LAS VEGAS — The bruising boxing champion from Mexico, the undefeated challenger in the biggest fight of the decade, the square-jawed heir to the mantle of his sport’s crossover superstar, goes by a nickname that translates to “Cinnamon.”
Meet Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the red-haired, 23-year-old slugger who is already an idol in his native land and can become something much more Saturday night when he faces Floyd Mayweather for the WBC junior middleweight title in Las Vegas.
Their megafight — billed simply as “The One” — will challenge the record of 2.15 million pay-per-view buys set when Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 and could be the highest-grossing fight of all time when all is said and counted.
Alvarez’s pale skin, ginger locks and aggressive ring style made him an instant media darling in Mexico. His fights there were certain sellouts. His exploits were extensively chronicled in the press and he dated beauties such as Marisol Gonzalez, a popular Mexican model. His good looks attract a female audience the way De La Hoya — whose namesake promotional company, Golden Boy, has backed Alvarez — once did. And there’s a regal appearance to Alvarez, perpetually poised and in charge.
“He’s the Mexican James Dean,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer once said.
Golden Boy introduced Alvarez to the United States in 2008 and has been smart about marketing him. He has been groomed him for this, his first big pay-per-view.
“The guy is a pro inside of the ring and outside of the ring,” Schaefer said. “I can’t remember any other 23-year-old who is this calm. This is his first pay-per-view headlining and he’s fighting the pound-for-pound king and look at him: calm, cool and collected. He’s saying, ‘I know who I am. I know what I’m going to do. I feel good about it. I’m ready to go and I’m going to win.’ These kind of people usually aren’t denied.”
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Part of the reason Saturday’s fight is so anticipated is the presence of Mayweather, boxing’s brash anti-hero, unbeaten in 44 fights with 26 knockouts.
But it’s also a credit to the rising star of Alvarez, who will be making the seventh defense of his title after winning the vacant belt in 2011. Alvarez will earn close to $12 million — Mayweather is due at least $41.5 million — but that could be just the beginning of the riches Alvarez makes north of the border, inside and outside the ring.
“He’s got the ‘It’ factor,” said Stephen Espinoza, boxing boss of Showtime, which is airing the pay-per-view. “It’s the thing you see when you’re around Oscar De La Hoya. He’s unlike any Mexican fighter that we’ve ever seen.”
For a professional athlete to become fully marketable in the U.S., it’s said he or she needs to speak English. That’s how you communicate with the majority of the American public. Alvarez has been working diligently to learn English.
Espinoza said it shouldn’t be long before Alvarez is comfortable speaking English and comes close to being as big a star stateside as he already is in Mexico.
He didn’t attempt any English during his press conference Wednesday at the MGM Grand, keeping an interpreter close by to translate.
“He’s really at one of the more difficult parts because it’s about confidence now,” Espinoza said. “He has the basics. Now he has to get over the subconscious feeling of speaking. It’s the same with anyone learning a new language. You’ve got the mechanics, you’ve got basic vocabulary. You’ve just got to start doing it.”
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Alvarez’s striking features aren’t the only things that make him in unique among Mexican fighters. His stocky build and devastating punching power make him more of a knockout artist than most of his countrymen. And that has made him a national hero.
Alvarez was born into a boxing family in Jalisco. He the youngest of eight siblings, and each of his six older brothers became pro fighters. Their father was an ice-cream vendor. Money was tight. Boxing was a way to a better life.
It was Chepo Reynoso, Alvarez’s current manager and trainer, who told Golden Boy Promotions he had a 14-year-old amateur who could be special.
“We watched a video and liked what we saw,” said Eric Gomez, Golden Boy’s matchmaker. “We kept an eye on him.”
His résumé may not be as impressive as it might look at first glance — 42-0-1 record and 30 knockouts but reputed to be missing several pro encounters from his teenage years — and certainly can’t compete with Mayweather’s. Alvarez overpowered the lightly regarded Alfonso Gomez and defeated a faded Kermit Cintron to close 2011. In 2012, he beat an aging Shane Mosley and dominated Josesito Lopez, who had moved up two weight classes.
Alvarez’s most impressive win came in April, a 12-round decision over previously unbeaten Austin “No Doubt” Trout before a pro-Canelo crowd exceeding 40,000 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. But Alvarez is 13 years younger than Mayweather, and if he can make the 152-pound limit, Alvarez figures to balloon to 160 pounds by Saturday night, giving him a hefty size advantage.
“I’ve been in some tough fights, and that’s all I can worry about is the fight,” Alvarez said. “Obviously, you always want to fight the best, and at this moment right now Floyd is considered the best and that’s what I’m focused on. I’m focused on becoming the best and how you become the best is you beat the best.”
Alvarez figures to give Mayweather a tough challenge. He has plenty of power and showed some boxing skills against Trout. His task is to use the jab to work Mayweather’s body and take away his legs. It’s the same blueprint every Mayweather opponent has tried to implement, and every single one has failed.
“My counter-punching is going to help,” Alvarez said. “It’s going to be an important factor, but it’s going to be an all-around thing, not just counter-punching. Obviously, pressure as well. Pressure is going to help me in the fight. But smart pressure, going in there not careless, but being very smart about it.”
There are conflicting reports about Alvarez, who normally fights at 154 pounds, having trouble making the special 152-pound limit for Friday’s weigh-in. Alvarez denied he is struggling to make the weight.
“I think that it’s going to be fine,” he said. “I feel very, very good right now, and, in fact, I think it’s going to help me. I’m going to be a lot faster.”
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Mayweather is on the fourth fight of a record-breaking six-fight deal he signed with Showtime/CBS. He is likely to retire when the deal is complete.
The sport needs new stars. Espinoza is hoping, win or lose, Alvarez becomes a bigger star Saturday night.
“Losing to Floyd Mayweather is certainly nothing to be ashamed of,” Espinoza said. “Regardless of what happens, he’s going to acquit himself very well. He’s calm, in focus and incredibly confident. You rarely see a Mayweather opponent as confident as Canelo is.”
If Alvarez can beat Mayweather, he will become an instant superstar and replace Mayweather as the top pound-for-pound boxer on the planet. He will get the red-carpet treatment and reap the riches of pay-per-view.
If he can knock out Mayweather on Saturday night, he may not even need to know English to be one of the biggest stars in sports.