Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez

A Mexican fan favorite who was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on July 18, 1990, Saul Canelo Alvarez certainly comes from a boxing family. He’s the youngest of eight children, and all of the seven boys went on to become professional boxers. He got his nickname, Canelo, from his red hair.

He began training when he was 13, inspired after seeing his brother’s debut. Within a year, he was taking silver in the Junior Mexican National championships. At the same championships the next year, he became the champion. However, his trainers were having trouble finding anyone who wanted to fight him, so shortly after his championship he turned pro at only 15 years old. His amateur career ended with a record of 44-2.

His first professional fight was against Abraham Gonzalez on October 29, 2005, and he won it by TKO in the fourth round. He followed that up with a KO in round two against Pablo Alvarado, and then a split decision victory against Miguel Vazquez. After a first-round KO against Pedro Lopez, he fought Jorge Juarez and the fight was ruled a split draw.

Alvarez followed the draw up with a streak of eight consecutive wins by either KO or TKO, running his record to 12-0-1. He was staying active, and his trainers have said that he actually had an additional 10 KOs during that time span, but the small shows where he was fighting didn’t have very good recordkeeping. Regardless, he was fighting and dominating fighters much older than himself, demonstrating superstar potential. He was also staying active, as he would have seven official fights per year from 2006 to 2009.

After a unanimous decision victory over Christian Solano, he earned a shot at the Jalisco welterweight title on August 31, 2007 against Ricardo Cano. He easily took the fight after 12 rounds by unanimous decision. His next opportunity at a title was a few fights later on April 18, 2008, and he stopped Gabriel Martinez in 10 rounds to win the WBA Fedecentro welterweight title.

With three years of fighting in Mexico under his belt, he took his first trip to the United States on October 24, 2008 to face Larry Mosley in Cabazon, California. He won a clear unanimous decision after 10 rounds. His next fight was a month and a half later in Miami, Florida, and it didn’t last long, as he scored a TKO against Raul Pinzon in just one round.

Although his level of competition was increasing from relatively unknown fighters to more skilled boxers, Saul Canelo Alvarez was also improving. In the tradition of Mexican fighters, he liked to come forward and was adept at working both the body and head, particularly with his dangerous left hook. However, he was more than just a swarmer, as he also possessed sound defense, particularly in his ability to roll with punches.

During a string of victories, he picked up the NABF, WBO Latino and WBC Youth welterweight titles, along with the WBC Silver light middleweight title. With his record at 34-0-1, he took on the highly regarded Carlos Baldomir, who said he would knock out the young Mexican fighter. The exact opposite occurred, as Saul took out Baldomir in the sixth round, knocking him out cold in an electrifying performance.

After a unanimous decision win over Lovemore N’dou, he got his first world title shot for the WBC light middleweight title against Matthew Hatton. He dominated the proceedings and took a clear unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 119-108. He would then make five defenses of the belt, with TKO victories over Ryan Rhodes, Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron, a unanimous decision against Shane Mosley and another TKO against Josesito Lopez. That set up a fight against Austin Trout with the WBC, WBA and The Ring light middleweight titles on the line. While Trout came in with a smart strategy and fought well, Alvarez put him down for the first time in his career with a seventh round knockdown and ended up taking a somewhat-close unanimous decision.

That set up a super fight between Saul Canelo Alvarez and one of the greatest fighters of all time in Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was moving back up in weight. It took place on September 14, 2013, and many felt that the younger fighter would give Mayweather one of his tougher tests, although few picked him to actually win. While the fight wasn’t action packed, it ended up being a great contest between two highly skilled fighters. Mayweather ended up taking a majority decision, with the scorecards reading 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114. Some observers felt that Mayweather won by a wide margin, while others thought that people were being swayed by Mayweather’s ability to always appear in control of the fight, even when an opponent is giving him trouble. Some analysts thought the fight was actually very close, and that people weren’t noticing Alvarez’s solid punches and defense. The fight certainly cemented the Mexican fighter as not just a star in his country but a star worldwide, as it sold 2.2 million pay-per-views.

Alvarez got back to his winning ways with a TKO of Alfredo Angulo, but then he looked subpar in his next fight, winning a split decision against Erislandy Lara. He erased the memory of that poor performance with a brutal third-round KO of James Kirkland, and followed that up with a solid unanimous decision victory over Miguel Cotto, where he won the WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles.

He defended those belts against Amir Khan on May 7, 2016. While he had some trouble with Khan’s slick movement and jab in the early stages of the fight, he ended up finding his rhythm in the sixth round and landed a devastating right hand that put Khan to sleep. In his next fight, he took on Liam Smith for the WBO light middleweight title. He was in control from the very beginning, then scored knockdowns in rounds seven and eight before finishing Smith with a left hook to the body in the ninth round.

What is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's Record?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's record currently stands at 58 wins, 2 loses and 2 draws. Of those 58 wins he has stopped 39 of his opponents, so his current knock-out ratio is 67%. Despite his 2 loses, he has never been stopped. He's boxed a total of 460 rounds, meaning his professional fights last 7.4 rounds on average.

What was Canelo's last fight?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's last fight took place against Gennady Golovkin's on 17th Sep 2022, in Las Vegas, United States. He won by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. That fight was 15 days ago.

How active is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez?

Canelo's last 5 fights have come over a period of 1 year, 7 months and 5 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 3 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 46 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 9.2 rounds on average.

What belts does Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez hold?

