Sports

Canelo Alvarez Talks Machismo Before Big Win Against Caleb Plant This Weekend

Lead Photo: Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Boxer Canelo Alvarez is the undisputed champion of the world. Alvarez scored an 11th round TKO victory over Caleb Plant Saturday night (November 6) to win his fourth super middleweight title.

“It means so much to me, for the history of Mexico, to be an undisputed champion,” Alvarez told ESPN.

Before he became the undisputed champion, Alvarez sat down for a virtual interview with legendary singer Gloria Estefan, her daughter Emily, and her niece Lili on their Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk: The Estefans. One of the topics that came up during the half-hour chat was toxic masculinity. Alvarez explained why he believes men who display signs of machismo are insecure with themselves.

“They feel inferior,” he said during the recent episode. “They feel shame about something, and they let it out in that way, with machismo.”

Alvarez said “it’s very difficult” to contend with machismo if someone who displays macho tendencies doesn’t want to admit that is part of his personality. “They need to realize they’re hurting the other person and they will grow up deeply damaged and will continue the tradition with his children,” he said. “That’s why the world doesn’t change because it has to begin with oneself.”

When asked if he felt like he was in tune with his own feelings, Alvarez said he was. “When I want to say, ‘I love you,’ I say it with all my heart,” he said. “When I want to cry over something like a feeling that I have, I do it without worrying about it.”

Alvarez added, “I want to let everyone know that even though I’m a boxer, I also have my feelings.”