Mexico City, Oct 15 (EFE).- Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the World Boxing Council middleweight champion, said here Monday that he does not seek to compare himself with boxing’s all-time greats.
“I don’t want to compare myself with anyone – I prefer to write my own history,” the boxer said upon receiving Monday the belt that honors him as king of the WBC after beating Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin last Sept. 15 by a decision.
Alvarez thanked the council for the belt, made by members of Mexico’s Huichole indigenous community.
“The victory over Golovkin was the best in my life, and last Sept. 15 was one of my happiest days ever,” he said.
Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, praised the boxer for his steadfastness, shown by how strong he came back after testing positive for consuming the banned substance clenbuterol from eating contaminated meat.
“With the victory, justice was done and Canelo shut many mouths,” he said.
The boxer’s trainer, Jose “Chepo” Reynoso, recalled that when Alvarez showed up at his gym for the first time 13 years ago, he promised to make the young man a world champ.
“We fulfilled that promise because he came through. He didn’t give up even in the hardest moments,” Reynoso said.
Canelo talked about those tough times caused by his testing positive, repeated that he was innocent and said he would never do anything to soil his image. “I’d never been in that situation I found myself in,” he said.
With 50 triumphs, one tie and two defeats, Alvarez is one of the the world’s top boxers and one of the most popular.