Demetrius Andrade vs. Canelo Alvarez: When trash talking crosses the line

By Boxing News - 02/18/2015 - Comments

canelo678By Jermill Pennington: Yesterday I had an article posted that had Demetrius Andrade (21-0 14ko) the current WBO super welterweight champion tearing in to Canelo Alvarez for choosing to fight James Kirkland this coming May. Andrade went on a tirade when asked about the current situation with Alvarez’s choice of Kirkland for his upcoming fighting calling Alvarez a “b!+@&” several times. Andrade in my estimation seemed to be doing a bit more then trash talking, these assertions made towards Alvarez seemed to have a personal undertone to them.

To be clear I am one who loves trash talk, especially in a sport where two mean punch each other for 36 minutes. However I do believe there’s a line you can cross that separates talking trash in a sportsman like fashion to insulting a man personally. It was said that Ali crossed the line leading in to the first fight with Frazier calling him ugly and a gorilla. Frazier seemed to be scared by those comments to the point that he seemed to take pride in Ali’s current condition once saying on camera “look what I did to him”.

I for one believe Andrade crossed that line by a long shot. Today the Adrien Broners of the world are known for their trash talking but has never gone as far as to call another man the “B” word. Andrade prefixed the comment by saying “I usually don’t say this about men who step in the ring”. That right there lets you know that what Andrade said wasn’t a rant, rather an expression of how he truly feels.

For Canelo I understand the business, he has to go after the most lucrative bouts that can be had and that benefit him. One can say that Canelo has paid his dues for the time being fighting Erislandy Lara when he didn’t have to and wasn’t advised. In the same breathe we can say that is why Canelo has his place amongst boxing fans. For taking fights that aren’t necessarily good for his career rather because you just don’t like the other guy and you want to shut him up. I can speak for self when I say I gained a tremendous amount of respect for Canelo taking on Lara. But like Mayweather, when you wear hats that say “BEST” that hat becomes a crown and rivaling contenders want nothing more than to knock it off.

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At the end of the day if I were Canelo I don’t let what Andrade said go unaddressed. Andrade crossed the line of talking trash to disrespecting a man personally. Not saying Canelo should eliminate Kirkland and replace him with Andrade. However, I do believe Canelo letting Andrade know in some way he hears him is needed. This isn’t the first time Andrade has made it clear that he would love to fight Canelo and bad blood should be in the water between the two. I have no doubt in the future we will see this fight.

For Canelo he has a lot guy after his scalp that don’t seem to be impressed by him or afraid in the least bit. Fighters seem to share the sentiment of anti Canelo fans that he’s been given a silver spoon and able to ride Oscars coat tail to big fights. The next 1-3 years for Canelo will tell the story, sooner than later he will have to fight the new generation of fighter coming that he’s truly apart of.



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