I don?t have a complicated relationship when it comes to WBC/WBA middleweight champ Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez and how I cover his exploits. When he does stupid stuff, I blast him. When he does good stuff, I praise him. When someone does shady stuff on his behalf, I scream about it. When he?s being railroaded, I speak up for him. This should be the way all writers cover fighters, right?
What I never wavered on, however, is the size of the ego on the kid. It?s damn huge.
As early as 17, the red-headed, freckle-faced Mexican was talking publicly about his desire to be a legend in the sport and, specifically, a legend among Mexican fight fans. And when some high-profile boxing people blasted his quick and too-early rise to prominence, the young man could be seen seething at the doubt cast on his path to legend status.
And, for sure, a big ego is a prerequisite for accomplishing big things, especially in a sport like boxing where a fighter puts himself out there, alone, to live or die based on his own ability and execution. Nobody became successful at anything, including boxing, without a raging case of ?look at me and what I can do!?
Alvarez, though, has seemed particularly ego-heavy throughout the years?and it?s something that pushed him, perhaps, to be a better fighter than his natural assets suggested he could become. Without that drive to be the legend he saw himself becoming, he most likely would not have worked as hard on certain nuances and tactics to match more naturally gifted athletes.
But, there?s a point where ego can become excessive and, rather than building you up, it fools you into feeling invincible.
Based on some of the nonsense floated out there in a Canelo Alvarez-Daniel Jacobs publicity week last week, he may be in danger of being sucked into his own inflated self-worth.
Amid WBC talk of making him a very special ?franchise champion??whatever that means?and having a special jade, gold, and silver Mayan belt ready for him to take when (if) he beats Jacobs, Alvarez spoke freely of his own awesomeness.
?I hope that all those people who criticize [me],? Alvarez told the Mexican media, ?would see and proclaim that there should be more people like me, like Chicharito (Mexican soccer player, Javier Hernandez) or Lorena Ochoa (Mexican professional golfer) in the country so there could be many [positive] examples, people who lift up the country, because of all the bad in Mexico. [These] people should concern themselves and be supportive of having people like us.?
Okay.
Oddly enough, this ego stroking is coming after the worst six months of his career, just last year, when he tested positive twice for the banned substance clenbuterol, missed a Cinco de Mayo date with Gennady Golovkin, and had to humble himself before fans and media as promoter Oscar De La Hoya tried his best to do damage control.
A spirited performance in a subsequent September win over Golovkin wiped the clenbuterol slate clean?or at least clean enough to get him a 5-year, $365 million deal from subscription-based streaming service, DAZN?and now a superhero is being crafted from his flawed, human self by those with a money interest in seeing him become the bankable, salable face of a network.
On May 4, against IBF champ Jacobs?a real fighter who poses a real threat?there?s a chance that the Canelo business could come crashing down.
If the Mexican star enters the ring with a sense of ego-driven entitlement, to any degree, he will find himself humbled very quickly. And then his obsession with being a legend will take a back seat to simply staying afloat.
