Eléider Álvarez Baytar (born 8 April 1984) is a Colombian
professional boxer who held the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
light-heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserw ...
title from 2018 to 2019. As an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
he won a gold medal at the
2007 Pan American Games
The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...
in the light-heavyweight division.
As of January 2021, Álvarez is ranked as the world's eighth best active light-heavyweight by the
Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, seventh by ''
The Ring'' magazine and tenth by
BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
.
Early life
Alvarez was born in Apartadó, Colombia. At a very young age, Alvarez was interested in music and boxing. His mother wanted him to box full-time. His mother died when Alvarez was only 14 years old. It was then Alvarez decided to start a career in boxing.
Amateur career
Álvarez won the 2006 South America Games against
Hamilton Ventura
Hamilton Ventura da Conceicao (born 1983 in Cruz das Almas) is a Brazilian amateur boxer best known to win a silver medal at the 2006 South American Games in the men's light heavyweight division.
Career
He only started to box in 2006 but when ...
.
At the
PanAms 2007 he beat southpaw
Julio Castillo
Julio César Castillo Torres (born 10 May 1988) is an Ecuadorian amateur boxer. He won two medals at the Pan American Games: a bronze in 2007 and a silver in 2011.
Career
At the 2006 South American Games, Castillo lost to Hamilton Ventura in t ...
10:8 and upset Cuban favorite
Yusiel Napoles in the final by KO in round 3. He was trailing 4:6.
At the 2007 World Championships he lost to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n champion
Ramadan Yasser.
At the first Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas in Trinidad he was beaten by 18-year-old
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n
Julio César la Cruz 0:8. At the second Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas in Guatemala he squeaked by the same opponent with an 8:8 countback win, then beat old foe Julio Castillo 4:0 and
Azea Austinama
Azea Augustama (born August 2, 1983) is a Haitian boxer who qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games at light-heavyweight through a bronze medal finish at the second Americas qualifier. In 2008 he also won the National Golden Gloves.
Professional car ...
to win his Olympic ticket. In the final he also defeated fellow qualifier
Julius Jackson
Julius Jackson (born August 1, 1987) is a professional boxer from the Virgin Islands who qualified for the 2008 Olympics at light-heavyweight, as did his brother John Jackson. Their father is boxer Julian Jackson.
Amateur career
At the 2007 Wor ...
.
At the 2008 Pan American Championships in Ecuador he won gold.
Based on his qualifying results he was given a first round bye in the 2008 Olympics, but after a 5-5 tie at the end of his second round bout with Britain's
Tony Jeffries
Tony David Jeffries (born 2 March 1985) is an English former professional boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2012, an undefeated Jeffries was forced to retire due to hand injuries.
Life and career
Jeffries was bor ...
(eventual bronze medalist), Álvarez lost on countback.
Professional career
Early career
Álvarez made his debut at the age of 25 on 28 August 2009 against Jesse Sanders (14-6-2, 13 KOs) at the
Montreal Casino
The Montreal Casino (french: Casino de Montréal) is a casino on the Notre Dame Island in the borough of Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec, and is the largest casino in Canada. It is located in Jean-Drapeau Park, across from Montreal’s Old Por ...
. Sanders was a late replacement for Kareem Chartrand.
Joachim Alcine
Joachim Alcine (born March 26, 1976) is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, where he now resides. He is a former WBA light middleweight champion.
Professional career
Alcine defeated Jose Hilton Dos Santos on ...
and
David Lemieux also appeared on the card in separate bouts. Álvarez won the fight via knockout in round 1. This was Sanders' last professional bout. Álvarez fought twice more in 2009 at the Montreal Casino, closing the year with a record of (3-0, 2 KOs). Álvarez did not fight in 2010 due to VISA issues and went back to Colombia. He returned to the ring in April 2011 knocking Ernesto Zamora out after knocking him down 3 times. Álvarez fought for his first title, the vacant
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
NABO light heavyweight title in just his sixth professional fight against Emiliano Cayetano (21-3, 12 KOs) at the
Bell Centre
Bell Centre (), formerly known as Molson Centre (), is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montr ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
on 10 December 2011. Cayetano was knocked down three times in round 1, before the fight was stopped at 2 minutes, 33 seconds. In April 2012, he knocked out Rayco Saunders before defending his WBO NABO title against future world title challenger
Shawn Hawk
Shawn Hawk (born 17 May 1984) is a professional boxer from Crow Creek Sioux Tribe who fights in the light heavyweight division having previously boxed at Cruiserweight.
