Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez has all the makings of a future superstar within the world of boxing. Already a well known figure within Mexico, the pride of Jalisco gave us a glimpse of things to come in America as he stole the show Saturday night as the main support to Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora?s stale main event at the Staples Center.
Knocking out former welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in the sixth round with an explosive two punch combination, Alvarez had the Los Angeles fight crowd buzzing more than any other pugilist on the card.
Today Los Angeles based Golden Boy Promotions signed the twenty-year old Alvarez to a long-term deal, replacing his three-fight deal which was had one bout left.
With Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans looking at Alvarez to carry a torch held by iiconic fistic giants such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Erik Morales, and Salvador Sanchez, Golden Boy Promotion?s matchmaking team has a difficult task before them.
Alvarez?s (34-0-1, 26 KOs) rising star if fueled by boyish good looks, a head full of read hair, decent punching power, but limited foot speed, hand speed, and defensive capabilities.
Even with Baldomir?s clear limitations, the 39 year old veteran was able to land punches with very slow hand speed before being knocked out for the first time in sixteen years by “Canelo”.
Golden Boy?s think tank must now guide Alvarez to stardom without any serious setbacks, while providing him opposition fans will not immediately classify as patsies – a tough task, when you take a good look at the current landscape of Alvarez?s junior middleweight division
Opponents such as Baldomir – old and slow, but with a brand name and track record that made him an acceptable foe for Alvarez – are few and far between. .
A quick glance at the top 25 fighters in the division provides no obvious opponents that can make Saul look good in the ring. If anything the pool is full of fighters that could spell doom for Alvarez?s perfect record and rise to stardom.
It will be interesting to see if Golden Boy?s matchmaking team, which recently added Hall of Fame boxing promoter Don Chargin to its ranks, can carefully guide Alvarez into the highest levels of boxing.
