HISTORY IN THE MAKING
ON November 2, 2019, Canelo Álvarez and Sergey Kovalev met in the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to do battle for the World Boxing Organization 175-pound title.
Canelo’s credentials are a matter of record. At age 29, he was boxing’s biggest star and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Early in his career, his red hair had been a much-publicised marketing tool. And because of that, some people were slow to give him his due as a fighter. It was also fashionable in some circles to demean Canelo because his power is sometimes overshadowed by his finesse. This, critics said, was a betrayal of his Mexican roots (“He’s not a Mexican style fighter”). Bart Barry rebutted that notion, writing, “Mexican prizefighters do not wish to get struck in the face any more than any other type of prizefighter does.”
Canelo spoke to the same point, saying, “In boxing, you have to take care of yourself. I haven’t had as many wars as others have had. But there is no need for you to let yourself take a beating and to be bloody to be a great fighter. I am not going to stop what I’m doing to get all bloody and get knocked down all over the place if I have no need to.”
Elite fighters have self-belief. Canelo believes in himself and radiates quiet confidence without the loud bravado often associated with boxing. He has the mindset of a fighter and is fundamentally sound with speed, power, and a solid chin. When speaking in public, he chooses his words carefully and keeps his guard up in interviews as he does in the ring.
Prior to fighting Kovalev, Canelo