Professional career
Hawk turned professional in May 2004 at the 4 Bears Cas ...
(23-1-1, 17 KOs) at the Bell Centre on June 8. Álvarez knocked Hawk down in round 12 and won via wide scorecards of 119-108,119-108, 118-109. This was the first time Álvarez was taken the 12 round distance in his professional career. Álvarez was due to defend his WBO NABO title against veteran boxer
Edison Miranda
Edison Miranda (born January 7, 1981) is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2021. He challenged once each for the IBF middleweight and super middleweight world titles, and was considered to be one of the most danger ...
on 14 December 2012 at the Bell Centre, however Miranda dropped out of the fight and instead Álvarez fought
Danny McIntosh
Danny McIntosh (born 1 March 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2014. He held the European light-heavyweight title in 2011 and competed in the 30th Prizefighter series.
Professional career
McIntosh's first ...
, who he knocked out in 8 rounds of the scheduled 10. Álvarez knocked McIntosh down twice in round 8, with the finishing shot being a right hand.
In February 2013, Promoter Yvon Michel confirmed that Álvarez would returning to the Bell Centre on the undercard of Adonis Stevenson vs. Darnell Boone II on 22 March. Veteran boxer Nicholson Poulard (19-3, 9 KOs) was announced as his opponent and it was announced that the WBA NABA light heavyweight title would be at stake. Poulard, known for being the brother of former world champion Jean Pascal, was on a 6-fight win streak going into the bout. Álvarez stopped Poulard in round 3 with a single combination. Poulard collapsed to the canvas though he managed to get up on his feet, it was not enough to convince referee Marlon Wright, who waved off the fight at the 2:08 mark in the third. On 25 March, Álvarez's manager Greg Leon stated it was likely he fight
Allan Green
Allan Lamar Green (born September 20, 1979) is an American professional boxer. He is a former NABO super middleweight champion, and has challenged for world titles at both super middleweight and light heavyweight.
Amateur career
Green had a st ...
(32-4, 22 KOs) on the
Lucian Bute vs.
Jean Pascal undercard on 25 May in a
WBA eliminator at the Bell Centre in Montreal. On 12 June,
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
announced his company, SMS Promotions would promote a card at the
Connecticut Convention Center
The Connecticut Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, United States, overlooking the Connecticut River.
History
The center opened on June 2 2005. It was designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & ...
in
Hartford on July 5 live on
ESPN Friday Night Fights
The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier Box ...
. Álvarez vs. Green was to headline the card. The fight was to be fought at a 180-pound catchweight, however Green weighed 186 pounds. Álvarez came in much lighter at 178 pounds. For the fight to go ahead, Green had to pay Álvarez 20% of his purse, which worked out to be $3,000. Green withdrew from the bout the next morning claiming he had
food poisoning
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food,
as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
. Álvarez eventually fought his toughest fight against
Edison Miranda
Edison Miranda (born January 7, 1981) is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2021. He challenged once each for the IBF middleweight and super middleweight world titles, and was considered to be one of the most danger ...
(35-8, 30 KO's) on the Stevenson-Cloud undercard on 28 September at the Bell Centre. The bout the scheduled for 10 rounds. After controlling the fight from the start, Álvarez dropped Miranda after landing a right hand. Miranda beat the count and with Álvarez trying to finish the fight, Miranda made it to end of the round. The fight went the distance with Álvarez winning 95-94, 99-90, 97-92 on the judges' scorecards.
