http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/sports/canelo-alvarez-boxing-liam-smith-junior-middleweight.html 2016-09-16 22:16:37 Despite His Doubters, Canelo Álvarez Humbly Fights for Mexico Álvarez, 26, is considered by some to be the best fighter in the world. Saturday night in Texas he will attempt to seize the junior middleweight title of Liam Smith, an unbeaten Englishman from Liverpool. === GRAPEVINE, Tex. — The mariachi band played with unmistakable pride. Fans screamed, desperately scrambling to get a glimpse of their hero. Young and old, several hundred of them came out Wednesday to pay homage to Saúl Álvarez, the Mexican boxer widely known as Canelo, who is viewed as one of the most popular — and marketable — stars of a sport entering its post-Floyd Mayweather Jr., post-Manny Pacquiao era. “I took my girls out of school for the day so they could see him,” Jessica Muniz of Dallas admitted as she watched Álvarez’s public workout Wednesday at the Gaylord Texan Resort here. Muniz said her 10-year-old daughter, Aubrey, is an aspiring boxer who has modeled her style on Álvarez’s aggressive, power-punching approach. “Girls her age normally have posters of boy bands on the wall,” Muniz said. “She has pictures of Canelo.” The appeal is there for all to see. Álvarez, 26, a handsome, dynamic technician, is considered by some to be the best fighter in the world. He is in Texas this week to attempt to seize the junior middleweight title of Liam Smith, an unbeaten Englishman from Liverpool. The fight, on Saturday night at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, will take place less than 24 hours after Mexican Independence Day, and that convergence of a national holiday and a popular Mexican fighter in a big fight has set up what amounts to a perfect boxing storm. Oscar De La Hoya, the former world champion who now acts as a promoter and mentor to Álvarez, predicted this week that more than 70,000 fans would attend the fight, putting it in a category with the 63,315 who turned out to see In interviews this week, Álvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) called the chance to represent Mexico this weekend “a great honor.” “It is great to know there will be so much love from them,” he said. Raised in the rural town of Juanacatlán, Álvarez grew up in a family of seven siblings — including six brothers who became professional fighters. He learned to ride horses on his family’s farm as a boy, and at times he still appears happier riding bareback at breakneck speed than he is in aiming for his third world title. Even as his talent in the ring has won praise, it is a different word people often ascribe to him — humility — that has added to his appeal. “Mexico is paralyzed when Saúl fights,” his trainer, Chepo Reynoso, said. “I’ve known him since he was a kid, and he hasn’t changed over the years despite the fame.” The only difference, Reynoso said, is that now “he rides better horses.” For now, the only blemish on Álvarez’s record is a defeat — Yet as far as Álvarez has come, support for him is not universal. There are those who doubt him as a fighter, or as a box office draw. For some of his countrymen, though, the main problem is aesthetic: With his fair skin and red hair, which earned him the nickname Canelo (cinnamon), Álvarez stands out in a country where such a combination is not that common. “Some Mexicans don’t recognize what a great fighter he is,” Ernesto Amador, a TV commentator for the Univision Sports network, said. He added: “You have two different types of Mexican fans: those who live in the United States know their stuff and appreciate the efforts. He is an idol. But in Mexico, his critics know nothing about boxing. They drink two beers and think they are experts. I was a fighter. I know how good he is.” The sales for HBO’s pay-per-view coverage of Saturday’s fight will be a good sign of Álvarez’s drawing power. His fight with Cotto produced more than 930,000 subscription buys, but that number was halved earlier this year when Álvarez successfully defended his newly won middleweight title against England’s Amir Khan. That means reputations, as well as quite a bit of money, will be on the line Saturday night, not to mention an even bigger payday Golovkin, a ferocious and fearsome puncher from Kazakhstan, may be the most dangerous boxer in the world at the moment, and one of the few rivals to Álvarez as a marquee draw. The possibility of his being paired with Álvarez in a head-to-head rivalry similar to Mayweather-Pacquiao is creating a frenzy. An Álvarez-Golovkin encounter, however, will not happen as quickly as either camp desires. Golovkin operates as a middleweight, at 160 pounds, while Álvarez will weigh in for Saturday’s fight against Smith at 154. Álvarez has never fought heavier than 155, and his camp has shown little interest — so far — in moving up. Still, while there are risks to agreeing to fight a bigger, more experienced opponent — at 34, Golovkin is eight years older than Álvarez — the potential of a multimillion-dollar payoff has given everyone involved a sense of urgency to set a date. “It will happen next year,” De La Hoya said Wednesday, not for the first time. Until then, Álvarez will fight for himself, for his fans and for Mexico. “He is a humble man, and that’s why Canelo is so popular,” Robert Montano, a fan from Fort Worth, said. Montano, too, acknowledged that Álvarez still had doubters. Just not at the gate. “The fact he doesn’t look Mexican makes some think twice,” Montano said. “The girls like him, though, which is important. And if the girls buy tickets, the boys will follow.”