In what could be described as the highest profile ?crossroads? type fight in quite some time in the sport of boxing, Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez has been training in Mexico, within one mile from his opponents headquarters in Big Bear, California, and finally at the location of the fight, Las Vegas, as he prepares to face former champion Sugar Shane Mosley in the biggest fight of his career to this point.
The 21-year old who was born and still resides in Tlajomulco de Z??iga, Jalisco, Mexico will be in his 41st professional fight with the stature of being the WBC light middleweight champion who will be defending his title for the fourth time against multi-division titlist Mosley, who is aged 40 years and will be fighting his 55th professional bout.
Alvarez has achieved much already, grabbing a title in his fifth year as a pro, has beaten some veteran names in his rise from the welterweight to middleweight class, and the worldwide hype and following have yet to come for the brazen fist thrower.
The scary thing is, Alvarez has hardly ever looked lost in the prizefight ring and became a champion before he could even legally drink in the United States, continues to engage in entertaining bouts, and get this: he only wants to get better.
?I am training hard and making great progress,? said Alvarez earlier this week from his Las Vegas training quarters. Last week Alvarez was forced to move his camp from the 7,000 feet elevation confines in the San Bernardino mountain range due to snowfall conditions, but doesn?t seem fazed by the forced move.
?The determination that I have in this training camp will lead me to victory on May 5. I?m not thinking about what I need to do and achieve in boxing. I?m 21 years old and I know that there will be many opportunities. But as I said, that does not affect me as a fighter now. I am proud of what I?ve accomplished to this point and will be proud of winning in May.?
?Kid Cinnamon?, (a moniker penned for the Mexican fighter by yours truly) seems to know there is much more he can achieve in the sport, both inside and outside of it. Alvarez is co-headlining on the Miguel Cotto/Floyd Mayweather pay-per-view Cinco De Mayo event and in the past has reportedly in the past lobbied to be a main event fighter; ?Canelo? knows he is a headliner, his career just has to catch up to him.
Standing in front of Kid Cinnamon is a veteran that has many a time been top billing on a pay-per-view who has seen the success Alvarez desires, and himself seeks to further his career, opposing what most would describe as a worthy retirement and induction into the Hall of Fame.
In Mosley is the spirit of a fighter who is seeking to remain in the fight game, admirably even after losing three of his last four fights in the ring still seeking to press on and still make an impact in the sport. This serves as Mosley?s first co-billing on a fight card, and possibly his last as a main or co-main event, barring an upset victory.
It?s the ultimate crossroads match-up, with each fighter knowing directly where each one goes with a win, as well as with a loss. Mosley fights on yet another grand stage, and Canelo fights on the grandest stage possible against the names in the main event or elsewhere.
It?s a battle of 40 versus 20, star versus former star, champion versus once champion.
Don?t miss it.
