It was the red-headed Mexican’s first and only loss of his career, and it was a tough one, a 12-round decision. Some said that he wasn’t aggressive enough in the fight and that had he been he just might have beaten the undefeated Mayweather (now 47-0, 26KOs) but El Canelo (44-1-1, 31 KOs) isn’t looking backwards.
“In this sport you never stop learning, gaining experience, titles,” he told boxingscene.com. “Everything comes together, learning and winning, and that’s the most important thing.”
His fight with Mayweather, 37, set box office records with a PPV audience of more than 2 million and record-generating revenue. He was on the map before the fight – Mayweather would not have touched him if he hadn’t been – but he’s now, despite the loss, one of the biggest on the map.
Sinnce that fight, he’s had two wins, both in 2014, against Alfredo Angulo and Erislandry Lara. He’s now reputed to be in talks to fight Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32KOs), reportedly on May 2, the El de Cinco holiday weekend in Mexico. That is rumor, however, as Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are also said to be negotiating a fight on that date at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and it’s not likely the two major fights would occur the same night.
A Cotto fight, a win over Cotto, would again provide a massive boost to the career of the 24-year-old Alvarez. He’s not thinking about what a loss would mean. In talking to Rivera about the loss to Mayweather, he said he has turned it into a positive. He said it was a shock to be beaten for the first time but the loss to Mayweather is part of great things to come.
“I’m young and I have already accomplished many things,” he said. His intention now is to accomplish more. “To make boxing history.”
