Michel Rivera bears a physical resemblance to Muhammad Ali, but he also fights like him. It’s a strange coincidence, but one that’s serving Rivera well.
Muhammad Ali’s friend and cornerman, Bundini Brown, coined the phrase, “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” but boxer Michel Rivera might have us saying, “Float like a butterfly and sting like ‘La Zarza Ali,” in a few years.
Rivera (22-0, 14 KOs) has a face that resembles Ali, although the two aren’t physically all that similar. Ali was a heavyweight standing 6-foot-3, and Rivera is a lightweight at 5-foot-8.
Still, the facial similarities and fighting styles match up. Initially, Rivera’s likeness to Ali got him massive media attention.
“The T.V., when I come over here [U.S.] in my first fight, ShoBox, everybody was saying that I was looking like Muhammad Ali, Julian Jackson, something like this,” Rivera told FanSided.
Rivera explained to FanSided that people pointed out his likeness to Ali since he was fighting in his home country, the Dominican Republic. Ironically, he never saw an Ali fight film before the comparisons.
Beyond just their faces, Rivera’s fighting style mimics Ali’s by chance.
Watch Michel Rivera vs. Joseph Rivera on Saturday, March 26, on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET
“Never I see Ali,” Rivera said.
Rivera added, “One day after the [Jon] Fernandez fight, when I get the amazing knockout and this, I started to see video of young Ali, Cassius Clay, and I started to see that my style is similar like him.”
Through 14 fights as a professional in the Dominican Republic and then his first six in the U.S., Rivera finally watched footage of Muhammad Ali early in his career and saw a bit of himself. Rivera had dressed like Ali in the ring but had never studied his fight film.
When Rivera did, he saw why people were buzzing.
“My right hand, my jab, and I was like, whoa, that’s crazy,” Rivera said. “It’s really my style look like him.”
Many believe that Rivera modeled his boxing technique after Ali, but that’s not the case.
“The people believe that I have copied him,” Rivera said. “I don’t copy. That’s my real, natural style.”
Rivera also pointed out that his hairstyle also naturally resembled Ali’s. Yes, the shorts and nickname, ‘La Zarza Ali,’ purposefully mimic Ali, but the rest is all chance.
For those that have never seen Rivera in action, he fights on the Showtime March 26 undercard of the Tim Tszyu vs. Terrell Gausha main event. Rivera fights Joseph Adorno (14-0-2, 12 KOs), who’s undefeated and should pose a challenge.
Currently, Rivera resides in Miami, FL, and is trained by German Caicedo. Oh, Caicedo happened to be mentored by Angelo Dundee, Ali’s trainer. Caicedo trains many Dominican fighters, including Juan Carlos Payano, Claudio Marrero, and Jeison Rosario, which helped connect Rivera to Caicedo.
“It’s different because another coach knows your country,” Rivera said. “How you are, you know what they say? He know how to work with Dominicans.”
Rivera and Caicedo are a successful team, and Rivera sees Caicedo being in his corner for life.
Rivera is a live player in the lightweight division, and a big win over Adorno would go far in advancing Rivera’s place in the division.