Whicker: Canelo Alvarez’s obsession with golf hasn’t reduced his drive

3 years ago 371

LAS VEGAS — Having conquered the crippled with the astir organ-busting potential, helium present takes connected the crippled that rearranges the mind.

Canelo Alvarez loves golf the mode helium loves boxing, unconditionally. He’s a glutton for punishment, particularly idiosyncratic else’s.

The champion boxer successful the satellite does not enactment distant the clubs erstwhile grooming campy starts. For 1 thing, his grooming camps seldom end. His 168-pound unification bout with Caleb Plant connected Saturday nighttime is his 3rd quality of 2021. He already has said helium plans to combat 4 times successful 2022.

That mightiness not look similar overmuch to the Willie Pep generation, but it makes Canelo a regular Cal Ripken these days. For instance, this combat volition beryllium his sixth since Keith Thurman answered a competitory bell.

For another, play is not conscionable his getaway hobby. Canelo lone began playing past twelvemonth and, successful May, won the personage part astatine an lawsuit connected with the PGA Tour Champions, successful Greer, South Carolina.

In August, Canelo entered the American Fidelity Classic successful Lake Tahoe, which is the Super Bowl for athletes who see themselves PGA tourists who took a detour. He finished 35th, good up of erstwhile pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who erstwhile teamed with chap Atlanta hurler John Smoltz to triumph the pro-am astatine the AT&T Classic.

“I emotion it,” helium said. “I volition deed balls for 3 hours a day. I’m golfing each day. My handicap is astir 9 oregon 10 close now.

“It’s hard. Sometimes erstwhile I don’t play well, I get mad. But I’m looking guardant to playing a batch much erstwhile I retire. I truly bask those tournaments.”

His authoritative motto is “No Boxing, No Life”, but helium tin besides merchantability you a “No Golf, No Life” headdress if you like.

Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) has targeted 2027 arsenic his perfect status date, erstwhile helium turns 37. If helium wins 3 bouts per twelvemonth until then, his grounds volition beryllium 77-1-2. Muhammad Ali won 56 fights, Marvin Hagler 62, Joe Louis 66.

“This is what I emotion to do,” Canelo said. “I’m successful the gym each the clip anyway, truthful it isn’t hard for me.”

“From being astir him, that’s what makes the biggest content connected me, his passion,” said Hector Lopez, the Santa Ana-based trainer of Ronny Rios and Alexis Rocha.

Six years, of course, is much than capable clip for a superior challenger to surface. At the moment, the lone information to Canelo would beryllium an ill-advised leap toward the incorrect airy heavyweight, specified arsenic Artur Beterbiev.

It’s a prime helium mightiness person to marque to get the wealth helium deserves, successful the aforesaid mode Oscar De La Hoya made the quixotic determination to combat Bernard Hopkins.

He is not inclined to place the task astatine hand, and peculiarly not since Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) insulted his parentage erstwhile the 2 held a property league astatine the Beverly Hilton past month. Canelo popped Plant and opened a tiny chopped nether his oculus and aboriginal said this had abruptly go his “most personal” combat yet.

Asked if helium was acrophobic astir much faceoffs during Fight Week, Canelo shook his head.

“He tried to bash what helium did and it worked retired precise severely for him,” helium said. “He’s a bully fighter. I instrumentality him seriously. He’s got a batch of skill. He has a precise bully chin. And erstwhile we fight, helium is going to request it.”

Canelo emphasized that it has lone taken him 11 months to amass 3 of the 4 168-pound belts. “If it were casual to bash that, a batch much radical would beryllium doing it,” said Canelo, who would beryllium the archetypal Mexican combatant to triumph quadruple straps.

And adjacent though helium hasn’t beaten a genuinely world-class combatant since helium got past Gennady Golovkin successful September of 2018, that’s much of a remark connected boxing than connected Canelo.

Since past Golovkin has reached the boxer’s plateau. The wins travel harder, the stoppage complaint goes down, the grooming becomes much onerous and ineffective. At 31, Canelo remains connected the upswing.

“I spot however relaxed helium is,” Rios said. “He conscionable effortlessly slips the punches. It’s not similar he’s having to torque his full body. He has these small side-steps. He sees the punches coming.”

Someone asked Canelo connected Tuesday if he’d heard Marvin Hagler’s informing astir boxers who get excessively rich. “It’s hard to combat erstwhile you slumber successful silk pajamas,” Hagler said. And Canelo doesn’t contradict himself the carnal comforts.

But helium laughed.

“I inactive emotion this arsenic overmuch arsenic I utilized to,” Canelo said. “Besides, there’s thing incorrect with silk pajamas.”