Santos Saul Álvarez Barragán, better known as Canelo, which translates to ‘cinnamon’ for his fiery red hair, has spiced up the boxing scene since his debut. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1990, this pugilist has clinched world championships across four weight divisions, making him a staple in the Hall of Fame pantry. Canelo unified titles in three divisions and claimed lineal championships in two, notably overpowering Miguel Cotto in 2015 for the WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight crowns. Outside the ring, Canelo’s life is just as sweet, sharing it with his two kids, Emily Cinnamon Alvarez and Mía Ener Álvarez, and his wife, Fernanda Gómez, since 2021. According to Forbes, Canelo is worth at least $275 million!
By Dan Ambrose: The news is official that Saul Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) will be facing former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) on May 6 on HBO pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chavez Jr. apparently accepted the offer that was made to him by Golden Boy Promotions. Whether they sweetened the original offer of $7 million or not is the big question.
By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya took to Twitter on Wednesday, telling Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to sign the contract for the May 6 fight against Golden Boy fighter Saul Canelo Alvarez. De La Hoya was a little more specific than that. He told the 30-year-old Chavez Jr. to stop with the social media posting, and sign for the fight.
Chavez Jr. is reportedly not happy with the money he’s being offered by Golden Boy for the fight against their top money maker Canelo. According to Fight News, Canelo will be getting five times the Chavez Jr. will be receiving for the fight. The offer Chavez Jr. has received is $7 million.
By Allan Fox: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still insisting that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will beat IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin when he finally decides it’s time to face him. Mayweather says that Canelo isn’t ducking the 34-year-old Golovkin despite the evidence appearing to prove that.
Canelo has already vacated his WBC middleweight title to avoid fighting Golovkin in the past. There’s no way you can spin a move like that, because it’s pretty much academic that Canelo ducked Golovkin.
By Dan Ambrose: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) says he’ll beat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez if that fight happens in the future. Right now, Triple G says he sees Canelo as “Nothing,” because all does is talk and talk without putting a signed contract in front of him. Golovkin, 34, says he feels like he’s only 25, so if the idea for Canelo and Golden Boy to wait out until he gets old, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
Golovkin points out that he’s sparred with Canelo in the past, and the Mexican knows who he is from those sparring sessions.
By Jeff Aranow: With the negotiations for the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight still not producing a fight, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) could be facing unbeaten two-time Olympian Kanat Islam (22-0, 18 KOs) potentially at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Cinco de Mayo on May 6 instead, according to Fight News.
This would be a voluntary title defense for Canelo of his WBO junior middleweight strap that he won on September 17 in beating champion Liam Smith.
By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Kenny Porter sees IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) badly beating Golden Boy Promotion’s money fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) when that fight eventually happens one of these days. Porter thinks that Golovkin will totally school the 26-year-old Canelo, and he compares the mismatch in the same way he does with the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo fight from 2013.
Mayweather had a ridiculously easy 12 round decision win over Canelo, who could do little more than throw left hooks that missed by a mile all night long. Canelo looked amateurish in the fight, and he got red in the face and tired very quickly.
By Eric Baldwin: Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is not in a good position to get a fight against Saul Canelo Alvarez right now, according to Jeff Mayweather. He sees Golovkin as an aging fighter that has less going for him than the younger, more popular Canelo Alvarez. Jeff says that Golovkin can scream and yell all he wants to try and get the fight against Canelo, but it’s not going to help him.
Canelo can decide when, where and why the fight with Triple G will take place, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Jeff says that the age clock is ticking with the soon to be 35-year-old Golovkin, and he’s got to be in a real hurry to try and fight the 26-year-old Canelo. He doesn’t have the luxury of waiting on the fight due to his advancing age.
By Dan Ambrose: Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) is already talking about wanting a rematch against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) despite the fact that he’s not gotten past his scheduled opponent for next month in James Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs) on February 25 on HBO PPV.
Cotto, 36, says he wants the best fights, and that if Canelo wants to face him, then he’s ready to fight him again. As far as Cotto is concerned, he beat him in their previous fight in November 2015, and the outcome of the fight was a controversial one.
By Dan Ambrose: Like a lot of boxing fans, James Kirkland says he prefers to see Saul “Canelo” Alvarez face middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in 2017 rather than seeing Canelo fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Canelo’s promoters at Golden Boy are currently in negotiations with Chavez Jr’s manager Al Haymon for a fight on Cinco de Mayo on May 6. Canelo vs. Chavez Jr. is pretty much a mismatch. Chavez Jr. has looked poor in most of his fights since 2012, and he’s not been fighting on a frequent basis in the last five years of his career. Why Golden Boy wants to match Canelo against a non-relevant fighter like Chavez Jr. rather than someone that is active and fighting at a high level is what many boxing fans want to know.
The negotiations don’t seem to be going swimmingly right now, as Chavez Jr. said on Thursday that Canelo is asking for 5 times the purse that he’s been offered. Chavez Jr. has been offered $5 million. We may not see Canelo fight Chavez Jr. OR Golovkin if Golden Boy chooses to lowball both fighters, which appears to be happening. The offer for Golovkin is $15 million. which you can argue is chicken feed for a fight that could bring in over $100 million. If Canelo is getting $75 million and Golovkin just $15 million, you can understand why the fight might not happen.
By Dan Ambrose: Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) is reportedly not pleased with the purse demands from Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the negotiations between them for a fight on May 6. According to Fight News, Canelo wants five times more than Chavez Jr. for the fight, and he feels that’s too much.
The 30-year-old Chavez Jr. is willing to let Canelo take a bigger cut of the revenue, but he feels that he’s been excessive in what he wants for his purse in comparison to his own.
Chavez Jr. said this via Fightnews.com about his negotiations with Canelo: