{"id":293217,"date":"2011-03-03T23:19:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T23:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/03\/fast-rising-alvarez-still-has-much-to-prove-yahoo-sports\/"},"modified":"2011-03-03T23:19:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-03T23:19:00","slug":"fast-rising-alvarez-still-has-much-to-prove-yahoo-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/fast-rising-alvarez-still-has-much-to-prove-yahoo-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Fast-rising Alvarez still has much to prove (Yahoo! Sports)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Mexico\u2019s Saul Alvarez may indeed become boxing\u2019s next superstar. He may one day live up to the predictions of greatness that some in the industry predict for him.<\/p>\n

Alvarez fights Matthew Hatton in the main event of an HBO-televised card on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., in a battle for the World Boxing Council super welterweight championship.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost as if the WBC wants to declare Alvarez, a red-headed 20-year-old, its champion by proclamation. It was typical sanctioning-body chicanery to open the 154-pound belt so that Alvarez and Hatton could fight for it and, more importantly to the Mexico-based WBC, so Alvarez could win it.<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

Saul Alvarez faces Matthew Hatton for the WBC super welterweight title on Saturday.
(Jae C. Hong\/AP Photo)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Alvarez almost certainly will defeat Hatton on Saturday. Hatton, like his brother, Ricky, is a hard-nosed kid who never quits, but he\u2019s far from the most gifted man in the division. Alvarez should have enough to handle him and claim the tainted title.<\/p>\n

It would be quite an accomplishment for a guy four months shy of his 21st birthday to win a world championship. But let\u2019s take a deep breath before we declare this guy the game\u2019s next superstar.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s only 20 and hasn\u2019t faced a single quality fighter who was remotely close to his prime. He\u2019s done well against more experienced opponents, and that bodes well, but knocking out a slow, faded, long-over-the-hill Carlos Baldomir doesn\u2019t make one a star or, to be honest, anything remotely close to it.<\/p>\n

I hope<\/i> this kid becomes a star. Lord knows, boxing needs it. Boxing needs guys with his kind of charisma who can fight \u2013 and sell tickets. Alvarez is a massive star already in Mexico and draws mind-blowing television ratings there. But outside of Mexico and, perhaps, the Southwestern U.S., Alvarez is a virtual unknown. He\u2019s had nearly no television exposure here and means nothing to the rank-and-file sports fan who may stop on HBO on Saturday while channel surfing.<\/p>\n

Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya has long been one of the most popular boxers in the world and is an iconic figure in Mexico. But De La Hoya, who is usually the biggest star in every room he enters, said his fame in Mexico pales to Alvarez\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The weigh-in for Alvarez\u2019 last fight, on Dec. 4 in Veracruz, Mexico, against Lovemore N\u2019Dou, was outside. De La Hoya, who was promoting the fight, planned to attend but was advised to ride in a separate car from Alvarez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been through it, and I told them not to worry,\u201d De La Hoya said. \u201cI knew fans were going to get all crazy and looking for autographs and pictures. I was ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

De La Hoya, though, wasn\u2019t ready for the reception that Alvarez received. Alvarez was swarmed by a humongous mob, while De La Hoya was largely left alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cReality hit me at that moment and I realized, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m seeing the next big thing right here in front of me,\u2019\u00a0\u201d De La Hoya said.<\/p>\n

Boxing\u2019s biggest stars \u2013 De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali \u2013 all have shared a similar set of attributes: They were undeniably popular, and they were all great in the ring. That combination of talent, charisma and desire made them larger-than-life characters.<\/p>\n

Alvarez needs to prove himself in the ring. De La Hoya insists he\u2019s the goods \u2013 \u201cHe does things up in that ring that I couldn\u2019t imagine doing as a 19-year-old,\u201d the Golden Boy said.<\/p>\n

But De La Hoya has a vested interest in that statement.<\/p>\n

By the time De La Hoya, Tyson, Leonard and Ali were 36 fights into their careers, they were established superstars who had each had defining fights. Alvarez is 35-0-1, and his defining fight at this stage is a knockout of a never-that-great 39-year-old Baldomir.<\/p>\n

By the time Ali had 36 fights, he\u2019d already had four wins over Hall of Famers.<\/p>\n

Alvarez dismisses the criticism and insists that time is his ally. He\u2019s eager to fight the big names and said he\u2019ll prove himself against Hatton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t get motivated by proving critics wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cI do it for myself. I go in that ring. I want to win for myself. That\u2019s the most important thing. Yes, I\u2019m motivated. It\u2019s a little more motivation, fighting for the world title, but I don\u2019t care about what they say about me, or the criticism. I just go in there to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Give the young man credit. He goes in to win, and he has. While he has wins only over faded veterans or second-rate talents, he still has won. But it\u2019s just not fair to anoint him a star just yet. He has a long way to go before he reaches that point.<\/p>\n

And while he\u2019ll essentially be gifted a title on Saturday if he defeats Hatton, it will at least be the start. Because if Alvarez wins the belt, presumably he\u2019ll be forced to fight the top names of the division.<\/p>\n

I hope De La Hoya is correct. I hope that Alvarez catches on with the American public the way De La Hoya did nearly two decades earlier. And I hope that Alvarez turns out to be the equal, or the superior, of De La Hoya as a fighter.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s a long way from being anywhere near that caliber at this stage.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s no star yet, no matter what folks say or what belt may be given him. If he becomes a star, he\u2019ll have to do it by fighting his way to the top.<\/p>\n

In this sport, there\u2019s no other way.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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