20 little-known facts about Canelo Alvarez

NEW YORK CITY - JUNE 20: Hennessy, the world's best-selling Cognac, presents Lineal and RING Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez with a custom engraved bottle of Paradis Imperial during the Canelo vs. Golovkin press tour at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Hennessy recently announced its partnership with Canelo who, like Hennessy, has a passion for pushing the limits of potential to Never stop. Never settle. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Hennessy) /

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Saul Alvarez of Mexico (R) exchanges punches with Jose Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico during their middleweight bout at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino on Mai 1, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alvarez won the fight . AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) /

13. Beat Jose Cotto (yes, THAT Cotto) back in 2010

One of the biggest wins of Canelo’s career, and the one that started him on the path towards GGG, was his comprehensive points victory over Miguel Cotto. While that fight occurred in 2015, he may have been setting it in motion since 2010 when he faced his brother Jose Cotto.

Fresh off of his lucrative contract with Golden Boy, de la Hoya’s promotion made sure he would get a ton of eyeballs on him in the States. He and Jose Cotto were placed on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley – ironically, those are two fighters Canelo faced later in his career.

Despite coming into the fight with a 31-0-1 record, Canelo was still a relative unknown. Cotto was also 13 years his elder, so it seemed like experience would win out on the day. But on a card that generated 1.4 million pay-per-view buys, Canelo scored a TKO with nine seconds to spare in the ninth round. He got stunned in the opening round, but recovered nicely to secure a knockdown in the second then remained in complete control.

For Golden Boy, putting Alvarez on a co-feature of a Mayweather fight right after signing him was a huge gamble. It almost backfired on them, but in the end, what better way to showcase your new talent than by having him knock out the relative of a future Hall of Famer? It was also Canelo’s first ever contest in the fight capital of the world. Whenever he fights there now, it’s easy to mistake it for his hometown of Guadalajara.

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