He currently holds the The Ring Super Middleweight, WBC Franchise Middleweight, WBO World Super Middleweight, IBF World Super Middleweight, WBC World Super Middleweight and WBA Super World Super Middleweight championships.

He won The Ring Super Middleweight, a vacant WBC World Super Middleweight and WBA Super World Super Middleweight belts against Callum Smith, beating him by unanimous decision after 12 rounds on 19th December 2020. He has held these belts for a total of 652 days (1 year, 9 months and 14 days) and has 3 defences on the The Ring, 4 defences on the WBC and 4 defences on the WBA.

He currently holds the WBC Franchise Middleweight belt, having been promoted from a secondary belt on 27th June 2019. He has held this belt for a total of 1193 days (3 years, 3 months and 5 days) and is yet to make a defence of the belt. He is yet to make a mandatory defence of this belt.

He won WBO World Super Middleweight belt against Billy Joe Saunders, beating him by technical knockout in the 8th round on 8th May 2021. He has held this belt for a total of 512 days (1 year, 4 months and 25 days) and has defended the belt 2 times. He is yet to make a mandatory defence of this belt.

He won IBF World Super Middleweight belt against Caleb Plant, beating him by knockout in the 11th round on 6th November 2021. He has held this belt for a total of 330 days (10 months and 26 days) and has defended the belt 1 time. He is yet to make a mandatory defence of this belt.

Where is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez From?

Canelo was born in Mexico.

How Old Is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez?

The super middleweight is currently 32 years old. He was born on 18th July 1990, so he will turn 33 in 9 months and 16 days.

How long has Canelo been fighting?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez made his professional debut in October 2005, so he has been a pro for 16 years and 11 months.

How tall is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez?

Canelo is 5' 9" (5 Foot and 9 inches) which is 175cm (1 meter and 75 centimeters).

What is Canelo's Reach?

His reach is 70.5 inches (70.5") which is 179 cm (1 meter and 79 centimeters).

What stance does Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez use?

Canelo fights from a traditional orthodox stance, which means he favours his right hand as his power hand when fighting.

What are some potential opponents for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez?

Some potential future fights for Canelo include Unified Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, Joe Smith Jr, Demetrius Andrade and David Benavidez.

What will be Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's Next Fight?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez doesn't currently have a fight scheduled.

Some potential future fights for Canelo include Unified Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, Joe Smith Jr, Demetrius Andrade and David Benavidez.

How can I stream Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's Fights?

In the UK you can usually stream Canelo's fights on DAZN PPV UK.

In the US you can usually stream Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's fights via DAZN PPV.

What are some recent Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez results?

Canelo has beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight, he beat Gennady Golovkin on 17th September 2022 by unanimous decision in their The Ring Super Middleweight, WBC World Super Middleweight, WBA Super World Super Middleweight and IBF World Super Middleweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Dmitry Bivol on 7th May 2022 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beat Caleb Plant on 6th November 2021 by knockout in the 11th round in their WBC World Super Middleweight, WBA Super World Super Middleweight, IBF World Super Middleweight and WBO World Super Middleweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Nevada.

Before that, he had won against Billy Joe Saunders on 8th May 2021 by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBC World Super Middleweight, WBA Super World Super Middleweight, WBO World Super Middleweight and The Ring Super Middleweight championship fight at AT&T Stadium, Arlington.

He had beat Avni Yildirim on 27th February 2021 by technical knockout in the 3rd round in their WBC World Super Middleweight, WBA Super World Super Middleweight and The Ring Super Middleweight championship fight at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez Stats

Age	Date Of Birth	Nationality	Height	Reach	Stance	Weight Division
32	July 18, 1990	Mexico	175 cm	179 cm	orthodox	Super Middleweight (168 lb)

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez Record

Professional Record	Wins	Wins By KO	Knockout Percentage	Losses	Losses By Stoppage	Draws	Pro Rounds	Debut
58-2-2	58	39	67%	2	0	2	460	2005

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez Recent Contests

Date	Opponent	Result	Venue
2022-09-17	Gennady Golovkin	Won (UD 12)	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, United States
2022-05-07	Dmitry Bivol	Lost (UD 12)	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, United States
2021-11-06	Caleb Plant	Won (KO 11)	MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Nevada, United States
2021-05-08	Billy Joe Saunders	Won (TKO 8)	AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, United States
2021-02-27	Avni Yildirim	Won (TKO 3)	Hard Rock Stadium, Florida, United States
2020-12-19	Callum Smith	Won (UD 12)	Alamodome, Texas, United States
2019-11-02	Sergey Kovalev	Won (TKO 11)	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, United States
2019-05-04	Daniel Jacobs	Won (UD 12)	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States
2018-12-15	Rocky Fielding	Won (TKO 3)	Madison Square Garden, New York, United States
2018-09-15	Gennady Golovkin	Won (MD 12)	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States
2017-09-16	Gennady Golovkin	Draw (SD )	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States
2017-05-06	Julio Cesar Chavez Jr	Won (UD 12)	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States
2016-09-17	Liam Smith	Won (KO 9)	AT&T Stadium, Texas, United States
2016-05-07	Amir Khan	Won (KO 6)	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States
2015-11-21	Miguel Cotto	Won (UD 12)	Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, United States
2015-05-09	James Kirkland	Won (KO 3)	Minute Maid Park, Houston, United States
2014-07-12	Erislandy Lara	Won (SD 12)	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States
2014-03-08	Alfredo Angulo	Won (TKO 10)	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States
2013-09-14	Floyd Mayweather Jr	Lost (MD 12)	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States