CANELO ALVAREZ

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is a Mexican professional boxer who is a four-division world champion and currently holds the WBA, WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine super middleweight titles. Starting his career at 15, Canelo has been in the sport for 15 years and previously signed an 11-fight, $365million deal with DAZN - boxing's most lucrative deal, although he negotiated his release from the deal after three fights toc become a free agent. His first fight on DAZN saw Canelo become a three-division world champion by beating England's Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden in 2018 for the WBA 'regular' super middleweight title. In November 2019, the 30-year-old become just the second Mexican fighter to win a world title at light heavyweight after knocking out Sergey Kovelev in spectacular fashion. Known for his counterpunching and lethal body shots, Canelo won his first world title with victory over Matthew Hatton - younger brother of Ricky - in 2011 at junior middleweight. Successful defences followed with his best win coming against "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Canelo outpointed Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto to win his second world title at middleweight and has since made three successful defences. Canelo is trained by father-and-son Chepo and Eddy Reynoso, who are regarded by many as the best coaches in the world. Alongside him, up-and-coming prospect Ryan Garcia and former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. are part of the Reynoso stable. Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin Rivalry In 2017, the boxing world finally got the fight they wanted between Canelo and Gennadiy Golovkin on Mexican Independence Weekend. Going into the battle, GGG had earned the reputation of being the hardest-hitting middleweight in the world and had made 17 successful defences as a world champion prior to fighting Canelo. In front of a live sold-out crowd of 22, 358, Golovkin dominated the ring but was denied the chance of inflicting a second defeat to Canelo with the scorecards declaring it a split draw (113-115, 114-114, 118-110). Judge Adalaide Byrd received huge criticism for her 118-110 scoring in favour of Canelo. It was deemed by many as a robbery. The rematch would take place 12 months later despite initially being slated to take place in May 2018. The fight got postponed due to Canelo failing a drugs test. He tested positive for clenbuterol and was suspended by the Nevada State of Commission for six months despite pleading his innocence. The build-up was an intense affair with 9,000 fans attending the weigh-in to witness a brawl between both camps. Controversy would follow the second encounter with Canelo claiming a majority decision victory in front of more than 21,000 fans. The rematch generated 1.1 million PPV buys in America - compared to 1.4 million buys for their first bout on HBO. After the controversial scorecards overshadowed their first two meetings, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez finally proved he was the better fighter than his long-term rival Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin in the third fight on Saturday night in Las Vegas. With the unanimous decision, Alvarez wins over Golovkin with no debate and remains the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world. Canelo dominated the fight with defence and a strong combination of wide overhand rights, jabs and left hooks. He makes Golovkin spend the first eight rounds working behind a largely ineffective jab, seemingly digging himself a deep hole on the scorecards. While Alvarez had promised a knockout, he never needed to shift to a higher gear to shoot for the finish, instead working over Golovkin with simple and crisp boxing. The judges unanimously awarded Alvarez the victory on points scoring it 116-112, 115-113, 115-113. Personal Life Álvarez was engaged to Marisol González, who is Miss Mexico Universe 2003 and a sports reporter for Televisa Deportes. In May 2021, Álvarez married his longtime partner Fernanda Gómez in a ceremony at the Guadalajara Cathedral in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has three daughters and one son, all with different women. Álvarez enjoys playing golf; in 2020 he stated his intentions to retire from boxing by age 37 and “dedicate himself to his business and playing golf every day” in retirement. He is also a boxing promoter in Mexico. His company, Canelo Promotions, was established in 2010 and his business partners are his trainers, father-and-son team Chepo and Eddy Reynoso. As of 2013, Canelo Promotions represented 40 boxers throughout Mexico.