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Philippines, 27 Dec 2024 |
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Saul ?El Canelo? Alvarez: This cinnamon needs spice PhilBoxing.com Fri, 24 Jun 2011  The red haired boxer from Guadalajara, Mexico is only a month shy of his twenty first birthday. Take away the stardom, the title and the sport out of him and he probably is a young student attending a college or a university. But last Saturday, he was the teacher to a 34 year old veteran of the ring. He schooled Ryan Rhodes of Britain in a classroom full of 12,000 adoring hometown fans. Last night, Saul ?El Canelo? Alvarez conducted a class session in the ring with the puzzled Brit as its main subject. It was a long, effective lecture of a fight, with Alvarez winning every round of it until referee Hector Afu called a halt to the match in the 12th and final round. At the end of the fight, the face of Rhodes bore the effectiveness of Alvarez?s teaching methods. His face bore the results of a lesson learned in that night. This is Alvarez 30th straight victory. The boxer nicknamed "El Canelo" which is the Spanish word for cinnamon which describes the color of his hair and skin is a rising star of the sport for the rest of the world but not in Mexico. He is already a bona fide superstar in that country that commands a huge following. His last fight in the US attracted almost the same number of spectators and was one of the most watched Boxing After Dark (BAD) series of HBO. He truly can draw an audience in this early stage of his career. Mexico loves boxing and its stars. Alvarez is a star, no a recognized superstar already by his countrymen despite of his young age and career. A recognition not given easily by this boxing crazy country. One that is earned by toughness, excellence and winning in the ring in a number of great and worthy fights against great and worthy opponents. This is the recognition that the likes of Chaves, Dela Hoya, Morales and Barrera earned with the fights they fought and the opponents they faced. Hard fights, tough opponents, great duels define a true Mexican icon of the ring. This is something that clearly is lacking in Alvarez?s budding career but one that is being overlooked at this time by his countrymen. There is something in the kid that catches their eyes. There is something that attracts them to him. Is it the matinee idol look, the publicity surrounding his romances or that he is simply different from the mold of the Mexican fighters that they know? Or maybe, it is just the desire to fill in the big void of a home grown star of the sport they love in this time of boxing resurgence. Nevertheless, Alvarez and a son of a legend named Chavez Junior are the recipients of Mexico?s admiration and its hope of bringing them boxing glory. Just moments after his victory in the ring last week, calls for tougher opposition are voiced out by most boxing critics and writers. Alvarez?s promoter, GBP?s president Oscar Dela Hoya has been rained by criticisms, comments and suggestions of who should be next for Alvarez just minutes of congratulating him after his victory in his Twitter account. The names of newly crowned WBC silver light middleweight titlist Vanes Martirosyan, fellow title holders Miguel Cotto and Cornelius Bundrage, and even the dangerous ones in Sergio Martinez and Alfredo Angulo are all being thrown in there by both the fans and critics of the sport. All will give Alvarez one thing he has not yet experienced, a tough test in the ring. Alvarez expressed his willingness to fight anyone when interviewed after his fight in the ring. ?If I have to fight the devil, I will fight the devil.? was his declaration in his native Spanish moments after his victorious night last Saturday. This is a good sign for his fans and of the sport. One though, that Golden Boy Promotions should balance carefully. There is a clamor for him to face tough opposition now because of his rapid rise in the sport. The opponents that he fought in the last two big market events that he is involved at are both over rated and over matched. All are eager to see him undergo a hard trial in the ring to test his worth as a fighter and a champion. But Golden Boy Promotions is well aware of its risk. Will they risk their current darling of the moment and potential mega fight moneymaker in Alvarez with the possible foes named above? Or will they milk out all possible non- threatening oppositions for him to build his record on. But will that create even more backlash from the boxing world that has continually been fed with this formula. Such is the dilemma for Golden Boy Promotions at this stage of Alvarez?s young and untested but promising career. Saul Alvarez roused a lot of interest before he fought Rhodes last Saturday with news of his name being mentioned in a mega million fight with pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao. This news was found to be rumors after all. But rumor as it may sound, the possibility of it happening is not farfetched. There is not much of a difference in weight between the two fighters. There are huge economic gains to earn for the fight to be made, not only to one but both camps. It is indeed a mega fight between a mega star of the sport in Pacquiao and a rising star in Alvarez. But before that could make people outside of the boxing world take notice which is the core of pay per view success, Alvarez must develop to that of a complete, tested fighter. One that has faced more than a faded Carlos Baldomir or an overmatched Matthew Hatton is his resume. He has to make his name big by facing the big fishes of the boxing sea. If he is successful at that in a year or so, then mega fights with pay per view success will come for him. For Pacquiao isn?t the only one out there for him. There is the Mexican dream match between him and that son of a legend named, Junior. That though would entail another piece of discussion because like Alvarez, Chavez Jr. too is untested. That would also entail Alvarez to move up in weight which he does not need to do with Pacquiao. Plus, is there any other sure money fight than that of Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather? That again is another story. The bottom line is there are a lot of options out there for this young superstar. These are contingent on his successes in the ring in his forthcoming fights. That not only lies in his hands as a boxer but also in the hands of his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. That is the challenge that lies ahead for both of them. Just like the way a baker uses cinnamon for his creations. Too much of it and it will be bitter, too little of this spice and it will not matter at all. You can email Rich Mazon at rrmaze24@aol.com for comments and suggestions regarding this piece. Click here for a complete listing of columns by this author. Click here for a complete listing of this author's articles from different news sources. |
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