LAS VEGAS — The past 12 months have been arguably the most trying of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s boxing career.
Despite being boxing’s biggest star, the 28-year-old has constantly had to fend off naysayers who have attempted to discredit him over the years. From his perceived avoidance of Gennady Golovkin for nearly two years to his in-ring style that some have suggested isn’t “Mexican” enough, Canelo has listened as those criticisms grew from whispers to an inaudible roar.
When he attempted to silence his detractors by facing Golovkin last September, those disparagements came to a head. Canelo faced jeers from an alarming number of Mexican fans, who threw their support behind the Kazakh fighter who is known for all-action fights. Rather than engaging in an all-out war — as Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya suggested — the red-headed Mexican opted to use movement and distance in an effort to outpoint Golovkin.
As part of a lineage of all-action Mexican fighters that includes the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Carlos Zarate, Vicente Saldivar, Salvador Sanchez, Ruben Olivares and others, Canelo is expected to participate in a battle of attrition rather than a war of wits. That wasn’t the case against Golovkin – who has dubbed his ruthless aggression as “Mexican style” – as Canelo opted to box rather than fight. Perhaps that was his best route for victory, but it was aesthetically unappealing for the bloodthirsty fans who anticipated a confrontation for the ages.
Many believed that Golovkin did enough to win the fight. However, when it was announced as a split draw, a cascade of boos filled up the T-Mobile Arena. Rather than acquit himself, the derision was magnified. A decent number of fans turned their back on Canelo. And on Mexican Independence Day, no less.
This criticism has been compounded by Alvarez failing a drug test in September, which has — perhaps unjustly — cast doubt over his career. The contentious negotiations for the rematch with Golovkin only made matters worse.
Rather than their September rematch being a respectful battle between boxing’s best, it has dissolved into a prickly feud that has forced fans to pick a side. It’s become so bad that the two fighters have yet to have a staredown since the fight was announced. There was no media tour and the two fighters never shared a room until the final press conference on Wednesday. Even then, what has been a routine staredown after the conference was scrapped due to the animosity between the two fighters.
The shadow of doubt that has been cast over Canelo Alvarez has become just as formidable as his opponent on Saturday. He won’t simply be fighting another man, he’ll be facing uncertainty regarding his place among the greatest Mexican boxers of all-time. Not only that, but the questions surrounding his failed drug test.
“This is the biggest fight of my career,” Alvarez said on Wednesday. “At this moment, he will be the most important opponent of my career.”
Considering that Canelo has already faced the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, the statement carries a great deal of weight. But the key to this is that, what has usually been business in the boxing ring has become extraordinarily personal.
“I don’t know what he wants or what he’s thinking when (Golovkin) says that this is just business,” Alvarez told Sporting News. “For me, this is personal because of all the things he has said. It has served as a great motivation for this fight on Saturday.”
There’s a lot of truth in Canelo’s statement. Most fighters routinely say their next fight is the biggest of their career. But Canelo recognizes what is at stake on Saturday night. A victory should absolve him of recent criticisms. But even that may not be enough to satiate his skeptics. A knockout is what would most definitely eradicate the shadow of doubt that looms large over the middleweight.
For his part, he has promised a knockout of GGG. It’s a lofty task considering that the undefeated Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) has never been knocked down, much less out.
Yet, Canelo stands firm with his prediction.
“I visualize the knockout,” he said. “Every night I go to bed visualizing what I’m going to do to get the knockout. I know it’s going to be tough, but it’s a matter of time.”
Promises of knockouts are taken with a grain of salt in boxing. For every one that is promised, only a mere fraction come to fruition. Nevertheless, Canelo might need a KO more than any other fighter in recent memory, considering the cloud of questions hovering over him.
The two-division world champion is visibly agitated when it comes to these inquiries from media during fight week. The windfall of questions regarding his failed drug test has yet to slow down and are only exasperated by Team Golovkin’s refusal to back off of their claims that Canelo knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
“I’m bothered by this and bothered by the stupid things they say,” Alvarez said. “Maybe they believe what they said to get me mad. I am angry, but I’m going to use it in my favor in this fight. For every action, there’s a reaction. They aren’t going to take me out of my game plan on Saturday night.”
And the suggestion that Canelo ran from GGG in the first fight appears to irk the 28-year-old just as much as the PED allegations. He shakes his head dismissively when the topic is brought up.
“I don’t know what to laugh at and what to get mad about anymore,” he said.
Ultimately, the questions surrounding the rematch have made the Mexican one of the most intriguing fighters the sport has seen since Mayweather decided to hang up the gloves. There are always going to be detractors when a fighter is as popular as Canelo. At the same time, it is impossible to ignore these criticisms. As much as Canelo says that he doesn’t think about the naysayers, the fact is that this absolutely weighs heavily on his psyche.
That shadows of doubt that loom over Canelo has the potential to completely overshadow his previous accomplishments should he end up losing to GGG on Saturday night. The Mexican fans who cheer for Golovkin will bury the idea that Canelo’s name belongs alongside Mexico’s legendary lineage of fighters, while the critics who suggested that Canelo was aided by PEDs in the first fight will have their claims substantiated.
More importantly, Canelo Alvarez will have lost what he has proclaimed as the biggest fight of his career.
But a win will, for the most part, answer those questions. Maybe the idea of “Mexican style” can include fighting smart rather than brawling. Perhaps he truly did eat contaminated meat by accident and has never needed drugs of any kind to beat boxing’s boogeyman. Perhaps the suggestion that he has a place among the all-time greats is validated.
He’s only 28, but Canelo’s legacy is on the line on Saturday night.
“If people want to put me up there as the greatest Mexican boxer of all time, that’s fine,” he said. “But I’m still working on my story and establishing my legacy."
He added: “One thing is true: This fight is going to set up the new stage of my career.”
