CANELO ALVAREZ has hinted at a shock career change as he eyes achieving an “impossible dream” once he retires from boxing.
The Mexican, a four-weight world champion who has unified belts in three divisions, is currently preparing for a huge homecoming this weekend.
He will defend the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles against John Ryder on Saturday in front of 60,000 of his fans.
However, as well as boxing, the superstar also has another sporting “obsession” – golf.
We have seen him in action on the course in the past and he has shown that he possesses just as much magic in his swing as he does in his fists.
The 32-year-old won a celebrity tournament sponsored by BMW in South Carolina previously and also came within inches of a hole-in-one on the 17th at Pebble Beach.
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Ahead of his showdown with Ryder, Canelo told the Daily Mail: “My handicap was down to six, now it’s up to ten.
“I’ve hardly played any golf in the last few weeks. I still love boxing – the doing not so much the watching – but golf is an addiction I have to break before fights.
“I got my handicap down during the covid lockdown and while building my recovery from hand injury.”
Despite his love of the game, Canelo, who revealed he studies Tiger Woods’ swing, bans himself from playing it during the pre-fight camps.
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He said: “I can’t take those risks before a fight. Can’t afford even a small accident.”
And he says the game is even more difficult than being punched by a rival in the ring.
He added: “This is the hardest game ever. Well, golf is harder for me. I’ve boxed since I was a kid. Comes easy to me. It is harder to be consistent at golf.
“One shot can be great but the next terrible. One round great, next day horrible. One tiny alteration in making the shot can mean a big difference.”
His former promoter Oscar De La Hoya claimed that Canelo’s loss to Dmitry Bivol a year ago, only the second of his career, was due to the champ “spending all his time on the golf course.”
But Canelo hit back with: “I don’t care one bit about Oscar. I don’t listen to a word from him.
“I don’t care about anything he says about me. He’s a whoosh.
“He lives inside some strange bubble of his own. Away from the real world.”
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