Eddie Hearn thinks Canelo Alvarez is in an impossible situation as far as his “haters” are concerned.
The head of Matchroom Boxing recently decried those critics who are holding the Mexican superstar to ludicrously high standards.
Hearn was responding to a meme that the 31-year-old Alvarez re-posted on his Instagram story showing how his critics keep “moving the goalposts.”
“If he fought Charlo he ducked Bivol,” the post read. “If he fought Bivol he ducked Charlo. If he fought Beterbiev he ducked Bivol. If he fought Benavidez he ducked Charlo. If he fought Charlo he ducked Benavidez,” he posted on Instagram.”If he fought Bivol he ducked Beterbiev. If he fought Beterbiev he ducked Charlo. If he fought Benavidez he ducked Beterbiev. If he fought Bivol he ducked Benavidez. If he fought Charlo he ducked Beterbiev. If he fought Benavidez he ducked Bivol. If he fought Beterbiev he ducked Benavidez. My brain is fried.”
Alvarez endorsed the post with the caption, “Love this”, followed by three tears of joy emojis.
Hearn recently sealed a two-fight deal with Alvarez, the undisputed champion of the 168-pound division. The first bout involves a light heavyweight title bout against WBA belt holder Dmitry Bivol on May 7 and the second bout, depending on the outcome of the first, is a trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin tentatively scheduled for Sept. 17. Both fights would stream on DAZN. Mike Coppinger of ESPN reported that Alvarez is working with Hearn and DAZN on a third fight for December.
Alvarez was heavily courted by Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions to fight middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo in the spring and 168-pound contender David Benavidez in the fall, but in the end Alvarez opted for Hearn and DAZN.
Hearn believes Alvarez’s credentials should make him impervious to criticism at this point.
“He’s a legend in the sport of boxing, Canelo Alvarez,” Hearn told IFL TV. “He fights champion after champion after champion.
“I saw his post the other day. If he fights Charlo, he’s ducked Bivol, if he fights Bivol, he’s ducked Beterbiev, if he fights Beterbiev he’s ducked Golovkin, he can’t win. But Canelo, his résumé speaks for itself. It’s difficult not to sound like a fanboy.”
Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) unified the 168-pound division last November with an 11th-round TKO of Caleb Plant at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout against Russia’s Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) will be Alvarez’s second time fighting at the light heavyweight limit. Alvarez previously won a light heavyweight title (IBF) in 2019, when he went up against then titlist Sergey Kovalev, knocking the Russian out in the 11th round.
Hearn said he can’t help but gush about his valuable client, noting he draws inspiration from the boxer.
“He is a bad mother—–,” Hearn said of his client. “His mindset is on another level. Sometimes being around people like that it’s like being around AJ same thing. Unbelievable mindset. It’s so energizing to be around people like that.
“One of the reasons why I want to work with Canelo Alvarez is not just so I can promote big fights, it’s to be around greatness. I know it’s cheesy…Listen choose your circle wisely. The people you’re around reflect so much around the success of your life. Good energy is absolutely imperative to being happy, to being motivated, to being passionate. Being around greatness like AJ (Anthony Joshua) and Canelo gives you unbelievable energy to go on and achieve yourself.”