In January 2014, Álvarez defeated then-unbeaten Canadian boxer Andrew Gardiner via unanimous decision, then returned to the ring in May, going the distance for the third consecutive time, this time against Alexander Johnson. Álvarez was originally due to fight South African contender
Thomas Oosthuizen
Thomas Oosthuizen ( ; born 2 April 1988) is a South African professional boxer. He is a former IBO world champion in two weight classes, having held the super-middleweight title from 2011 to 2014, and the light-heavyweight title in 2015.
Profe ...
for the vacant
WBC Silver light heavyweight title in January instead of Gardiner. The WBA declined to sanction the bout. A week before the bout, Oosthuizen was pulled from the bout and reportedly dropped by his promotional team Golden Gloves. Their website stated Oosthuizen had been involved in a motorcycle accident and injured. It was also reported he was 12 pounds over the light heavyweight limit at the time. After being lightly linked to a fight with
Dmitry Sukhotsky (21-2, 16 KOs) in July, it was announced it August that Álvarez would fight on Golden Gloves promoted card, headlined by British boxer
Martin Murray at the
Salle des Étoiles in
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
on 25 October 2014. He challenged
Ryno Liebenberg
Ryno Liebenberg (born 12 December 1983) is a South African professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as de ...
(16-0, 11 KOs) for his WBC Silver title. Álvarez won the belt scoring a round 7 stoppage. Álvarez used the first 2 rounds to test Liebenberg's shots. In round 4, Álvarez started landed more shots clean. Under the WBC rules of open scoring, the judges scorecards read 39-37 (twice - for Álvarez) and 38-38 after 4 rounds. Liebenberg was cut due to an accidental headbutt and then deducted a point under the WBC regulations. When the fight resumed, Álvarez landed a right uppercut, however Liebenberg survived the round. The cut over Liebenberg's left eye re-opened in round 7 and after advice from the ringside physician, referee Frank Garza stopped the fight at 1 minute, 54 seconds, giving Ávarez the win.
On 11 May 2015 Álvarez was added to the
Erislandy Lara
Erislandy Lara Santoya (born 11 April 1983) is a Cuban-American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA (Regular) middleweight title since 2021. Previously he held various versions ...
vs.
Delvin Rodriguez
Delvin () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland; it is located on the N52 road at a junction with the N51 to Navan. The town is from Mullingar (along the N52).
The word Delvin comes from Delbhna. That tribe settled in what is present-d ...
card on 12 June at the
UIC Pavilion in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. This would mark Álvarez's US debut and was to be broadcast on
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
. On 8 June,
Groupe Yvon Michel announced that Álvarez, along with stablemates
Artur Beterbiev and
Oscar Rivas
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
had signed with powerful American adviser
Al Haymon
Al Haymon (born April 21, 1955) is an American businessman and boxing manager. He was the manager of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has won the Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year Award five times.
Early life
Haymon was raised in Cleveland, ...
. Álvarez fought Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-3, 13 KOs) and knocked him out in 2 rounds after landing a hard combination. On 15 July, in Montreal, at the press conference of
Lucian Bute vs.
Andrea Di Luisa
Andrea Di Luisa (born 13 May 1982) is an Italian professional boxer who held the European Union super-middleweight title from 2013 to 2015.
Professional career
Di Luisa made his professional debut on 30 October 2008, scoring a fourth-round sto ...
, it was confirmed that Álvarez would fight unbeaten Paraguayan Isidro Ranoni Prieto (24-0-3, 20 KOs). Prieto was ranked #6 by the WBO. The fight would take place on August 15 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Álvarez won the bout via unanimous decision with all three judges' scoring the bout 117-111 in his favor. After the fight, Álvarez stated, "I was prepared to go 12 rounds. "I didn't want to, I wanted the knockout, but I was ready for a 12-round fight and happy to get the win." There was talks that Álvarez would potentially fight
Isaac Chilemba
Miguel Isaac Chilemba Zuze (born 17 May 1987) is a Malawian professional boxer who held the IBO super-middleweight title from 2010 to 2011, and challenged for the WBA (Undisputed), IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight titles in 2016.
