Canelo Alvarez's Boxing Accomplishments Recognized By Hometown With Own Statue

Mexico has had a long history of producing elite levels of boxing talent, and undisputed super middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is very much up there among the greatest to ever do it.

Alvarez's efforts inside the boxing ring were recently recognized with a statue erected in his hometown of Juanacatlan, Mexico and it was made public on Monday, December 19.

"It is a great honor for me to be recognized in the place that saw me grow up and made me the person I am today. Thanks to the government of Juanacatlán for this recognition and to all the people who attended," Alvarez wrote in his native tongue of Spanish on his Instagram account.

Up to this point in his career, "Canelo" has already amassed 58 wins (39 via knockout) with two losses and two draws while continuously putting up stunning performances since turning pro in 2005.

The generational middleweight star has faced and beaten a long list of the sport's most recognizable names including Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, Sergey Kovalev, Caleb Plant, and his eternal rival Gennadiy Golovkin twice.

His two losses occurred on September 14, 2013 against all-time great Floyd Mayweather Jr. and WBA Super light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol on May 7 of this year.

Prior to his fight with Mayweather, Alvarez had been an extreme force of nature by racking up an impressive 42-fight winning streak with only one draw which happened on June 17, 2006.

Beating Plant on September 21 of last year allowed Alvarez to gain undisputed middleweight king status with an 11th-round TKO victory.

The win also made him the sixth fighter to unify all the belts in one division during the four-belt era, joining the likes of icons Bernard Hopkins (2004), Jermain Taylor (2005), Terence Crawford (2017), Oleksandr Usyk (2018) and Josh Taylor (2021).

At age 32 and everything under the sun in his possession, many are wondering who Alvarez's next fight will be against as he recovers from a wrist injury during his fight against Plant.

The belief at the time was that he should face 26-year-old David Benavidez due to the threat that he poses with his 88.% knockout rate being the main attraction.

However, Alvarez is taking interest in fighting England's John Ryder in May.

"It would be interesting to fight him in London, right? Because he is from there, it would be very big. But the truth is that right now, I have not spoken or started to negotiate who I'll fight next," Alvarez was quoted to have said during his statue unveiling.

It is only a matter of time until Alvarez is enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame when he eventually calls it a career, but for now, his focus is adding to his exploits inside the ring.