He is just seven months beyond his teenage years, but Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has already fought professionally 36 times. He has yet to taste defeat.
Alvarez, 20, the red-haired, freckle-faced Mexican sensation, will work on fight No. 37 Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., for the vacant WBC super welterweight title (HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET).
His opponent is England’s Matthew Hatton, the younger, less famous brother of former world champion Ricky Hatton.
By Sunday, Alvarez (35-0-1, 26 KOs) might be a world champion and still not be legally able to buy a drink to celebrate.
Alvarez, whose nickname “Canelo” means cinnamon in Spanish, has two priorities: He wants to learn to speak English and wants to become as popular in the USA as he is in his boxing-crazy country, where he has attained rock-star status.
He plans to fight most of the time in the USA.
“He’s learning English, he’s doing all it takes to become the whole package,” says Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Alvarez. “He does want to go back to Mexico to fight at least once every two or three years, but his career will be here in the states.”
Says Alvarez: “I want to fight here as much as I can because I want to become a superstar. But I don’t want to forget where I come from.”
The youngster has set the bar high ? he wants to become the best ever, not just the best from Mexico. A tall order indeed, considering the many great Mexican boxers who’ve come before him, such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, Carlos Zarate, Marco Antonio Berrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Yet, with so many fights at such a tender age ? he turned pro at 15 ? is there concern for burnout or wearing down?
Alvarez shrugs off the notion.
“I have a love for boxing,” he said Wednesday. “I started late. I had 45 amateur fights, and I was able to win two national titles in those three years as an amateur. I love brawling, but I’m a smart fighter. I just love what I do. I’m not worried about any burnout.”
There is also some concern that while Alvarez has plenty of power behind those punches, perhaps his footspeed and handspeed are not there yet.
No less an authority than former six-time world champion De La Hoya is not concerned in the least.
“I just saw him train yesterday,” De La Hoya said Wednesday. “I was very impressed with his speed, his hands, his footwork, his chin is improving every single fight. That’s what has really impressed me, every fight he’s progressing. Saturday night, he’s fighting for his first world title and that’s just the beginning for him.”
Alvarez comes from an all-boxing family from Guadalajara. All six of his brothers are fighters.
The night Alvarez defeated current IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez on June 28, 2008 in Jalisco, Mexico, all seven brothers fought on the same card. The historic night was called “The Night of the Alvarezes.” Four of them won, while the younger three, making their pro debuts, all lost.
The 154-pound title Alvarez and Hatton (41-4-2, 16 KOs) will fight for is the one Manny Pacquiao vacated after beating Antonio Margarito last November. Pacquiao will stay at welterweight (147 pounds).
The Alvarez-Hatton bout was originally contracted to be fought at a catchweight of 150 pounds, a concession to Hatton, a natural 147-pounder.
But the WBC, criticized for too many catchweight title fights, changed it back to the normal super welterweight limit of 154 pounds, causing Ricky Hatton, now a promoter, to initially urge his brother to pull out of the fight.
Matthew Hatton (41-4-2, 16 KOs), hasn’t pulled out yet, and says, “I’ve been waiting my entire career to fight for a world title. Opportunities mean nothing if you don’t take them,” says Hatton. “I’ve prepared well, trained harder than ever and I’m capable of winning. ? I am ready to bring the belt back with me to Manchester.”
Alvarez has other ideas. “It’s going to be a tough fight but I’m going to demonstrate my abilities in the ring,” he said Thursday. “Hatton’s a great warrior but the title is going home with me to Mexico.”
Alvarez is coming off victories against two aging veterans ?Lovemore N’dou and Carlos Baldomir, both 39, who have a combined 38 years and 127 pro fights between them. Alvarez finished Baldomir off with a sixth-round KO at Staples Center in Los Angeles last September, and scored a unanimous decision over N’dou in Mexico in December.
With a 20-year-old kid who is a major celebrity in his country, and has dated Miss Mexico Universe, there must be concern on De La Hoya’s part about his young protege finding trouble or being too distracted to concentrate on his career, right?
Not so, says De La Hoya.
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders, he’s a very serious guy, and he takes
boxing seriously,” says De La Hoya. “He doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t go out to parties or have many friends.
“He wants to do big things, and when you hear him talk, he talks about being the best ever, so I’m sure that with all his hard work and with our guidance he can get there.
“Because he is talented, he has that following, and that charisma, we feel confident he’ll stay on the right path.”
