JAKARTA – It is undeniable that Saul Canelo Alvarez is the world's most shining boxing star today. The Mexican boxer has always been a concern, including ahead of his duel against Dmitry Bivol in the fight for the WBA light heavyweight title at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas on Saturday 7 May 2022 or Sunday morning in Indonesia.
Behind the success of Canelo Alvarez who is now carving a 57-1-2 (39 KO) record, there are two figures named Edi who play a big role in supporting him. They are promoter Eddie Hearn and coach Eddy Reynoso.
Eddie is the owner of a promotional business from England, Matchroom Boxing. He has a responsibility to restore Canelo's reputation as the most expensive boxer on earth today. He should also be able to recoup the losses of DAZN, the digital streaming television channel that signed Canelo.
Starting from 2018 when DAZN shocked the world boxing stage by offering a bombastic contract, almost IDR 7 trillion for Canelo. The contract is valid for 5 years for 11 fights. DAZN used Golden Boy Promotions as a partner, because at that time the company owned by Oscar De La Hoya was the promoter of Canelo.
The beginning of the collaboration between Canelo, De La Hoya and DAZN was smooth. Two duels throughout 2019 were passed, each with wins over Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, all plans fell apart. Canelo has not been in the ring for 11 months in 2020.
The superstar was sulking. He sued De La Hoya and DAZN for damages. The value is not kidding, IDR 1.4 trillion! DAZN management was dizzy around seven rounds. The clause regarding the pandemic may not be in their work contract, so Canelo easily demands his neglected rights.
Whereas DAZN, based in London and funded by Ukrainian-born British billionaire Leonard Blavatnik, has yet to return. DAZN is still losing up to 500 million pounds sterling, around IDR 10 trillion!
Blavatnik as a financier began to fuss. The richest man number 4 in the UK and 35 in the world has threatened to stop the injection of funds. He felt that his investment in pro boxing through DAZN was a waste.
The Beginning of the Eddie-Canelo CollaborationAt that time, Eddie had already started to take part in DAZN-Canelo's affairs even though it was not yet full. He only became a co-promoter, to display his boxers in the Canelo match extra party. Matchroom Boxing at that time was still under contract with Sky Television to broadcast boxing broadcasts. A legacy employment contract that was initiated in 2012 by his father, Barry Hearn as the founder of Matchroom.
After his contract with Sky ended, Eddie began to act. DAZN signed a contract with him worth more than IDR 2 trillion, and had to bring all the best boxers that Eddie had previously brought to Sky. In 2020 he managed to stage Canelo even though only once, namely against Callum Smith on December 19, 2020. Congratulations to Canelo's career, as well as the DAZN program.
November 2020 Canelo terminated his contract with Golden Boy, after the boxer was granted a promotion license by Canelo Promotions. Be the superstar, it's great to walk, cooperate with Eddie.
“I want to work with Eddie for a long time because he is the best promoter at the moment. He is a very thorough and detailed promoter, and willing to discuss with his boxers. It is for these considerations that I am willing to sign a contract for the two matches against Avni Yildirim and Dmitry Bivol," Canelo said in an interview with TV Azteca, March 2021.
Eddy the CoachDAZN host Chris Mannix poses a question to Saul Canelo Alvarez after his 8th round TKO victory over Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA on Saturday, May 8, 2021.
"What was the key to victory over Saunders?" Mannix asked.
"I have the best coach in Eddy, and I just do everything he tells me to," replied Canelo.
The audience applauded Canelo's answer, and the figure he mentioned smiled while patting the boxer on the head. Once again we will discuss the figure by the name of Eddy.
If previously discussed about Eddie Hearn the promoter, this time Eddy Reynoso is none other than Canelo's coach. Edilson “Eddy” Reynoso has always been in boxing circles. His father, Jose “Chepo” Reynoso was a top coach from Guadalajara. Eddy's wife is also the daughter of Efren "Alacran" Torres, a former legendary Mexican boxer.
Chepo is the founder and founder of the Canelo boxing, and Eddy seems to have been given a command to preserve the precious legacy of his father.
Eddy himself was never a professional boxer. He just dabbled in boxing amateurly, with no accomplishments to be proud of. For him, becoming an accomplished boxer just stops at a dream.
Eddy once tried to be independent, leaving his father's shadow by starting a career as a coach in America. But his intentions failed, in fact he was twice deported to Mexico. Eddy told The Ring that he worked as a butcher in Salinas, California in an attempt to find his identity when he was 19 years old.
For almost 7 years Eddy traveled, until finally his father wanted him to come home to help train Oscar Larios in 2002. At that time Larios was Chepo Reynoso's mainstay boxer, because he was the WBC super bantamweight champion.
“I started seriously as a coach when I was 24 years old. When I was 12 years old my dream was to become a boxing champion, but my life path dictated that I became a coach," Eddy told The Ring.
The Fruit of Canelo's DisciplineCanelo's arrival to Eddy's father's gym paved the way for him to become famous. At that time Canelo was 13 years old in 2003, and Eddy was assigned to handle the stinky kencur child.
So compact is their togetherness, that when Canelo was named the best boxer by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) in 2019, Eddy was also awarded the title of best coach for the organization that was founded in 1926.
“Seeing Saul now is still the same as when he first came at the age of 13. He always felt strong and confident to face anyone. He changed my life, just as I changed his. We complement each other. Maybe it's fate if we become a strong team," said Eddy.
“Saul is not very talented, but he is very disciplined and always wants to learn. Many boxers were more talented than Saul, but they fell far short in discipline. That's why they failed," said Eddy again.
In nearly 20 years under Eddy, Canelo has faced opponents from Mexico, America, England, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, South Africa, Colombia, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Cuba.
If Saul Canelo Alvarez wins over Dmitry Bivol this weekend, the partnership of Eddie Hearn, Eddy Reynoso and Canelo will still progress. Canelo has made it clear that he wants to box for at least another 7 years, so Eddy will still train him. Canelo's contract with DAZN also still has four games remaining, and Eddie must finish it.
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