In the attack on the city of Canelo Alvarez, the definition of calm under fire was made

The reason why Mexican boxers tend to be so revered has a lot to do with their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way. Consult the records and you will find all these: Chavez, Sanchez, Lopez, Marquez, Olivares, Saldivar, Zarate, Barrera, Morales and others. When each of these did not merely injure himself, yet that was a rare grace and understanding, almost as if it were a part of the plan; They had something in the 14-foot rings in Mexico during the time I learned from the teacher.

For any great Mexican fighter, the idea of ​​being in harm’s way represents opportunity. More than just an act of speech, it increases the likelihood of an opponent opening up, getting overlooked, and offering to hit the target. It also means action, movement, wonder. If you doubt it, just listen to the fight night crowd. The more these seem to cause harm to themselves, the more the sand becomes, and the more people are inclined to watch. Sometimes, such a price is imposed machismolet them feel that they are in harm’s way only just for these soldiers.

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With all that said, few Mexican boxers have ever injured themselves quite as much as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did this weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If little against the onslaught of Christian Mbilli, who was the WBC super middleweight champion, the Guadalajara fighter also had to contend with the pervasive threat of attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, which have so far claimed the lives of at least 20 people and wounded at least 370 in Riyadh.

As you might know, this put a very different spin on the idea of ​​a Mexican boxer finding himself in harm’s way. No matter how much talent or courage it takes to come through a trial and return to one house, it requires more than the ability to fight within, a chin of stone, and short fists. It also requires nerves, perhaps even ignorance. Most importantly, Alvarez would require an element of success on every trip.

Indeed, just 48 hours before the first bell, everyone in Riyadh was warned by intense moments sent to their mobile phones to be alert and ready. According to them on the ground, the message was reported as follows: “Warning. The city of Riyadh is under a hostile air threat. Please remain calm, stay inside or in a safe place away from windows and doors, and follow the rules of civil defense.” This was then followed by Turki Alalshikh on social media, the man responsible for Mbilli Alvarez to Riyadh vs. he was leading, who simply said: “May God protect Riyadh and all who are in it.”

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Of course, the biggest challenge for Alvarez and Mbilli would have been maintaining focus and concentration, both throughout the week of the fight and on the night itself. Perhaps in the end, the danger present before them was sufficiently greater to be overcome, but still, in both cases, it was tenacious. For every distraction offered by the adversary’s incoming punches, even the boxer relies on his emotional detachment to shake off the volatility of the matter outside the circle from his mind.

Then boxing is nothing but a minimum of life in the “warzone.” In fact, whenever two boxers enter the ring and aim their fists to inflict damage, there is always the inevitable threat of death. They know, we know, the show is still going on; yet they fight in the ring. They do it because then they will convince themselves that the death and injury that happens to others is serious. They do it because it’s their job, everyone knows.

Generally, the more a boxer fights, the more comfortable they begin to feel both in the ring and within the confines of that belief. With a boxer like Alvarez, for example, no one could be better suited to deal in a risky and uncertain business. One look at his career, which now covers 69 professional fights, and you will find a fighter who has often and with pleasure hurt himself at every turn. From being rejected as a boy at the age of 15 to boxing Floyd Mayweather at 23 and then later rising to lightweight to fight the likes of Sergey Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol, Alvarez has shown time and time again the ability to take comfort in lesser men.

Even Saturday night’s fight against Mbilli, which saw Alvarez in a challenging position, was considered a risk by one of many experts. Mbilli said there is a potential problem for Alvarez stylistically, what with his physical strength, high output, and ability to move forward. If indeed Alvarez prevailed, as he assumed, or no longer fought with the intensity of antiquity, which was the least necessary at this point in his life, he was a hungry warrior like Christian Mbilli.

Among the beginnings of Saturn’s battle there were signs of this too. There were two open rounds in which Mbilli seemed happy, throwing his hands on the front foot with confidence. Until he was told that even a blow would come, the Cameroonian-Franco was forcing no exit step, aware that Alvarez, in all his glory, was an opponent from 2021. That fact alone gave Mbilli hope, or at least the fuel to push and knock.

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When he did, it was easy to see why some had pushed him to win. This was especially so, every time he threw his fists into the grapes, prostrated them to his body, before bringing them to his head. At such moments, Mbilli presented the image to the judges traditionally as seen on fight night: A pugnacious boxer advancing and working his opponent against the ropes.

Not only, the judges, are wise. There was also a feeling that “Canelo” liked the image more, that is, the feeling of Mbilli in this way of fighting, all huff and puffing. and it was not long before it appeared that he was reading the telegraph of the vindictive attack, and, more and more harassed by them, he wished more and more to invite them. Then Alvarez yielding to the ropes of his own will, and, in Circle 3, beating his chest, shaking his head, and demanding Mbilli to come to him, and save him by throwing him away. He knew, therefore, that, having found the measure of Mbilli at the door two rounds, he would tame the man before him. He had to do it, he just hurt himself.

Otherwise Mbilli’s guards would have been more difficult to penetrate as long as his arms were there. “Canelo” tried, and had success around the side with right hooks, but it was clearly preferable for Mbilli to open first; then” fire, typically jabbing, and some wonderfully picked right uppercuts. It was, of course, a high-risk plan, which is always the case when putting yourself in harm’s way, but Alvarez is a skilled enough fighter to have mastered the art of finesse. How comfortable he looked even against the ropes, beckoning Mbilli towards him. there, however, he appeared not in a composed manner, but also unharmed. He read the trajectory of all incoming attacks, and often, especially when it was fought, had the impetus of Mbilli in place of defense.

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In fact, the only threatening response was that the number of attacks from Mbilli was reduced towards the end. During Rounds 5 and 6, he had enough vicious punches inside, followed by his punches, that he became more cautious in initiating exchanges and was too snatched on the first leg. He soon found himself thoroughly irritated by Alvarez’s ability to predict his every move and his inability to produce anything else. This was never more evident than in Round 7, when Alvarez kept Mbilli off the hook and released a right hand before then slipping back and responding with a nice upper right of his own. That sequence — the missing followed by immediate punishment — would explain much of Mbilli’s reluctance during the middle half of the fight. He also explained why Alvarez was so eager to contain Mbilli in his anguish and to attract a hostile and seemingly dangerous man into the fray.

It was control and power, and Alvarez was in spades. In Round 8, when Mbilli landed on the back of Alvarez’s head, the four-pound world champion did not turn away, stop boxing, and suggested to the referee that Hector Afu was beaten illegally. Then, to take it a step further, he said to him, “That’s three times”, so the referee landed a point from Mbilli. That is the government. That power.