Saul Alvarez in training for Floyd Mayweather (Photo: Instagram.com)
By Chris Robinson
According to a BoxingScene.com report from Rene Umanzor last week, Saul Alvarez’s manager Eddy “Chepo” Reynoso is claiming that his man has been doing tremendous damage to his sparring partners in advance of his Sep. 14 clash with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas.
Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez had the following to say after speaking with Chepo about Canelo’s camp in Big Bear, Calif.
“He told me [Canelo] already knocked off four sparring partners. We’ve already changed eight or nine people and just [sent] him another from Philadelphia. I’ve never seen him like this. One of the sparring partners broke a rib, two other were injured, one of them injured a shoulder and another was knocked out.”
The reaction from Mayweather’s camp upon hearing the reports has been that of near bemusement.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, in particular, seemed puzzled by all of the talk.
“It’s a joke,” Ellerbe would tell me recently. “That’s exactly what I thought; it’s a joke. It’s like ‘Who are you fooling?’ He’s an excellent younger fighter. He’s earned the right to fight Floyd. He brings a lot to the sport, but when it comes to trying to run game on the public, come on now. You’ve got to cut that bull out. Cut that crap out.
For Ellerbe, talk is cheap concerning a fight of this magnitude.
“At the end of the day, everyone knows that you haven’t sent eight or nine sparring partners home and if you did, who are they?” Ellerbe asked. “And at the end of the day, nobody cares. It’s not about what say. It’s not about what Floyd’s father says. It’s not about what Roger says. It’s not about what Nate says. Aint about what his team says. At the end of the day, he’s got to deal with Floyd on Sep. 14.”
While seeming to be slightly amused by the reports at first, Ellerbe actually seemed to be a little offended by the rumors.
“It was actually kind of insulting for them to say something like that,” said Ellerbe. “I think it kind of backfired in their face. You’re disrespecting the fans. Boxing fans are very, very intelligent and that’s disrespectful.”
When asked how Alvarez stacks up against some of Mayweather’s recent opposition, Ellerbe was quick to give Saul his respect.
“He’s a very good fighter,” Ellerbe stated. “I’ve watched a lot of footage of him for quite some time. I’ve very, very familiar with him. We put him on our undercards for a few fights. I can recall about four years ago, me and Richard [Schaefer] were having a conversation in his office and that’s when I was first introduced to him.”
Still, there seems to be little doubt coming from Ellerbe about what will transpire next month inside of the MGM Grand.
“He’s a guy that’s the biggest star in Mexico and he has a tremendous following but come Sep. 14, all that’s going to shut down,” said Ellerbe.
“He has a lot of weaknesses and Floyd’s Dad and Roger are very well aware of what those weaknesses are,” Ellerbe added. “Floyd will be able to deal with that on Sep. 14.”
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‘Sparring partners don’t mean sh*t!’: Roger Mayweather sounds off on the Canelo rumors
Former Canelo sparring partner feels that Floyd Mayweather may score a late TKO [Flashback footage]
Floyd Mayweather on the mitts with Uncle Roger at MAGIC Market Week inside of the Mandalay Bay
NBA star Jason Terry takes inspiration from Floyd Mayweather heading into the 2013-2014 season
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com