The career of Saul Alvarez has been marked by great triumphs, but one of his most difficult nights occurred in September 2013. At that time, a young man Canelo Alvarez faced the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in one fight that ended in a defeat by majority decision and that left a deep mark on the mentality of the Mexican boxer.
The fighter from Guadalajara He reached that commitment when he was just 23 years old and had the confidence to be a solid champion at 154 pounds..
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However, the lack of experience with a rival from the “Money” hierarchy was the determining tell. The emotional impact of not obtaining the expected result led the boxer to face a very complex period of introspection.
The emotional impact and blow to the ego
During a recent interview with Oso Travathe boxer admitted that the outcome of that fight generated an emotional instability in him that he had not experienced before. He Canelo Alvarez He explained that his personal safety was affected by not being able to meet the expectations he had set for himself that night in Las Vegas.
“I got very frustrated because I felt capable,” the man from Guadalajara confessed in the aforementioned interview. “I felt capable of beating the best in the world at 23 years old. And yes I was capable, I simply did not have the appropriate experience and I realized later,” The fighter said when analyzing the defeat that took away his undefeated status and his world crown.
Depression after the defeat in Las Vegas
The feeling of defeat went beyond sports, affecting their daily well-being for a certain time. He Canelo Alvarez He described how the failure to view the combat plunged him into a negative mood, recognizing for the first time that he may have experienced depression due to the magnitude of the event.
“It hurt me a lot because, whatever you want to call it, it hits your fighter ego: what you wanted to do, what you visualized and that didn’t happen”said the Mexican boxer. In addition, he added sincerely about his mental state: “And yes, it hurt me a lot, it hit me a lot and maybe I had depression of some level, I don’t know if there are levels of depression, but maybe I did”.
The recovery and learning process
Despite the pain, The healing process began when the athlete decided to analyze the situation objectively in the solitude of his home.. When reflecting on the quality of his opponent, the Canelo Alvarez He understood that this setback was a necessary lesson for his growth and that it should not mean the end of his aspirations as an elite athlete.
“But later, thinking only about my house, I said: ‘I’m going to think, I didn’t lose against anyone, the best in the world beat me, I’m 23 years old, he didn’t do practically anything to me’”recalled the champion. This mentality allowed him to transform sadness into motivation to return to the gym just one day after analyzing his mistakes.
The road to the top of world boxing
The defeat against Mayweather, far from stopping his career, became the fuel to achieve the status he holds today. He Canelo Alvarez He assures that that moment was classic for learning to manage fame and the challenges that would come in subsequent years, finally consolidating himself as the famous reference in current boxing.
“That’s not going to stop me from being the best in the world one day and I got up the next day and went to train”stated the boxer in his talk with Oso Trava. The fighter concluded by mentioning the urgency he felt at that time to resume his activity: “I told my coach, ‘I want to get rid of this defeat quickly, I want to fight as quickly as possible’”.
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