Canelo Alvarez today is one of the biggest stars in pro boxing. A pound-for-pound king who has fought some of the best fighters of his time, Alvarez is known for his unparalleled IQ in the ring. He was only 23 when, in 2013, inside the MGM Grand Garden Las Vegas, he fought a 36-year-old and fully developed Floyd Mayweather. Prior to his fight with Mayweather, Alvarez fought the likes of Shane Mosley, Jose Miguel Cotto, Josesito Lopez, and Austin Trout. In addition, he maintained an unbeaten record at the time of facing ‘TBE’.
Recently, Canelo Alvarez ahead of his final bout with GGG revealed the figure he would make before he was considered a big shot in the league. According to Alvarez, he was only 18 when he was first offered the Floyd Mayweather bout, and that too for a million. However, as per Eddie Hearn‘s advice, he waited and took the bout when he was 23.
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According to the Mexican Phenom’s statement, at the time when he was first offered the Mayweather fight, he was working three jobs and making 100,000 pesos, which was equivalent to only $5,000 a night. Alvarez said, “They offered me the fight when I was 18. They offered me a million dollars to fight against him. At that time, I was earning 100,000 pesos. That’s $5000. I was still getting the bus. I had three jobs. I told Eddy, ‘It’s a million dollars.'”
Eddie Hearn’s advice to young Canelo Alvarez
Hearn well understood why Mayweather wanted to fight Canelo Alvarez when the latter was at such a young of his life. Hearn realized that even though Alvarez had the potential to be the future face of boxing, he was no match for Mayweather in his adolescence when he was only 18 years old. The chairman of Matchroom Sport advised Saul Alvarez to wait a few years and grow his name.
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According to Alvarez, Hearn said, “You’re not going to fight.’ He said, ‘In a few years, you will receive ten times that amount. Remember this”.
True to Hearn’s words, when Mayweather and Canelo actually fought, Alvarez made more than ten times what he had initially been offered. Mayweather from that fight earned over $40 million and Alvarez around $12 million in total.
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How would you like to interpret Eddie Hearn’s role in Alvarez’s earlier life?