Early profe ...
next in a WBC eliminator.
The teams of Álvarez and Chilemba started talks on 26 August 2015 and within a month agreed the terms for their fight, avoiding purse bids. The fight was then announced to take place at the
Videotron Centre in
Quebec City, Quebec on 28 November on the undercard of newly crowned IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale's first title defence against Lucian Bute. In a close bout, Álvarez defeated Chilemba via majority decision to become the WBC
mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...
. One judge scored the bout 114-114, whilst the remaining two judges awarded Álvarez 118-110 and 115-113. Had Chilemba won the final round, the bout would have ended a draw. According to ComputBox stats, Álvarez landed 147 of 544 punches thrown (27%) and Chilemba landed 151 of his 598 thrown (25%). Álvarez believed he was the clear winning having only lost 2 rounds. Chilemba took most of the early rounds and it was not until the later rounds where Chilemba weathered the storm. Chilemba stated that Álvarez, who had mostly fought out of Canada, received a "hometown decision."
Career from 2016–2017
Álvarez fought twice in 2016. Initially, he was scheduled to fight former Lineal world champion
Chad Dawson in July, however an injury caused Dawson to pull out with only 10 days before the fight. Instead, New Zealand southpaw
Robert Berridge
Robert Berridge (born 22 November 1984) is a retired New Zealand professional light heavyweight boxer.
Berridge is a boxer who has had over thirty fights, five boxing titles and has peaked at ninth on the World Boxing Organization and twelfth ...
(27-4-1, 21 KOs) stepped in to fight Álvarez in a 10-round bout on 29 July at the Videotron Centre. Álvarez, the heavy favourite against the late replacement performed defensively in winning a lop-sided decision. Considering Berridge took the bout on short notice as a replacement for Dawson, he went the distance and gave a good accounting of himself. Berridge took a huge swelling and beating to the right side of his face, and could not penetrate the defensive wall of Álvarez. The scorecards read 99-90, 98-92, 98-92. Álvarez returned to the ring on 10 December, headlining his own card at the Montreal Casino in Quebec against Polish boxer
Norbert Dąbrowski
Norbert Dąbrowski (born 26 August 1988) is a Polish professional boxer.
Boxing career
Dąbrowski professional boxing debut 17 September 2010 in Olsztyn where he defeated by TKO first round Andrejs Suliko.
In 12 December 2016 Dąbrowski he ...
(19-5-1, 7 KOs). Dąbrowski came into the bout having never been stopped. Álvarez was unable to stop Dąbrowki, who proved to be a tough opponent, however won a wide unanimous decision with the scores of 97-93, 98-92, 99-91.
On 6 December 2016 prior to defeating Dąbrowki, a bout with former IBF super middleweight champion
Lucian Bute (32-3-1, 25 KOs) was in the works to take place on 25 February 2017 in Quebec. Promoter Yvon Michel explained the reason for the bout was due to the fallout of the potential rematch between Bute and Jean Pascal. Álvarez knocked out Bute in round 5 to remain the mandatory challenger for the WBC title. Both fighters had their moments in the first four rounds, but it was a right hand which buzzed Bute. He was then immediately dropped with another right hand. Marlon B. Wright, who refereed his last bout, stopped the fight at 2:22 of round 5. An accidental clash of heads at the end of round 2 opened a cut on Bute's nose and Álvarez was cut on his forehead. Bute suffered his 4th loss over his last 7 fights.
