The European light-middleweight champion exudes such self-belief after sixteen years as a professional, he insists the version of himself today is vastly superior to the flashy young fighter who emerged as one of Britain’s most exciting prospects in the mid-1990s.
Rhodes has a date with destiny, and a chance of world title glory late in his career, and against the odds, up against flame-haired Mexican Saul Alvarez on Saturday night in Guadalajara, Mexico. The World Boxing Council light-middleweight belt is on the line, and Rhodes, the mandatory challenger, is utterly convinced that he has the tools to do the job against the young tyro touted as the ?next big thing?.
Critics have suggested that the Rhodes camp have badly miscalculated, and that he should have either gone up to altitude six weeks ago, or on the day of the fight. There is the suggestion that he may feel huge fatigue in the late rounds. Rhodes and crew went to the venue two weeks ago.
Rhodes believes he can expose Alvarez at 154lbs and stop him. Some statement of intent. But the southpaw insists it comes from the maturity of a 16-year career in which he has patiently plied his trade. “It hasn’t felt like a long wait. Not really. And I wouldn?t change a thing. It?s been a fantastic ride regardless of all the ups and downs. It?s a massive opportunity because Saul Alvarez is the Golden Boy?s golden boy, and I can really upset the apple cart if I can beat him in Mexico.?
?Everyone is saying – even Oscar de la Hoya himself – that Alvarez is the next superstar of world boxing. So not only am I fighting the next great star of boxing, I?m fighting on a Golden Boy Promotion, in his hometown, against a home crowd of 15,000 screaming Mexican fans. I don?t think I could be anymore up against it if I tried. But I?m relishing it, to be honest.?
Rhodes is no great scholar of philosophy, yet his trials and tribulations have seen him grow over the years. ?I?m a more rounded individual; I?m a more rounded boxer at the age of 34. You could say I?ve been around the block. But I?ve got experience on my side and that counts for a lot in boxing. That?s the one thing that Alvarez hasn?t got. To be honest, at the age of 20 he really should be a prospect, but you forget that in spite his age he has already had 35 fights [actually 36 with 25 knockouts] because he turned pro at 15. But I know for sure hasn?t got the experience I?ve got.?
What does Rhodes know at 34 that he didn?t know at 20, when it was he as the younger man fighting for a world title for the first time, against Otis Grant, the Jamaican by birth who fought out of Canada?
That night in Sheffield, in 1997, the vacant World Boxing Organisation middleweight title was on the line. He, too, of course, like ?Canelo? the flame-haired freckle-faced Mexican fighter he faces, was the home fighter that night. ?When I boxed Otis Grant at the age of 20 for a world title, I didn?t even know if I could go 12 rounds with an experienced fighter let alone become a world champion.? Rhodes lost a unanimous points decision that night ? 115-113 twice, and 115-114.
He explained: ?This fight with Alvarez reminds me of that fight with Otis Grant but this time I?m in Otis Grant?s shoes. He?s the youngster, I?m the wily old pro. I wouldn?t call any one fight the single most important moment in my career, because I?ve had so many fights and come back from so many people writing me off. When I beat Jamie Moore for the European title [Oct 2009, TKO in the seventh] it propelled me to this point. I was a massive underdog and beating him again propelled me to the WBC No 3 spot. So that was a very important fight for me.?
Rhodes, made of Sheffield steel, insists that going deep into Mexican territory does not bother him. He will travel there with a trainer Dave Coldwell, and a small team two weeks before the contest, to acclimatise. Hatton Promotions, and family members, will swell his support party to twenty by fightnight. ?I?m not thinking too much about the surroundings or the setting, just that when the bell goes it will be me, Alvarez and the referee in the ring. Fifteen thousand screaming Mexicans fans can?t get into the ring and help him. I?m too experienced to think the crowd is going to affect me or influence the occasion against me. It isn?t. I?m going to be 100 per cent focused.
Whatever happens outside the ring it?s not going to make any difference when it comes to the fight.?
As cagey veterans know, experience, like poverty, cannot be bought.
