Canelo Alvarez is honored by Ring Magazine
Listen to this articleFor the second time in his career, unified middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) received Ring Magazine’s Middleweight World Title, an award given to the fighter whom is believed to be the best in the 160-pound weight class by the magazine’s Editorial Board.
In addition to the prestigious belt, Ring Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Douglass Fischer, also presented Alvarez with the Pound-For-Pound Championship belt during the special ceremony held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Canelo Alvarez will one day be enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame,” said Fischer.
“The lineage of the Ring Magazine Championship belt goes back to Jack Dempsey. The greatest fighters of every era held the Ring Magazine Title. The Pound-For-Pound Title was created in 1993, and it was presented to Pernell Whitaker after his controversial draw against Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr.
This is brilliant company that Canelo joins. The belt was with Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins,” added Fischer.
This week has proven to be an eventful one for the 28-year-old native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Earlier this week, Alvarez signed a five-year, 11-fight deal worth $365 million with DAZN, a fledgling sports subscription video streaming service owned by Perform Group.
The massive deal marks the richest athlete contract in sports history, surpassing the $325 million dollar deal that Yankee slugger, Giancarlo Stanton, signed in 2014 with the Miami Marlins.
Upon receiving his belts, a seemingly grateful Alvarez had many to thank for his accomplishments.
“I want to thank God, my team, and my family. I want to thank Golden Boy as well. Having a belt like this is a responsibility, and this is a responsibility that I plan to undertake, said Alvarez.
“I never imagined that my success would reach this magnitude. This just shows that with discipline, hard work and love for the sport, one can achieve anything. A lot has changed in one year. It’s been a big change. I’m going to defend this title with honor. See you all on December 15.”
After his win over Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, Canelo, who holds the WBC, WBA and lineal middleweight world titles will look to capture a world title in a third division against WBA Super Middleweight World Champion Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday, December 15 at Madison Square Garden.
The 12-round main event will be streamed live on DAZN.
Ring Magazine also recognized Canelo’s trainer, Eddie Reynoso, with a special trainer’s version of the belt named in honor of Efren Torres, a former Ring title holder and descendant of Reynoso’s wife.
Alvarez starts training camp next week with trainers Chepo and Eddy Reynoso for the Dec. 15 fight.
Following the awards ceremony, Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO, addressed the recent unsportsmanlike comments made by former boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather, regarding Canelo’s mega-deal with DAZN.
“It was more a jab at me,” revealed De La Hoya, “He’s trying to take away the attention from the incredible, lucrative contract that Canelo received from DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions.
“Just stay under your rock. That’s it. Let Canelo have his glory,” said De La Hoya.
Photos by Claudia Gestro
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An avid sports fan, Brenda grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers and Kings. In her spare time she enjoys wandering through LA in search of the best burger in town, frequenting concerts, running 5K’s, dominating in Super Shot Basketball, and spending time with her four brothers. Raised in the Inland Empire, Brenda has previously written for The Press-Enterprise, in addition to their Spanish sister publication, La Prensa. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Communications and Spanish from Cal State San Bernardino.
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