I have been a boxing fan for many decades. I remember fondly the glory years of the 70’s, with Ali and Frazier… and then the 80’s with Benitez, Duran, Leonard, Hagler, and Hearns. And of course my hometown megastars Wilfredo Gomez and Wilfredo Benitez.
Back then, the best always faced the best. Fighters who were undefeated remained so, not because they were protecting the zero on the loss column, but because they were good enough to beat the very best. Win-loss records were built on steadily improving opposition. Weight divisions were observed, with little use of catchweights. Boxers’ images were earned, not manufactured.
A lot has changed since then. Boxing, maybe due to a drop in popularity over the years, has attempted to find ways to counteract that drop, and raise its appeal to sports fans in general. Enter Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez.
Canelo began boxing professionally in his home country of Mexico at age 15, in 2005. He was brought along slowly (a huge understatement) against a collection of no-names in the comfort of home (Mexico), amassing a record of 32-0 before facing anyone of any significance in Las Vegas, Nevada. The opponent was José Miguel Cotto, older brother of Miguel Cotto, the former Puerto Rican boxing megastar. José managed to hurt Canelo in the first round of the fight before getting stopped himself.
What followed was a methodical, calculated, careful building of Canelo’s record over the next several years. Canelo’s opponents were always undersized, over-the-hill (old), or just plain inferior, with little to no chance of presenting Canelo with a credible challenge.
Why “undersized” when boxing has previous day weigh-ins? Simple. Because Canelo throughout his career has mastered the technique of making the weight the day before the fight, only to balloon to his normal “walking around” weight of close to 20 pounds over the opponent. Which is one of the reasons I favor “same-day weigh-ins.”
By this time, it was clear to boxing television giants like HBO and Showtime that here we had a handsome Mexican fighter with light skin and red hair, with an impressive (albeit artificially bloated) record to boot. Here was someone who could become the face of boxing, attracting not only the Hispanic and U.S. fans, but including female fans as well. Boxing needed a matinee idol, and Canelo fit the bill perfectly. The career construction was on.
Everything was about the undefeated record. That “0” in the loss column was to be protected at all costs. Canelo began fighting in Las Vegas. He won his first world title in 2011 for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight championship against Matthew Hatton, an opponent in no danger of ever being in the Hall of Fame. The fact that it was the WBC is of significance, as the WBC president at the time was José Sulaiman, a fellow Mexican with a penchant for favoring his countrymen in boxing decisions. Later on this would come into play during many of Canelo’s fights.
In 2013, while still undefeated, Canelo and his fans clamored for a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr., widely regarded as the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world. It turned out to be a miscalculation, as Floyd showed that Canelo had no business in the same boxing ring, turning in a boxing clinic and basically shutting out Canelo through 12 rounds. When the judges’ scoring cards were announced, female judge CJ Ross had incredibly scored the fight a DRAW! Among knowledgeable boxing fans, this is considered the worst boxing scoring card in history. The controversy was enormous, but it was a sign of yet another advantage afforded to the hype machinery that now accompanied Canelo.
After that, Canelo and his promotional team have continued picking and choosing fights and opponents merely to fatten Canelo’s record, and add championship belts at different weights. One of the most glaring examples was in 2018, when Canelo jumped to super middleweight to challenge Rocky Fielding for the WBA title. Rocky Fielding of course being one of the most forgettable champions in history.
There are many more examples. But suffice it to say that Canelo represents all of which I personally dislike in boxing nowadays. A manufactured career, carefully built around weak opponents chosen at the perfect time. A miscalculation against Mayweather cost Canelo his precious “0”, but the cherry-picking (a popular term in boxing) continues unabated. The WBC has made up new championship belts (which by definition have lost their importance) to accommodate Canelo. He seems to be being groomed for stardom beyond boxing. Maybe Hollywood is in his future.
So, although Canelo himself is not a bad fighter… in fact, he is extremely good… the hype surrounding his career have made him more myth than reality, in my book. Opinions in boxing are a dime a dozen. I have shared mine… others are welcome.