World super middleweight boxing champion Canelo Alvarez placed his handprints and footprints in cement in the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood Saturday, beginning a new emphasis on embracing and celebrating cultural game changers with the unique honor.
Interim World Boxing Council lightweight champion Ryan Garcia was among those introducing Alvarez at the 11 a.m. ceremony which was streamed on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
Born Santos Saul Alvarez Barragan on July 18, 1990 in San Agustin, Mexico on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Alvarez was given his first boxing gloves when he was 10 years old by his brother Rigoberto.
Alvarez's fair skin and freckles -- inherited from his mother -- made him stick out when he was growing up. He suffered bullying at the hands of schoolmates and local children who nicknamed him “Canelo” (cinnamon-colored).
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"I can't find words to express how I feel now,'' Alvarez said through an interpreter. "When I was a child, I dreamt about being a world champ...I dreamt with the best, but I never imagined so much."
Alvarez added that he was ``very proud to be Mexican'' and "very proud to be putting my handprints here at the Chinese Theatre.''
Alvarez turned professional when he was 15 years old in 2005 and won a World Boxing Association regional welterweight title in 2008. He won the World Boxing Council Youth World Welterweight championship for up-and-coming fighters in 2009.
Alvarez won his first world championship, the WBC super welterweight title, in 2011 with a unanimous decision over Englishman Matthew Hatton. Following five successful title defenses, he added the WBA super welterweight title in 2013 with a unanimous decision over American Austin Trout.
Alvarez suffered his only professional loss in his following fight, losing a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. later in 2013.
Alvarez won the vacant WBC world middleweight championship in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto, and knocked out Englishman Liam Smith to take his World Boxing Organization world super welterweight title in 2016.
He won the WBC, WBA and International Boxing Federation world middleweight championships in 2018 when he handed Gennadiy Golovkin the only defeat of his professional career, winning by majority decision after the two fought to a draw in their previous fight.
Alvarez won the WBA world super middleweight championship from Englishman Rocky Fielding in 2018 with a third-round technical knockout. Alvarez won Daniel Jacobs' IBF world middleweight championship and defended his WBA and WBC titles with a unanimous decision victory on May 4, 2019.
He knocked out Russian Sergey Kovalev in the 11th round Nov. 2, 2019 to take his WBO world light heavyweight championship, and captured Englishman Callum Smith's WBA world super middleweight championship with a unanimous decision Dec. 19.
Alvarez improved his record to 55-1-2 with 37 knockouts when he successfully defended his WBA and WBC super middleweight championships when Avni Yildirim's corner stopped the fight after the third round on Feb. 27.
Alvarez is next scheduled to fight undefeated Englishman Billy Joe Saunders on May 8 at A&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with Saunders' WBO world super middleweight and Alvarez's WBA and WBC titles at stake.
The only blemishes on Alvarez's pro record are a unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 and draws with Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and Jorge Juarez in 2006 in his fifth professional fight.
Alvarez handed Golovkin the only defeat of his professional career, winning by majority decision in their 2018 rematch.
