Canelo: No Respect for Chavez Jr.; He Has Shamed His Country

By Keith Idec

Among Canelo Alvarez’s criticisms of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is that Chavez tends to say more negative things about Alvarez when they’re far apart.

When they’re face to face, the Mexican superstar claims Chavez is much more respectful and avoids trashing Alvarez’s legacy. Alvarez made sure he wasn’t hypocritical when they sat down with HBO Sports for a “Faceoff With Max Kellerman” segment that debuted recently.

Alvarez looked directly at Chavez and bluntly told Chavez and Kellerman that he has no respect for Chavez and what he has accomplished in boxing. The segment displayed the genuine animosity that exists between Alvarez and Chavez as they head toward their HBO Pay-Per-View main event Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $69.99 in HD).

“Well, in the sport, I can’t respect him,” Alvarez said through a translator. “Because for me, personally, he hasn’t done anything. He has shamed his country, with what he has done with his career, which he hasn’t handled correctly. He has done many things that have [no] place [in] the sport of boxing. So I can’t respect an athlete like him. I can’t do it. And that’s the truth.”

Chavez, a son of Mexico’s most accomplished boxer, has gone 50-2-1 (32 KOs, 1 NC) during a pro career that began in September 2003. He also won the WBC middleweight title by beating Germany’s Sebastian Zbik in June 2011 and nearly knocked out Argentina’s Sergio Martinez, then the lineal middleweight champion, in the 12th round of their September 2012 fight in Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old Chavez’s career has been beset, however, by suspensions and fines from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for using marijuana and a banned diuretic, numerous struggles to make weight and an inconsistent commitment to training. Alvarez has drawn criticism over the past year-plus for failing to fight Gennady Golovkin, yet always has conducted himself professionally and has faced several top opponents – most notably Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto and Erislandy Lara.

The 26-year-old Alvarez’s winning ways (48-1-1, 34 KOs), likeability and charisma have helped make him more popular than Chavez in their boxing-crazed homeland.

“He never represented Mexico,” Alvarez said. “He was never a dignified representative of Mexico. He was on a path to become one, but he reached a point where he couldn’t give anymore and he simply couldn’t. He never was, nor did he ever reach to become it.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.