly alive.
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