The professional cycle of boxing includes moments of evaluation for its main exponents after years of demands on the canvas. In this scenario, the Mexican boxer Saúl Canelo Álvarez addressed the final stage of his career in the rings, confirming that the time frame for his definitive retirement from professional activity is close to being finalized.
Despite the intentions of the international organizers to prolong his stay on the circuit by proposing multiple fights, the position of the Guadalajara corner remains firm regarding the physical limits and personal goals that the athlete plans to manage outside of the combat discipline.
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Body signals and goals outside the ring
The decision to set the date to hang up the gloves will respond directly to the physical response that the athlete registers during the preparation sessions in the gym. In an interview with the North American television network CBS, Canelo Álvarez explained that the accumulation of punishment or the lack of reaction during the camps will be the definitive indicators to end his career.
“I don't have much left,” Canelo Álvarez declared in his conversation when analyzing his continuity on the rented plane, adding about his plans outside of sport: “I have other things that I want to achieve outside of boxing.”
In the same television space, the Guadalajara athlete detailed the methodology with which he will evaluate his performance before accepting new international roles. "My body is going to tell me when to quit. When I'm in the gym, if I get a lot of hits and my body no longer responds the same way, then I'll know. I'm not going to fight if I train that way... During the training camp you can see and feel everything. You feel how your body responds, or if it no longer responds," argued the boxer from Jalisco, Mexico.
Technical evolution and adaptation to modern methods
The management of the Jalisco fighter's career has required a restructuring of training methodologies with the aim of reducing joint wear accumulated after two decades of activity. The use of scientific tools applied to high performance has made it possible to modify traditional physical preparation schemes without reducing the ability to respond on the mat.
Regarding this transition process towards less invasive routines for the physical structure, Canelo Álvarez detailed to the CBS signal the differences compared to his first years in the discipline. "Before, I trained in a more rudimentary way. I grew up with that type of training. Now science has changed and I am adapting to it. It is a more intelligent way of training. Before we ran a lot and, at some point, the body ends up getting tired. But now I am adapting to modern methods," said the athlete.
The return to Saudi Arabia before Christian Mbilli
The immediate planning of the Mexican corner focuses on completing the preparation camp for the commitment set for next October 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. On that evening, the Aztec challenger will seek to win the World Boxing Council super middleweight title against the current holder of the green and gold belt, Frenchman Christian Mbilli.
The confrontation was initially scheduled to take place in mid-September; However, the athlete himself requested the modification of the date from the Riyadh Season coordinators to address personal matters before starting the highly demanding concentrations. This presentation will mark the official reappearance of Canelo Álvarez in the ring after more than a year of inactivity, with his last precedent being September 13, 2025, the date on which he lost his 168-pound championships to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.
