By Dave Sholler
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
Undefeated welterweight contender Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez admittedly doesn’t surf the Internet much. With a young daughter, burgeoning boxing career, and part-time job, the 30-year-old doesn’t necessarily bask in loads of free time. Still, after capturing the NABO welterweight title from Jose Luis Cruz in June and recently agreeing to fight perennial contender Joshua Clottey in an IBF eliminator bout in December, Alvarez was curious what boxing scribes were writing about him.
In order to gauge the response his 19-0 record was getting from members of the boxing community, Alvarez ran his name through several search engines. As the results glimmered on the computer screen in front of him, the Atlantic City-based southpaw confessed they were not exactly what he expected.
“One guy was like, ‘who is Shamone Alvarez,’” the Seminole Warriors boxing product, ranked 10th by the IBF, said. “They were not giving me any respect.
“But I understand why. Some haven’t seen me fight or haven’t seen enough of me. They want to see me step up and come through in big fights. This fight (with Clottey) is going to say a lot to those guys who don’t think I’m ready. In the end, it’s (the criticism) a good thing.”
Even though he wasn’t thrilled with some of the comments, Alvarez realizes the December 20 bout with Clottey at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will go a long way in proving he is a force in the stacked 147-pound division. By committing to a fight with the IBF’s sixth-ranked Clottey (32-2, 19 KOs), Alvarez has agreed to duel with a fighter who others in the division have avoided. Moreover, in signing for a fight with the 30-year-old Ghana native, Alvarez has opted to climb the welterweight ladder by ducking no one and displaying his skills against boxing’s best.
“He (Clottey) says that many guys don’t want to fight him,” Alvarez said. “When I was asked to take the fight, I said from the very beginning, ‘yeah, let’s do it.’
“This fight means a lot to me.”
Alvarez’s willingness to fight Clottey best exemplifies his desire to capture a world title. Instead of trying to protect the zero on his record by fighting lesser opponents, Alvarez believes the path to the title runs through sturdy-chinned competitors like Clottey. Given that Clottey has been in the ring with the likes of Antonio Margarito, Carlos Baldomir, and the late Diego Corrales, Alvarez thinks a victory on December 20th would propel him to championship-caliber fights.
“With a win, I should get catapulted to where I need to be,” Alvarez, who trains at the Atlantic City Police Athletic League and is known for his workman-like approach in the ring, said. “This will help me out in a major way.
“He’s (Clottey) a worthy adversary. I think he’s going to come forward and put punches together. It’s going to be a good test.”
As the Clottey fight nears, Alvarez acknowledges that he will be keeping a close eye on IBF champion Kermit Cintron over the next few months. Cintron is slated to fight in a unification bout with WBO champ Paul Williams in February. The winner of that bout will most likely be mandated by the IBF to fight the winner of Clottey-Alvarez sometime in 2008. If that wasn’t enough to keep Alvarez hungry, Top Rank’s Bob Arum told reporters in Atlantic City recently that he would be interested in having the Clottey-Alvarez winner battle WBA titleholder Miguel Cotto.
“This is part of the plan that my management team put together for me,” Alvarez said regarding his future should be beat Clottey. “I’m happy to be considered for big fights.
“But in boxing, things change quickly. Everything depends on what happens in my fight and what happens in other fights. Right now, I’m just focusing on Joshua.”
