Canelo Alvarez became a world champion in 2011, setting him on his incredible path.
Alvarez has only lost to Dmitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather, in a career that has seen him take out some of the very best.
As a multi-division champion, Alvarez has bested Liam Smith, Caleb Plant, and Gennadiy Golovkin among many others to become one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all time.
Although several performances from Alvarez can be considered his best, one of his most lethal was a 2015 non-title bout.
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Canelo Alvarez brutally finished James Kirkland in 2015
2013 would see Alvarez lose his first professional fight to Mayweather, being bested via majority decision and losing his WBC World Super Welterweight title. Looking to get back into world title contention, Alvarez bounced back with wins over Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara.
Following his brace of wins, Alvarez would take on James Kirkland (32-1) as the two fought in Houston, Texas.
Eager to show he still belonged amongst the best in the world, the Mexican had a showcase performance.
With a dominant showing in the first, Alvarez would knock his opponent down at the halfway point of the round. Still on wobbly legs, Kirkland was in survival mode for the final minute, before being saved by the bell.
Kirkland would recover from the first-round damage well, having more success in the second. However, Alvarez would continue to show his quality, winning the round.
Then, in the third round, two huge shots from Alvarez spelled the end of the bout.
The first shot of significance was a slick uppercut from Alvarez, that knocked the American down. As the fight continued, an inch-perfect right hand would spin the jaw of Kirkland, putting him down and out.
Canelo Alvarez moved to middleweight after Kirkland victory
Following his win over Kirkland, Alvarez decided to move up a weight class to middleweight to challenge for a world title.
In the weight class, he would face Miguel Cotto (40-4), as the two met for the vacant WBC World Middleweight title.
The Mexican would have a dominant showing over the former world champion Cotto, winning via unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout, 118-110, 117-111, and 119-109 in favor of Alvarez.
His win over Cotto would make Alvarez a two-division champion, aged just 25.