Even though Eleider Alvarez was knocked out after being dominated by Joe Smith Jr., his promoter Yvon Michel does not advise him to make a hasty decision about the rest of his career and rather suggests that he let the dust settle for another two weeks.
Alvarez (25-2) was thrown hard to the ground by Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) and the fight ended just 26 seconds after the start of the 9th round, Saturday night in the “bubble” of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a WBO light heavyweight playoff duel.
It’s over! Alvarez is on the ropes!
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In the minutes which followed this second defeat in career, his trainer Marc Ramsay confided to the esteemed colleague of the Journal of Montreal Mathieu Boulay as the Montrealer of Colombian origin and he had agreed that the moment to hang the gloves had indeed arrived.
“It’s never good to make decisions on the fly,” said Michel in an interview with RDS.ca Sunday morning. Everyone thought that [Sergey] Kovalev was due to retire after his loss to Eleider, and yet in his next two fights he made more money than in his entire career. But hey, you obviously have to see what he wants to do …
“At the same time, I understand Marc’s reaction. He told me that he saw the imprint of time on Eleider and that it was more and more difficult in training. If Eleider doesn’t taste more than that and Marc thinks it’s not a good idea, I won’t go to bat to find him fights. But if everyone comes back enthusiastically, then I’ll do what I have to do. “
The promoter is confident that he would have no trouble finding opponents in Alvarez if it was the 36-year-old athlete’s wish. However, it is taken for granted that it would not be a part of fun – on the contrary – to pocket a scholarship that would make the least sense.
“A guy like Eleider is always going to get offers. Take [Dillian] Whyte, he lost [hier] and there is already talk of a rematch, explained Michel. But will he want to face young people like [Joshua] Buatsi or [Edgar] Berlanga, given that this is what awaits him. “
A course he can be proud of
Unlike Whyte, Alvarez will be hard pressed to hang on to anything positive following his performance against Smith. The former WBO light heavyweight champion was far behind (80-72, 79-73 and 79-73) on the cards of the three judges when the duel was stopped.
Plus, Alvarez didn’t look particularly inspired, exactly as he did during his rematch against Kovalev in February 2019. He seemed to be reaching the perfect opportunity to throw his back hand, but that luck didn’t come. as often as he would have liked.
“The result of a fight is often a question of style, put Michel in perspective. I think Smith’s style is always going to annoy Eleider. When he has a slightly less intense guy in front of him and the fight turns into a game of chess, Eleider will perform significantly better.
“When you fight against an opponent of Smith’s caliber, you have to be on the legs to make him miss the mark and take him on a counterattack or be able to hurt him. Eleider didn’t have the legs and he couldn’t hurt her. Basically, he never found his rhythm.
“Having said that, I’m not the one in the gym taking the hits. It is very important to come out of a healthy career and that is why it is essential to have determination and enthusiasm in training to never cut corners. A guy like Jean Pascal was precisely able to redefine himself after a slump. “
Except that one question remains … Why has Alvarez collapsed so much since his victory over Kovalev, when all his efforts and all the storms he had gone through since his arrival in Quebec there is more of 10 years were about to be financially rewarded?
“I was just discussing it while watching the fight with [la vice-présidente à la direction de Groupe Yvon Michel] Alexandra [Croft], admitted Michel. A guy like Leonard Dorin had two goals: to become a world champion and to defend his title in Romania. Once he achieved his goals, he was never the same again. Is this the case with Eleider?
“It’s really not impossible … before his first fight against Kovalev, he had trained at altitude in Colombia and there was nothing too big or demanding for him. This allowed him to perform the performance of his life. Afterwards, it was much more difficult … “
In Michel’s eyes, it would be unfair to judge Alvarez, given that he will never have to be ashamed of his run. After all, he became world champion and he also signed some significant victories against Isaac Chilemba, Lucian Bute, Pascal and Kovalev to name a few.
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