I've been reading a lot about this guy, how good is he and how far can he go. His record is pretty impressive for a 20 year old.... Is this guy the real deal or will he pull a Linares on it...
Hard to say. He's been fighting a rare blend of washed-up guys and Euro-Scrubs. He's also been parlaying his superstar status {in a shallow pond} into making fights at weights that suit him. He's been able to do this as all the good American 154lbrs are playing Major League Softball or some shit. He's a big guy with a decent jab and some solid fundamentals but I personally have him marked down in the talented-but-suspect grade. His fine Irish skin is probably cut-prone and he is yet to fight somebody of any real stature. We shall see in due course.
I'd delegate that skin to anywhere and everywhere possible if I were you. So fortunately, Alvarez has 'Basque' red-hair and 'Basque' equivalent of having light-skin. By the way,.. Basque red-heads are a good swivell of flesh,.. I'm suprise Paul McCartney never had a dip there. :jaw:
He's strong. And has good stamina. Those are the best things you can say about him at this point. I'm not sold on his chin, and I agree with others that have said he's enjoyed a size advantage in most of his significant fights. I think the public's perception of him is elevated by how sucky his country man, Chavez, is. He's compared to Chavez Jr. often enough that he comes out seeming great. The fact he has a belt is a better example than anything of how meaningless they are in this day and age. Who the hell did he beat? Nobody.
Alvarez looks small even at WW. He was barely bigger than Matthew Hatton, watch the fight, and couldn't put a dent in him. Rios is a big lightweight. I guarantee you if they met at 147 Rios would beat the shit out of him.
A big soft lightweight who would be fat at 147. Alverez would knock Rios out. The guys doesn't know what defense is and he'd pay for it against a considerably bigger and strong guy like Alverez. Alverez also knocked Baldomir the fuck out, and Baldomir if nothing else is a tough dude.
That's the thing, Alvarez is not considerably bigger. He's a small WW and Rios is a big lightweight. Him being soft bodied is irrelevant, some people just have that body type, like Vargas. I also think the Baldomir KO was a total fluke. He couldn't put a dent in Matthew Hatton ffs, and doesn't exactly look like a puncher in most of his other fights. Bear in mind both these guys are 5'8, there's no fucking way you can tell me Alvarez is much bigger. He's a small welterweight, and a tiny 154 pounder. He obviously sucks at cutting weight, or doesn't eat right. Unless the size difference is HUGE, a gulf in ability overcomes the size difference. Rios would batter Alvarez. Oh and Kauki, fuck you with your "homeland" nonsense ::
Height means nothing, Alverez simply has a bigger frame and carries the weight better. He is the bigger man, there is no doubt about that.
Sure he's bigger, but not by much. My bet is Rios is much better at cutting weight. Just look at the photos, it's not like Alvarez is MUCH beefier. They're actually a fairly similar size.
mexican shirt is now on rios's johnson with intense vigor. alvarez would knock rios's head off at 154lbs. be serious, this guy has been hurt by lightweights.
If they were actually in the same picture together it would tell the real story. Canelo is solid at 154, Rios is soft at 135, they are not the same size.
:: ,.. you really didn't have much of a good time there by the sounds of it,.. imagine being there now during this reccession where every man and child owes $50,000 each.
Alvarez is pretty mediocre and it's depressing that the hopes of a boxing nation like Mexico rest with a guy who might have warranted one 3 page Ring article in 1983 during a slow month, probably not even that.
I think that Bam Bam Rios will be to MWS what Stalingrad was to Hitler. It will be the ruination of him. Beating Tszyu? Now he's beating Alvarez? I mean, if you are going to hug the nuts out of a fighter, at least pick one that doesn't look and sound like a total tard.
I don't mean to beat the dead horse but 20, 30, 40 years ago? We wouldn't even give the guy a second look. He's screamingly ordinary.
I'm 100% serious. I don't think many of you seem to realise how ordinary Alvarez is. This isn't so much about how good Rios is, it's more about how crap Alvarez is. I would pick Bradley and Khan to beat him without hesitation. I would pick Maidana to beat him too. Alvarez is nothing at world level, and part of my point is, he's a fucking small 154 pounder. He looks more like a decent sized 140 pounder to be honest. If Rios fought Alvarez I would bet money Rios would win. Same even for Maidana or Bradley.
It can be what ever he wants it to be, it just shows that Alverez has some power. Certainly more than any fat lightweight.
Mex knows boxing but I wouldn't want him parking my car in a tight spot - a Golf Polo and a Mondeo estate probably appear 'about the same size' to him ::
Honestly though look at some pics of them. Assuming their listed heights of 5'8 are correct, at least to the naked eye, they are 2 similar size men. Same with Maidana. Maidana is listed as 5'9, with a chunky-ish torso. Alvarez just looks small to me, like a 140 pounder really. He's a fairly slender 5'8, I honestly find it amazing to me that he has moved up from 147. I think he either doesn't eat or train right, or sucks at cutting weight, because he is small at 147, let alone 154. Oh and it doesn't matter whether you think Baldomir was a fluke or not, Baldomir was almost 40. Not exactly a fair comparison when bringing up Carlos' other fights when he was closer to prime age. I'm not denying Alvarez is bigger, he obviously has a SLIGHTLY thicker torso than both Rios and Maidana, my point is the size difference is minimal, far less than you'd think given they are 2/3 weight divisions apart. Rios and Maidana are fairly big for their weight class and obviously far better at cutting weight. Neil - I'm not so sure about 154, I'm more thinking 147 so that Alvarez has to cut some weight to even the playing field a bit. At 147 I pick Rios, Maidana and Bradley over him without hesitation. Jesus, I'd even pick Berto to curb stomp him. Don't get me wrong, I don't even want to go as far as calling myself a Rios fan. The guy seems like a chode, and obviously the Plasterito association puts me off too. But he is much better than I initially thought. The guy can fucking fight, and is fun to watch too, it can't be denied. Also like I said, this is less about how good Rios is, and more about how completely average Alvarez is.