Álvarez vs. Pascal
On 15 April 2017, it was announced that Álvarez would defend the WBC Silver light heavyweight title against Haitian
Jean Pascal on the undercard of
Adonis Stevenson's world title defense against
Fonfara at the
Centre Bell
Bell Centre (), formerly known as Molson Centre (), is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montr ...
in Montreal, Canada on 3 June 2017. Álvarez was due to fight Stevenson next for the WBC world title, but took money to step aside. The event was scheduled to be shown live on Showtime and was confirmed on 21 April. Álvarez outboxed Pascal, winning a majority decision after 12 rounds. One judge scored the fight 114-114, whilst the other two scored it 117-111 and 116-112 in favour of Álvarez. Pascal suffered his third defeat in five fights. Álvarez controlled the fight with his superior jab, accuracy and general ring work. Pascal felt he had done enough to get the win and wanted a rematch with Álvarez.
Issues with the WBC
After
Badou Jack
Badou Johannes Gabriel Jack (born 31 October 1983) is a Swedish professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC super-middleweight title from 2014 to 2017 and the WBA light-heavyweight title in 201 ...
(21-1-3, 13 KOs)
defeated Nathan Cleverly in August 2017, to win the WBA 'Regular' light heavyweight title, he began to call out WBC champion
Adonis Stevenson, knowing that Stevenson had a mandatory challenger. Stevenson shrugged it off, claiming he was ready for anyone. On September 8, 2017 mutual promoter Yvon Michel disclosed that there was serious ongoing negotiations between Stevenson and Álvarez to fight before the end on 2017. He revealed the fight would take place in Quebec. In September, Michel said that he had a difficult time finalizing a date and venue for the fight, which meant the fight could get pushed to the end of January 2018. He also responded to claims of Jack wanting to fight Stevenson, saying it would only be possible if it were a unification. Michel confirmed the fight would take place on Showtime in January 2018. Michel spoke to Showtime about not going head to head locally with
David Lemieux's next fight, which would take place on 16 December on HBO. On 8 November, there was rumours stating that Stevenson would once again pay Álvarez a step-aside fee, in order to fight Badou Jack. Álvarez spoke to
TVA Sports
TVA Sports is a Canadian French-language sports specialty channel owned by the Groupe TVA, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. The channel is a general-interest sports network, and the first major competitor to RDS, the only other Fre ...
saying, "I do not think I'm going to fight Stevenson. I do expect to receive that (step-aside offer), and then I will analyze it with my team." On 1 December, it was reported that GYM had offered Álvarez a step-aside deal which would give him 'a multi-fight agreement with six-figure guarantee per fight', with Stevenson being part of deal as well. On 6 December, the WBC announced that they would investigate into Stevenson's title reign and lack of mandatories. A week later, the WBC stated they would allow Stevenson to avoid Álvarez once again in order to fight Jack. The WBC went on to state they would order Álvarez to fight Ukrainian boxer
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Oleksandr Serhiyovych Gvozdyk ( uk, Олександр Сергійович Гвоздик, ; also Hvozdyk; born 15 April 1987) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 2014 to 2019. He held the WBC and lineal light-heavyweig ...
(14-0, 12 KOs) for the interim title. Álvarez withdrew from the fight before the purse bid was scheduled on 12 January. On 11 April, news broke out from Álvarez's manager, Stephane Lepine that a deal was yet to be reached with Álvarez to be properly compensated. Yvon Michel admitted he was working on a deal to keep Álvarez happy and this was the same reason as to why tickets had not yet gone on sale for the Stevenson-Jack fight, which was a month away.
WBO light-heavyweight champion
Álvarez vs. Kovalev
On 18 April 2018 it was announced that a deal had been reached for Álvarez to challenge
Sergey Kovalev
Sergey Alexandrovich Kovalev (russian: Сергей Александрович Ковалёв (Ko-va-LYOV); born 2 April 1983) is a Russian professional boxer. He has held multiple light-heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Undi ...
