Introductions were fun, yet cosmetic. Saul Alvarez knows that.
“People won’t follow you just because of the red hair,’’ said Alvarez, the red-headed Pied Piper for a new generation of Mexicans looking for the nation’s next big star.
The search for substance — grit that will be there even after the red goes gray — takes an early, yet significant turn Saturday night in Alvarez’ first defense of his World Boxing Council junior-middleweight title against Ryan Rhodes at Vicente Fernandez’ rodeo arena on the singer’s ranch near Guadalajara.
Alvarez rapid rise is little bit like the nickname, Canelo, which has been attached to him like one of his freckles. Cinnamon is a good condiment to have around for special occasions. But it’s not dinner. Where’s the beef? No single, definitive answer figures to come out of the bout against Rhodes. It is just the beginning of one.
Against undersized Matthew Hatton there was only an opportunity for Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KOs) to win his first major title. He did, winning a decision. His inability to stop Hatton, however, put the substance question at the top of the menu.
“I’m nothing like Mathew Hatton,’’ Rhodes (45-4, 31 KOs) said in a conference call when confronted by questions that implied a similarity between the UK fighters.
Reasons are plentiful to think Rhodes has no chance. He has never fought in the United States, much less Mexico. Without a knockout, it’s hard to see how Rhodes can score an upset in Alvarez hometown.
“It is a little bit of an issue, but I believe I’m mature enough to handle it,’’ the 34-year-old Rhodes said.
Maybe big enough, too.
On the scale, at least, Rhodes won’t be at a disadvantage. He’s been at or near the 154-pound weight throughout his 16-year career. For Hatton, Alvarez failed to make the catch weight, 150 pounds. He was nearly two pounds heavier than the negotiated mandatory. At fight time, Hatton, a welterweight, was probably two divisions lighter than Alvarez, who looked like a middleweight.
Against Rhodes, Alvarez won’t have that hefty advantage. Rhodes, listed as a lefthander yet able to switch, promises to have equal power, which offers an intriguing glimpse at how Alvarez will respond. Alvarez’ debut in the U.S. against Jose Miguel Cotto in May 2010 introduced the question that will be there at opening bell Saturday on HBO’s Boxing After Dark. Cotto, a welterweight, had Alvarez in trouble in the second round.
Alvarez survived. He went on to win a ninth-round TKO, but the victory planted the question: What might have happened if those second-round punches had been delivered by a bigger man?
Against Rhodes, an answer looms in perhaps the first of many that will determine whether Alvarez is more than just another carrot top.
Where’s the Sulaiman protest?
While the Fernandez arena was being prepared for Saturday night’s bout, the legendary Mexican singer was in Phoenix last weekend for a show. He also was target of demonstrators opposed to Arizona’s controversial immigration legislation, SB 1070. Protesters chanted and sang outside of US Airways Center while Fernandez performed within the NBA arena.
Immigrant activists are asking for an Arizona boycott until the legislation is revoked. No word on whether WBC chieftan Jose Sulaiman plans to suspend Fernandez from singing. Sulaiman issued a ban on Mexicans fighting in Arizona. He threatened to suspend three who fought in Tucson last summer.
If Sulaiman was serious about his over-the-top decree, he’d demonstrate outside of the Fernandez arena Saturday. But there are no sanctioning fees in protest songs. Instead, Sulaiman figures to be at ringside, singing Fernandez praises while collecting the WBC cut for its sanction of the title fight.
Notes, quotes
· The Phoenix City Council honoured super-middleweight Jesus Gonzales Tuesday in a proclamation that cited his community involvement with kids and the needy during the last several weeks. Gonzales has participated in fund raisers, spoken to kids and just been the overall good guy everybody has known since he undertook his Phoenix comeback with a victory in late March. Gonzales (26-1, 14 KOs) faces Henry Buchanan (20-2, 13 KOs) of Maryland on July 8 at US Airways Center.
· And the unforgettable Roberto Duran celebrated a milestone Thursday. He turned 60. He has always been among boxing’s most compelling and entertaining personalities. A few years ago, he told me and 15 rounds colleague Bart Barry that he might still be fighting if not for injuries sustained in an auto accident in Argentina. Duran recalls the moment when he knew he wouldn’t fight anymore. He woke up and saw a circular light, the kind often seen in the ceiling of a hospital room. But Duran thought he had already passed on, into the after-life. “I saw the light and started yelling, “I made it, I made it,’ ‘’ Duran said. “Then, a hand grabbed my arm. It was a patient in the next bed. The guy tells me: ‘Not yet, not yet.’ ‘’ Have a Happy, Roberto.
