Canelo Alvarez won his first world title at the age of just 20 years old, the first milestone in a career that will not stop impressing.
The Mexican fighter is a four-weight world champion and is regarded as one of the finest fighters in the world today.
With 67 fights to his name at the age of 35, he is a throwback to another era, taking on all comers in some of the top fights ever seen, usually with world title belts on the line.
Canelo Alvarez’s time as champion began at the age of 20, when he demolished the brother of a British boxing legend to taste world title gold for the first time.
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Canelo Alvarez dominated Ricky Hatton’s brother to win his first world title
Being 35-0 at 20 years old is an incredible record that you simply do not see in the modern day, which made Alvarez that much more special walking into his title fight in 2010.
The undefeated prospect was ready to become a world champion at 154 lbs and challenge Matthew Hatton for the vacant WBC Light Middleweight title.
Hatton is the younger brother of former Light Welterweight and Welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton, and was accomplished himself as the European Welterweight champion as well.
However, that experience meant nothing as soon as the bell rang. A cool and calm Canelo decimated Hatton over all 12 rounds, picking apart his opponent from the opening seconds of the first round.
Hatton even hit Canelo with a low blow, which the Mexican followed by calmly getting to his feet and downing his English opponent with ease.
The bout went the distance, but the winner was clear. All three judges scored the fight 119-108, as Canelo was judged to have won every single round, losing just one point for an illegal punch in the seventh round.
He landed over 300 punches on Hatton, who had no response throughout the fight. Canelo was awarded the WBC Super Welterweight title, despite being paid only $350,000 for the bout.
However, that is a sum that would not even touch the sides after Canelo’s recent big-money contract.
Canelo Alvarez signed a deal to make him one of the highest-paid fighters in boxing
While he was thrilled to win the world title that night, the paltry prize money he received pales in comparison to Canelo’s recent contract.
While he had one of the highest-grossing fights of all time when Canelo fought Floyd Mayweather in 2013, it wasn’t until 2025 that he became boxing’s highest-paid fighter.
That is because in February 2025, Canelo signed a contract with Riyadh Season to promote his next five fights, starting with his win over William Scull in March.
The deal included four fights taking place in Saudi Arabia, with the Mexican fighter paid $80 million per prize fight.
This adds up to a total of $400 million in total, making him one of the highest-paid boxers in the world.