(32-2-1, 28 KOs) for the
WBO light heavyweight title on HBO. Kovalev was originally scheduled to fight contender
Marcus Browne
Marcus Browne (born November 10, 1990) is an American professional boxer who fights at light heavyweight. As of December 2020, he was ranked the world's sixth best active light heavyweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, eighth by ' ...
in the summer of 2018, however due to having been arrested for domestic violence, Kovalev's promoter,
Kathy Duva
Kathy Duva is an American boxing promoter and current CEO of Main Events, a New Jersey-based boxing promotion company. In 2019 she was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Early life
Duva graduated from Montclair State College with ...
of Main Events got in contact with Álvarez's manager Lepine about a potential fight. Due to Álvarez fighting Kovalev, this meant the announcement of Stevenson vs. Jack would be imminent. It was announced the fight would take place on 4 August at the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...
in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. . In front of a sold-out crowd of 5,642 at the Estess Aena, Álvarez won the fight via TKO in round 7 to claim the WBO title. Kovalev was knocked down three times in round 7 before the fight was stopped. The official time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 45 seconds. For the first six rounds, Kovalev was in control using his jab and landing his right hand. At the end of round 6, he was leading on the scorecards 59-55, 59-55 and 58-56. Álvarez bided his time waiting to the midpoint of the contest before opening up. He explained that part of the gameplan was to wait for Kovalev to tire. Álvarez first dropped Kovalev with a clean right hand to the head. Kovalev got up, but looked unsteady. Instead of trying to finish the round, he stayed open allowing Álvarez to land jabs and a perfectly timed uppercut. Kovalev was dropped again with a combination of punches. After beating the count again, Álvarez charged forward landing another left-right combination, putting Kovalev down again. Referee David Fields stopped the fight.
After the fight, Duva confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract, however was unsure if the rematch would take place straight away. Kovalev was taken to hospital as precaution, thanked his fans for their support and hinted retirement. Through a translator, Álvarez said, "Words cannot describe how I feel. I want to thank God and all my fans in Canada and Colombia. This was all for them. It was a two-punch combination
or the final knockdownthat I have been throwing my whole career, and we worked on it in camp. I have always practiced that in camp, and we thought it would work in this camp." CompuBox Stats showed that Kovalev landed 91 punches of 339 thrown (27%) and Álvarez landed 73 of his 251 thrown (29%). The fight averaged 731,000 viewers and peaked at 813,000 viewers.
Career from 2019–present
Álvarez vs. Kovalev II
On 25 August, Kovalev said he would exercise the rematch clause. According to the contract, the fight would have had to take place by February 2019. Early talks indicated the rematch would take place in December 2018. A stumbling block appeared when HBO confirmed they were not fully committed to airing a rematch between the two fighters. Duva stated at any point competing networks could bid on the bout, but all HBO would need to do was match the highest bid to broadcast the fight. In September 2018, Duva stated the bout would likely take place towards the end of January 2019 on the
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
, as it would be a good distance for Canadian fans to drive to. On 14 September, it was announced that
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
would broadcast the rematch. A week later it was announced the fight would take place on 2 February 2019 at the
Ford Center at The Star
Ford Center at The Star is a 12,000-seat indoor stadium located in Frisco, Texas. Its main use is as the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility. It is also used for Whataburger's Friday Night Stars, an event every Friday showcasing Frisco Independent ...
in
Frisco, Texas, best known for being the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
’ training facility. The first press conference took place on 8 December 2018 officially starting the build up for the rematch.
On 20 December 2018 Álvarez signed a multi-year co-promotional deal with
Top Rank, which would see his future bouts televised on ESPN. The contract highlighted, for as many as seven fights, Álvarez would earn seven-figure purses, PPV shares, gate revenue and at least one fight per year in Quebec. Promoter Yvon Michel stated unifications were now more possible than before, apart from a fight with
Artur Beterbiev, who Marc Ramsey also trains. He also stated that
Al Haymon
Al Haymon (born April 21, 1955) is an American businessman and boxing manager. He was the manager of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has won the Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year Award five times.
Early life
Haymon was raised in Cleveland, ...
would still be advising Álvarez and gave them his blessing to take the deal.
