The great boxing fairy tale narrative is that fighters establish their legacy by taking on tough challenges and earning their spot in the hearts of fight fans, but that?s not really true?at least not in the world of Boxing, 2016.
The truth in this twisted new boxing world is that promotional/managerial affiliation and keen marketing have much more to do with fan acceptance these days than actual ring resume. Blame media, blame fans, blame whatever you like, but the reality is that salesmanship has trumped ringmanship.
It almost works against a fighter if they challenge themselves too fiercely and come out looking less than stellar in a tough, complicated bout. It?s much easier (and much easier to sell to the masses) if things are kept nice and safe against tailor-made opposition designed to make the fighter look like a beast.
If your favorite fighter is not playing the new game and working that hustle at this very moment, you can be sure that he?s either planning on doing it or hoping to do so in the future.
Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez has firsthand experience with this new way of doing things and is now fully invested in screwing the public just like so many other ?heroes? of the day. After coming off a novelty mismatch last May against beefed-up welterweight Amir Khan, the 25-year-old Mexican star is getting ready to face untested paper champion Liam Smith Saturday, September 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
But it wasn?t always like this for Canelo.
There was a time when the red-headed battler was fully invested in establishing a legacy worthy of the Mexican legends he admired growing up.
Alvarez, as a burgeoning star, came up through the ranks like most other burgeoning stars, feasting on faded former champs, journeymen, and fringe contenders. But when he got to the top, to his credit, his first instinct was to step things up ?for the fans.? He signed to face the much avoided Paul Williams before Williams suffered his tragic career-ending motorcycle accident, then tried to wrangle James Kirkland into a bout (when Kirkland was still regarded as a beast and it still meant something to beat him). He fought Austin Trout, against his team?s recommendations, right after Trout beat Miguel Cotto. He attempted the impossible in trying to beat Floyd Mayweather. Then, he REALLY went against the advice of his team by signing on to face the mega-avoided Erislandy Lara.
However, even when trying to appease the critics, the bashing continued. He didn?t look great in beating Lara and Trout, didn?t look like a superstar. He looked bad in losing to Mayweather, too. As if anyone looks good against Lara, Trout, and Mayweather. And when he beat Miguel Cotto in what was being billed as a career-defining pick ?em battle, the critics still harped.
From April 2013 to November 2015, starting with Trout and ending with Cotto, Alvarez waded in deeper waters than almost anyone else in boxing?s recent history. It was a complicated two-and-a-half year stretch of diverse styles that saw him go 5-1 against battlers, brawlers, stylists, veteran warriors, and genius-level technicians.
The reward for this obstacle course run of man-sized match-ups was the label of ?coward? for not immediately signing on to face Gennady Golovkin, a fighter basking in adulation for a far lesser resume.
Canelo and promoter Golden Boy committed plenty of public relations flubs in the whole Golovkin situation, presumably brought about by Alvarez?s burning desire to shut up the critics clashing with Golden Boy?s desire to ?marinate? and keep harvesting the golden eggs from their golden goose. The resulting juxtaposition of Canelo calling for Golovkin and Golden Boy stalling for time was like rocket fuel for the critics.
In the meantime, over the six months or so between the Cotto win and the Khan bout, Alvarez seems to have stopped caring about pleasing the fickle fans or creating any sort of legacy worth honoring by those same fans. If his last two fights?Khan and the upcoming bout with Liam Smith?are any indication of where his head is at, then boxing has lost one of the few active fighters who still cared about pleasing the fans.
Fighters and all the business muscle behind them can still make their money without capitulating to fans? wishes by simply playing to their loyal base crowd and maneuvering around danger spots that could ruin their money grab. Alvarez, with the support of his Mexican fan base and shrewd opponent selection from other foreign boxing hotbeds, doesn?t have to bend to the whims of the fans. He never had to, actually. The complexity of his Trout-to-Cotto run was of his own design.
But integrity frequently goes out the window when consumers refuse to act like responsible consumers.
Can you blame him?or any fighter these days, for that matter?one bit for not giving a damn anymore about anything other than making his money? Boxing fans and the sport?s fatally flawed media have been tied into knots by smart marketing people who work to sell image and illusion over reality.
Many of those involved in the fight game have stopped respecting the fans and their wishes because the fans have proven to be so easy to manipulate.
Call that ?jaded? if you like, but if someone is pushed often enough into a no-win situation, they tend to stop playing your game.
