Virgil Hunter: What Canelo is Doing is a Mockery To Boxing!
Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 08:38
Veteran trainer Virgil Hunter, who works with boxers like Andre Ward, Amir Khan, Andre Berto and several others, is not pleased with the way Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) is handling his career.
Last May at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Hunter worked the corner of Amir Khan, who moved up from the welterweight division to face Canelo at a catch-weight of 155-pounds. After starting off well in the early rounds, Khan was caught cold and knocked out in the sixth round.
This coming May, at the same Vegas venue, Canelo will face countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds. Chavez Jr. is coming down from the super middleweight limit of 168.
Hunter claims Canelo places unrealistic demands on his opponents, both from a financial and a physical standpoint. Khan wanted that fight at the junior middleweight limit of 154, but claims Canelo would not budge from 155.
"What Canelo is doing is a real mockery for boxing," said Hunter to ESPN Deportes.
"He can claim his right to be treated as the star of a promotion, what he can not demand is that he is considered among the best fighters [in the world], when for every fight he has all kinds of demands, he wants all kinds of concessions to the opponent. Truly, it is something unfortunate for boxing."
" As we all know, he is exercising his right to be considered the [A-side] in his bouts, because boxing is like this, and as long as he stays in control of that situation, to have that promotional advantage... what he is doing is a real mockery for boxing. Because when we talk about real boxers, they do not do that sort of thing."
Hunter is not in favor of the catch-weight being imposed on Chavez Jr. - who claimed that Canelo wanted a catch-weight of 164 and they finally agreed on 164.5 after weeks of negotiating the terms.
"Whenever a boxer is forced to drop so many pounds to make weight in a fight, he will pay a price. And from the moment Chavez agreed to fight at that weight, he has been in a precarious situation," Hunter said.
"If he is able to reach the weight gradually, without having to lose so many pounds at one time, and manages to recover properly after going on the scale - he may have some chance of winning. And if he manages to get in good physical condition, with enough energy to fight his fight, the fight can be more than interesting."
"But whenever the boxer undergoes a significant sacrifice to make weight, when he has to be squeezed, especially as in the case of Chavez who has not fought that often - it doesn't give you any indication of how well Junior will arrive in this fight or what he can offer against Canelo, who will be looking to maximize any advantage, however small it may be, to win the fight."
http://www.BS.com/virgil-hunte ... 4nLIZ.dpuf
Last May at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Hunter worked the corner of Amir Khan, who moved up from the welterweight division to face Canelo at a catch-weight of 155-pounds. After starting off well in the early rounds, Khan was caught cold and knocked out in the sixth round.
This coming May, at the same Vegas venue, Canelo will face countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds. Chavez Jr. is coming down from the super middleweight limit of 168.
Hunter claims Canelo places unrealistic demands on his opponents, both from a financial and a physical standpoint. Khan wanted that fight at the junior middleweight limit of 154, but claims Canelo would not budge from 155.
"What Canelo is doing is a real mockery for boxing," said Hunter to ESPN Deportes.
"He can claim his right to be treated as the star of a promotion, what he can not demand is that he is considered among the best fighters [in the world], when for every fight he has all kinds of demands, he wants all kinds of concessions to the opponent. Truly, it is something unfortunate for boxing."
" As we all know, he is exercising his right to be considered the [A-side] in his bouts, because boxing is like this, and as long as he stays in control of that situation, to have that promotional advantage... what he is doing is a real mockery for boxing. Because when we talk about real boxers, they do not do that sort of thing."
Hunter is not in favor of the catch-weight being imposed on Chavez Jr. - who claimed that Canelo wanted a catch-weight of 164 and they finally agreed on 164.5 after weeks of negotiating the terms.
"Whenever a boxer is forced to drop so many pounds to make weight in a fight, he will pay a price. And from the moment Chavez agreed to fight at that weight, he has been in a precarious situation," Hunter said.
"If he is able to reach the weight gradually, without having to lose so many pounds at one time, and manages to recover properly after going on the scale - he may have some chance of winning. And if he manages to get in good physical condition, with enough energy to fight his fight, the fight can be more than interesting."
"But whenever the boxer undergoes a significant sacrifice to make weight, when he has to be squeezed, especially as in the case of Chavez who has not fought that often - it doesn't give you any indication of how well Junior will arrive in this fight or what he can offer against Canelo, who will be looking to maximize any advantage, however small it may be, to win the fight."
http://www.BS.com/virgil-hunte ... 4nLIZ.dpuf