In front of 4,877 fans at the Ford Center, Kovalev put on an incredible performance to regain the WBO title after defeating Álvarez by a 12 round unanimous decision and became a three-time light heavyweight titleholder. The judges scored it 120-108, 116-112 and 116-112 for Kovalev. The shutout scorecard seemed exaggerated as Álvarez did do enough to win a few rounds. After round 1, Kovalev settled into the fight, he started using his jab and keeping Álvarez at range. Kovalev looked to tire in rounds 6, 7 and 8, but appeared to get his second wind in the championship rounds, pulling the fight out of reach for Álvarez. After round 10, Álvarez's corner advised him he needed a knockout to win.
After the fight, Kathy Duva of Main Events said, "I'm thrilled. It's sweeter when nobody thinks you can do it." Kovalev hired veteran trainer Buddy McGirt for the bout, ending his 3-fight run with Abror Tursunpulatov. On the loss, Álvarez said, "I have no excuses. I know if it went the distance he would be the favorite so I tried to press the fight. I thought I put on a good performance. I don't see myself as a loser, but I do give him credit. He went out and proved he wanted to win the fight." Kovalev gave his training team credit, "This training camp I had help from my team, Buddy and Teddy. Thank you guys for this. They stopped me from overtraining. I saved my energy and I'm happy. We worked on the jab. Always my jab and right hand." According to CompuBox statistics, Kovalev landed 213 of 816 punches (26%) and Álvarez connected with 111 of his 369 shots (30%).
Following the loss, it was reported that Álvarez's new contract with Top Rank would continue, but with some 'financial consequences'. It was said that Álvarez would not be guaranteed a minimum $250,000 purse, not including any monetary bonuses. The contract stated if Álvarez could recapture a world title, the original terms would be reinstated.
Álvarez vs. TBA
According to The Montreal Journal, Álvarez was due to make his ring return on 28 June 2019 at the
Videotron Center in Canada. On 20 March, it was reported that former super middleweight world title challenger
Jesse Hart
Jesse Hart (born August 14, 1989) is an American professional boxer who has challenged twice for the WBO super middleweight title; firstly in 2017 and again in 2018.
Early life and amateur career
Jesse Hart is the son of former Philly middlewe ...
(25-2, 21 KOs) was the leading contender to fight Álvarez. Hart's only concern was the bout taking place in Canada. In April, Álvarez agreed to fight Hart, pending a contract signing. It was reported on 3 May, whilst in training, Álvarez had suffered a torn ligament in his foot, meaning his ring return would be delayed.
Álvarez vs Seals
In his comeback fight, Alvarez fought Michael Seals on 18th January, 2020. Alvarez caught Seals with a big overhand right at the end of the seventh round, from which Seals would not get up.
Álvarez vs Smith Jr.
On August 22, 2020, Alvarez fought heavy handed
Joe Smith Jr.
Joe Smith Jr. (born September 20, 1989) is an American professional boxer who held the WBO light heavyweight title from 2021 to June 2022. In 2016, Smith became the first boxer to score a stoppage victory over former undisputed middleweight ...
in a WBO title eliminator. Smith Jr boxed well, and took the fight to Alvarez, which culminated in a ninth-round one-punch knockout over Alvarez, who was sent on the canvas below the ropes, and was not able to beat the count.
Personal life
He has one daughter with his wife Jessica, called Ayda Eliza, named after his mother. His family lives in Colombia, whilst Alvarez lives in an apartment in Laval. Alvarez sends money to Colombia for his family.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
*
Eleider Alvarez - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Eleyder
1984 births
Living people
People from Apartadó
Colombian emigrants to Canada
World light-heavyweight boxing champions
Boxers at the 2007 Pan American Games
Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers of Colombia
Colombian male boxers
Pan American Games gold medalists for Colombia
Pan American Games medalists in boxing
South American Games gold medalists for Colombia
South American Games medalists in boxing
World Boxing Organization champions
Competitors at the 2006 South American Games
Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games
Sportspeople from Antioquia Department