Canelo Alvarez is 33 years old, and has had 64 professional fights. That represents a lot of miles on the road getting road and an incredible amount of punches, taken and thrown, in a lifetime of preparation.
Alvarez, though, still has the boyish good looks he did in 2019 when he burst onto the scene as this uber prospect from Mexico. His former promoter, Richard Schaefer, frequently would refer to him as "the Mexican James Dean."
He doesn't have the flat nose or scarred forehead of so many of his peers, and you get the impression he'd be quickly hired to walk the runway in the latest Italian suits if that's what he chose to pursue. He knocks heads for a living, though, and is so good at it that there are few external clues about his profession.
On Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he'll once again defend the undisputed super middleweight title, this title against unbeaten countryman Jaime Munguia, in the main event of a card streaming on Prime Video, PPV.com and DAZN. Alvarez is a -525 favorite at DraftKings sports book, with Munguia at +385 on the buyback. The over-under is 10.5, with over favored at -215.
After the histrionics at Wednesday's final news conference, in which Munguia promoter Oscar De La Hoya took shots at Alvarez in a blatant attempt to get inside of Alvarez's ahead, more people might be interested in seeing Alvarez go after De La Hoya rather than Munguia. Alvarez once was promoted by De La Hoya but the two split in 2000 and have been bitter enemies since.
De La Hoya's gambit isn't going to work -- Alvarez is far too tough-minded and professional for that -- but it was worth a shot. If nothing else, it brought attention to a fight that could use it.
Alvarez remains a massive star, and the $90 price for the pay-per-view and the astronomical ticket prices were done in service of paying the hefty salary Alvarez will command.
Alvarez, though, could use a genuine big fight to remind people of how good he truly is. This is a guy who is 60-2-2 whose only losses came in 2013 to Floyd Mayweather and in 2022 to Dmitry Bivol. Mayweather is simply the greatest fighter of his generation and Bivol is a light heavyweight champion who is on nearly every pound-for-pound Top 10 list.
In the last three years, he's already fought seven times, going 6-1 with three knockouts. But he's also been in with the underwhelming likes of Avni Yildirim, John Ryder and Jermell Charlo. And Golovkin was 40 and on his last legs when they fought.
That's not meant as an indictment of Alvarez, who has consistently faced elite opposition in his career. He's already met three men -- Mayweather, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto -- who are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., and Golovkin and Bivol, at the very least, are going to be elected one day among the others he's faced.
“Munguia has power and he’s a good fighter," Alvarez said. "But I’m a strong fighter, too and I’m going to show everyone again on Saturday night. The fight will last as long as it lasts. One thing is for sure: You are not going to want to miss it.”
Munguia is 43-0 with 34 KOs and might be the opponent who can once again draw the greatness out of Alvarez. Alvarez pretty much had it on cruise control in wins over Charlo, who fought as if he was just happy to be there getting a big payday; Ryder, who was way overmatched; and Golovkin, who was at the end of the line.
Alvarez said he feels he can fight at the elite level for at least six or seven more years. That's a long time given the number of fights he's already had, and the wear and tear the preparation takes on his body.
He's a brilliant counter puncher with good defensive skills, though if you took a poll of fans pouring into T-Mobile on Saturday they'd probably tell you he's one of the best offensive fighters of his generation.
He is, in fact, terrific offensively, but we haven't had to see him pushed. He's at his best as he was in his first two bouts with Golovkin, when an equal opponent made him raise his game. Offensively, Munguia is pretty much Alvarez's equal. If his defensive skills have been raised in camp by new trainer Freddie Roach, then Munguia might be the guy who draws out the great version of Alvarez.
It's hard to knock someone out when they don't want to fight and try to be safe, like happened with Charlo, but when you're at the top of the list, those things are nonetheless expected.
An impressive Alvarez win would make a potential future fight against David Benavidez that much bigger.
Munguia might be the guy to bring that beast out of him again.