"Literally within 30 seconds, I knew I was in with someone very special," Hatton - who lost on points - said. He said he wanted to be a great fighter but never felt he would scale to this level."Īlvarez won his first world title at light-middleweight against Briton Matthew Hatton in 2011. "He didn't even realise he would be this famous. I'm not into this social media.' Within a year, he had his own team to handle social media. "I remember once were in a training camp and I told him to open a Facebook account, because that's the thing everyone is doing now," Balderas says. On Saturday more than 50,000 will attend Alvarez's homecoming, taking place over Mexico's Cinco De Mayo celebration weekend.īut the fighter nor his team were not prepared for the level of fame he has attained. He didn't need to tell anyone how good he is." 'I could tell within 30 seconds he was special' "There was a level of security and confidence, a sense of knowing what he had to do, but there was no ego. What caught my attention was that he was very keen. Trejos adds: "I met him in California when he was 18 or 19. "He was a young guy and was sparring with the likes of Oscar Larios, who was a world champion who even fought Manny Pacquiao." "Straight away, you could see he was special," Balderas says. He was persuaded to continue by his friends and family. He was earning up to $40 (£32) for his fights, relying on ticket sales for the rest of his purse. His main motivation was to not suffer financially."Īlvarez is now he world's fifth-richest athlete, but he almost walked away from the sport early in his career. So he suffered himself by taking those long hours, sometimes two hours on a bus or train, just to go to the gym and train. "He had to find an apartment, walk away from school while working in the ice cream parlour and fighting just to make ends meet."īalderas adds: "When his daughter was born, he didn't want her to suffer. "Canelo understood he had to take responsibility and provide for them," Trejos says. Outside of the ring, however, his life took an unexpected twist the following year when his then-girlfriend became pregnant. He wanted to learn everything he could from the older fighters." The 15-year-old pro who became a teenage dadĪlvarez turned professional two years later, aged 15. "Even at that age, he was so focused on boxing. "He was a very polite, quiet and nice kid," he says. Journalist Kiko Baldares, who has worked for Team Canelo, recalls their first meeting. Inspired by his older siblings who all boxed, at 13 he found haven in father-son duo Jose 'Chepo' and Eddy Reynoso's gym. He would get off school and go sell ice creams."Īlvarez had ambitions. "Canelo comes from a very small suburb of Guadalajara," boxing broadcaster and analyst Claudia Trejos says. The Alvarez tale could sit easily alongside those two. He went on to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time. Mike Tyson resorted to theft from the age of 10 to survive the dangers of Brownsville, Brooklyn. Manny Pacquiao, the eight-division champion from the Philippines, escaped a life of hardship on the streets of Manila, selling bread and later working as a janitor to make ends meet. A quiet kid sparring world champions Alvarez has won 58 fights, with two losses and two draws, since turning professional in 2005īoxing has a long history of rags-to-riches success stories. The Alvarez story is as inspiring as it is remarkable. He has gone from selling ice creams on a bus to selling out stadiums. The teenager bullied for his red hair and freckles has grown to become world boxing's hottest property. I'm happy to be part of this history in my own town," 32-year-old Alvarez, who will fight Mexico for the first time since 2011, says. 'The King is coming home' is the strapline for the bout as fight fever hits the historic city in the state of Jalisco, home to tequila and mariachi music, harder than a trademark Alvarez body shot.
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