EDDIE HEARN insists only Anthony Joshua can be compared to Canelo Alvarez for his brilliant boxing mindset – but AJ is the bigger star.
Mexico’s 30-year-old WBC, WBA super-middleweight champ faces Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday in front of 70,000 fans in Texas, with his ranking as the pound-for-pound No1 fighter on the planet also on the line.
In the build-up to the fight, Saunders has complained about the ring size, the fan presence and the judging panel, but Canelo has kept an ice-cool head and let him increase the size of the ring.
Hearn, who promotes all three fighters, said: “The only one that I can compare him to in a mindset capacity, in terms of focus purely for the sport, is AJ.
“Just so chilled and normal. Canelo is massive in America, massive but he refuses to be a superstar, it’s not like he swans around. He’s just chilled, he loves his golf.
“His gym is so sort of basic really, he’s just got a great energy. He reminds me so much of AJ in his dedication, he absolutely loves boxing.”
Canelo is a four-weight champion but AJ has ruled the blue-riband heavyweight ranks as an Olympian and pro.
But Britain’s WBA, IBF and WBO boss suffered his only pro loss on American soil, to Andy Ruiz Jr in New York in 2019, so his US stock is not as high.
When asked who has the bigger global appeal, the Matchroom boss said: “I think probably AJ, because he is a world heavyweight champion.
“Canelo is huge in the US, huge, by far the biggest star that I’ve ever seen in the US.
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“Canelo is a much bigger star than AJ in the US and obviously Mexico but I do feel like heavyweight boxing does generally dictate a bigger profile.”
Saunders has felt he has been under-promoted for this Texas clash and claimed Hearn has favoured the Mexican fighter.
But the Hatfield’s man has been at his unpromotable worst this week, repeatedly telling a Spanish-speaking ESPN reporter during a live broadcast that his “breath stinks of s***” and claiming he missed the first media meeting to stay in his hotel room and “play with his balls”.
The tasteless antics have shown exactly why British broadcasters and promoters struggle to work with the excellent 30-0 fighter.
But Hearn has remained as unbiased as possible. When asked about representing both men, he said: “I hate it, to be honest with you.
“Canelo has asked me to look at future plans for him and, once you do that, I guess the other person almost feels like it’s a bit disrespectful.
“But, ultimately, Canelo Alvarez is a huge name.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
