Canelo Alvarez is one of boxing’s great rags-to-riches stories. Unfortunately, he does not think that a top young phenom is approaching the sport with the same energy.
The four-division world champion spoke this week with Adam Caparell of Complex Sports and had a sharp criticism of lightweight star Ryan Garcia. Alvarez is a mentor figure to Garcia, who trains at the same gym and shares the same trainer, Eddy Reynoso.
“Look, Ryan has a lot of talent,” said Alvarez. “But to me in my eyes, he’s wasting a lot of time and wasting his talent. I look at him and don’t see him 100 percent dedicated and, to us, that’s a bad signal. We always remind him as a team to come to the gym, to train, and to learn because you need to be in the gym.
“You’re learning day-by-day, at the very minimum fighting five times a year,” Alvarez continued. “When I was beginning my career, I did 15 fights in one year. That’s where I was at the beginning of my career. So definitely he needs to be a little more dedicated.”
The 23-year-old Garcia is a perfect 21-0 to this point of his five-year boxing career with 18 knockouts. But he has fought just three times in the last two years and counting. That pales in comparison to Alvarez, who had 35 fights in his first five years. Garcia also has a strong following on social media and often focuses on posting viral workout videos, which many see as a negative.
Granted, Garcia recently took time away from the ring because of mental health issues and is slated to face Joseph Diaz Jr. in his comeback bout on Nov. 27. But with boxing quickly taking a turn for the worse, Alvarez might be hoping to light a fire under the young guy who could help save the sport.
Photo: Golden Boy Promotions
