Canelo Alvarez is a throwback to the days when fighters fought a lot more than modern times, as his record is one of the most impressive in boxing today.
The Mexican fighter boasts 67 fights in his career, with Canelo Alvarez’s bout with Terence Crawford bringing that total up to 68.
He is only 35 years old and has won 63 of those fights, battling numerous top boxers in some of Canelo’s biggest fights of his career.
The key to Canelo’s ever-growing record is partially down to his incredible longevity and partially down to starting his professional career when he was still a child, growing up in Mexico.
Canelo Alvarez won his boxing debut as a 15-year-old
Canelo started his career earlier than most, conquering the Junior Mexican National Boxing Championships at 13 before turning pro just two years later.
He boxed in his home country of Mexico, but struggled to find other teenage boys who were on his level in the ring.
So, his coaches made the call for him to go professional at 15 years old, kicking off his career on October 29, 2005.
There is some footage available showing Canelo’s debut as a 15-year-old, where he took on a Mexican boxer named Abraham Gonzalez.
The early footage is of a much leaner, younger Canelo who showed hints of the aggressive and powerful fighter who is one of boxing’s richest fighters.
He shrugged off some big hits from Gonzalez throughout the fight, but managed to overpower his opponent with the volume of punches he was throwing, with the referee eventually calling off the fight due to the damage he was doing.
The 15-year-old Canelo picked up his first win of his career that day, a career that would see him win titles at multiple weight classes and become known across the globe.
He wasn’t the youngest fighter ever, though. While the youngest world champion ever was 17 years old, a nine-year-old once made his pro debut in boxing.
Nipper Pat Daly was the youngest boxer ever and started as a nine-year-old
While 15 years old seems an absurd age to begin a professional boxing career, Canelo was nowhere near the youngest fighter to debut in the ring.
A young Welsh boy named Patrick Daley, better known by the nickname Nipper Pat Daly, is almost certainly the record holder for the youngest professional boxer in history.
He began fighting in the 1920s, taking boxing lessons in London and impressing his trainer so much, he had his first professional fight at the age of nine (although some sources claim he was ten years old).
Daley began his career in 1923, when he beat a fighter named George Brown on a points decision after four rounds.
While he never became a champion and retired at just 17 years old, Daly won 99 of his 119 fights and even sparred with Middleweight world champion Mickey Walker as a 14-year-old.
As impressive as Canelo’s early start was, it was nothing compared to Nipper Daly.