?If you asked me to describe myself to someone who had been living under a rock for 10 years and knew nothing of me, I?d say I?ve matured, I?ve learnt so much more about myself as a person and a fighter. I know how to get myself prepared for a championship fight more than I used to. I?m a wiser fighter, I can stick to game plans, and if one game plan doesn?t work, I?ve got others and I can switch to different gameplans if I need too. I?ve got the brain and the boxing knowledge to adapt. Overall, I?m a completely different fighter to what I was 10 to 12 years ago.?
Rhodes, who has campaigned more at middleweight than light-middle throughout his career, has a youthful look about him. He watched with intense interest when Matthew Hatton, younger brother of former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton, faced Alvarez for the vacant WBC 154lb title in March. Rhodes?s consternation at being overlooked by the WBC at the time, with Alvarez and Hatton elevated from welterweight to contest the title, has eased with this opportunity.
But he had looked on with a student?s eye. Alvarez won a lop-sided 119-108 points decision on all three cards.
?I watched his fight with Matthew [Hatton]. I watched it with great interest. I learnt a lot about Alvarez. He looks as if he is a cool kid, relaxed, but he looks to take you out with every punch. He’s a fit fighter, but one thing I know is that he is there to be hit.
?I believe I have the punch power and the awkwardness it knock Alvarez out, I?m totally confident in that. One hundred per cent, I believe it. There is no question that it can be done. I watched him in another fight against Jose Miguel Cotto, Miguel Cotto?s younger brother. In the 1st round Cotto had Alvarez all over the place and Cotto in fairness is a light-welterweight. If he is getting wobbled by a light-welter, what is going to happen when I hit him, a fully-fledged, strong light-middleweight who can punch with either hand??
How has Rhodes maintained the faith ? ?What is my success down to? A bit of luck, maybe, but mainly my ability and believing in myself and knowing that when I get my chance again I will take it with both hands.?
?It has also helped having a great team around me. When I lost my last fight, to Gary Lockett [in 2006, unanimous points decision, WBU middleweight title], I wasn?t 100 per cent fit for that fight. I was probably 75 per cent. A couple of weeks before the fight, I had a back injury and I couldn?t train at all. It came on just as I started my hardest week of sparring. Two weeks before that fight, I?ll be honest I could not walk. It meant that I spent two weeks training in an aqua pool. I was basically training by swimming and lifting weights in the water just to get myself to the fight.
?I?ve got a close family around me and really close friends who know a lot about me inside boxing and outside boxing. I wouldn?t really say I?m a particularly a private person but I think I?m honest with myself in life. If something?s niggling me though, I do tend to keep it to myself.? Twenty friends? family and team and Hatton Promotions team will travel to Mexico in the Rhodes? camp.
Rhodes emerged in the mid-nineties through Brendan Ingle?s Wincobank gym. ?I had wonderful times in the Brendan Ingle gym, which I left six years ago. Fantastic times in there with the likes of Naseem Hamed and Johnny Nelson.
?I spoke to Naz [Hamed] a few weeks ago and he was over the moon that I had got the world title shot. He used to predict the round he would win in, and he predicted I would get this European title and then go on to win a world title. He also told me not to rule out him turning up on the night. It would mean so much if Naz were there, but obviously I?m going to do the job whether he is there or not.?
Does the faith Rhodes has come from a belief in God? He has a cross tattooed on his body, and the words ?Everything happens for a reason? etched on his frame. ?I think there is someone out there who writes the script, and I do believe everything happens for a reason.
?This is the hardest I have ever trained. I had 11 weeks notice for this fight. All we are doing in training is extra work. Training-wise, I?m not going to leave anything to chance. I know he?s good to the body good to the head, that he throws with intent, and his left hook is a good shot.
?I like being the underdog in this fight,” says Rhodes. “It would make victory all the sweeter. I was the underdog against Jamie Moore, and I think there is more pressure on Alvarez than there is on me. Being a WBC champion means a hell of a lot to fighters. I know I haven?t got long left in the sport, but I?d love to win the world title, have a couple of defences and then face Antonio Margarito, Floyd Mayweather or Miguel Cotto. It would be a dream come true.?
