Atlas thinks Saul Alvarez is too cautious in the ring

By Dan Ambrose: ESPN2 boxing analyst Teddy Atlas was less than complimentary of unbeaten WBA junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez after watching Alvarez defeat Britain’s Ryan Rhodes recently. Instead of pouring praise on the young 20-year-old Alvarez or at least acknowledging out how good Alvarez is for someone so young, Atlas pointed out last night on Friday Night Fights that Alvarez seems to be too careful in the way he fights and seems to lack passion.

Here is some of what Atlas said about Alvarez: “Alvarez is more of a careful guy. It’s not bad, it’s just different. He’s very selective with what he does. He has good hand speed, he’s a concise puncher, he’s a sharp puncher. He even goes to the body pretty well. But he’s a little more careful than most of the Mexican fighters have been in the past, the great ones.”

I can see some of what Atlas says, but I disagree with him because Alvarez didn’t have an opponent in front of him that was really giving him any problems with the 34-year-old Rhodes. Alvarez seems to be one of those fighters that only comes to life when he’s met with adversity. If he’s facing someone that is just there to survive, as Rhodes appeared to be, Alvarez is comfortable with just coasting to a one-sided win. He’s not going to push himself to annihilate his opponent the way that a lot of fighters do. Atlas sees it as a situation where Alvarez is being too careful, but I think he needs someone that is pushing him in order to bring out the best in him.

Rhodes was almost like a sparring partner and I don’t blame Alvarez for taking it easy in this fight. When you have an opponent that isn’t really doing anything, it can be hard to get motivated enough to push it up a gear to take them out. However, you saw what Alvarez can do in the 12th when Rhodes finally came to life for the first time in the fight and came out throwing hard shots trying to score a knockout. Alvarez was like a completely different fighter as he retaliated with a massive flurry of shots that ended with the fight being stopped after Alvarez had hurt Rhodes.

I believe Alvarez will look a lot better when he’s put in with quality fighters like Alfredo Angulo and Kermit Cintron, guys that are looking to beat him and not just last out the fight.