The history of Team Canelo is on track for a unanimous decision win on issues like brand management and financial consolidation. This is the working group made up of Saul Alvarez, Eddy Reynoso and four other boxers, Oscar Valdez, Ryan Garcia, Joselito Vazquez Y frank sanchez (Andy Ruiz was also there), who are forged in a gym in San Diego, California, under a guideline of discipline, solidarity but also with the autonomy that allows them to get their own contracts and exploit their names commercially, as they already do Álvarez and Valdez even with clothing lines.
The Legacy of Team Canelo is taking great steps in its consolidation as a serious and results-oriented group. Just in March 2022, its two main members made history by winning the triple crown of the Boxing Writers Association in the United States (BWAA, for its acronym in English), when Saul Alvarez he won the award for best boxer and Eddy Reynoso for best trainer and manager.
Although it was not the first time that a Mexican won the scepter for best fighter, because Julio César Chávez did it in the 90s, “Cinnamon“He got it for the second time (the first was in 2019) and it was also an unprecedented occasion in which another Mexican took the crowns of best coach and manager at the same time.
The recognitions of the BWAA ratify the good moment of the Team Canelo, who after almost a year and a half separated from the promoters of Golden Boy and long-term agreements with Dazn, is managing to build his own brand along with other boxers and with the backing of a unified champion (in super middleweight) such as Saul Alvarez. Unlike previous years, in which bags of a maximum of 25 million dollars per fight were guaranteed, now “Canelo” guarantees a minimum income of 30 million.
“Team Canelo is a concept that really tries to differentiate itself from other cases because basically we are talking about a group of boxers, but as such it is not a promotion, but a concept that seeks to have that differentiator, to be innovative and unique, that seeks to be a pioneer in certain things related to image management, communication, marketing and other different topics with respect to any other effort that could be made in boxing”, analyzes Jorge Badillo Nieto, consultant in sports marketing and communication, as well as a professor at the University Iberoamericana in Mexico City.
Only in the economic guideline, “Canelo” Álvarez is experiencing an exponential moment. At the end of his fight against the Russian Dmitry Bivol (May 7 in Las Vegas), he will have pocketed at least 180 million dollars as an independent boxer.
This figure is the product of the five fights he has had between December 2020 and May 2022, after breaking his contract for 11 fights with Dazn: he received 35 million against Callum Smith and another 35 against Billy Joe Saunders, 30 million against Avni Yildirim and 40 million each against Caleb Plant and Bivol, although according to Totalsportal estimates, the duel against the Russian could reach up to 53 million.
Although the Team Canelo It exists since 2010 with the relationship between Saúl Álvarez and Eddy Reynoso, it is up to this moment when he is living his best stage both in the exposure of his brand, as with the BWAA award and by appearing together on the cover of The Ring magazine , being the first time that this medium puts a boxer in front with his coach.
In addition, the reputation of other members of the Team Canelo like Óscar Valdez, Ryan García, Joselito Vázquez, Frank Sánchez and at the time Andy Ruiz have collaborated in the perception of being an organization that sees beyond what happens in a ring.
“There is a key success factor for Team Canelo to be able to contribute important things to the boxing industry as a business and in the sporting part: that it has a correct work methodology, a comprehensive methodology of everything that involves being a professional fighter, such as the part of food, training, blanking, psychological preparation, the medical part, career management, income administration, it can also emulate what different business consultancies do regarding professional advice in economic, financial, legal and other matters. contract negotiation, that is a real differentiator”, indicates the expert in sports communication.
Inside of the Team Canelo perseverance and effort are the lines of work. On his Twitter account, Eddy Reynoso points out that “boxing is a very tough sport in which you lose friends, win enemies, but no one takes away the pride of making champions.” The coach, who constantly appears in interviews and photographs hugging Saúl Álvarez, also reveals that camaraderie and a precise study of technique have been his benchmarks when it comes to training.
“We have done a great job, a great communion in the gym is part of the results and Saúl is spearheading it. We have already identified ourselves as a disciplined team, that we have won fights, titles and I think we have gained prestige and a boxing school that is different from the Mexican school,” Reynoso said in an interview for TUDN at the beginning of 2022.
Although “Canelo” Álvarez is the team’s captain, Reynoso’s projection has been bearing fruit for some years. In 2019, when he won his first recognition from the BWAA as the best coach of the year, it was thanks to the fact that he managed to string together 10 victories under the name Saúl, Óscar Valdez, Ryan García, Joselito Velázquez, Andy Ruiz and Frank Sánchez, of which six were world championship fights.
Saúl’s role is essential for Eddy Reynoso in the balance of the team: “Saúl is the one who likes to share his knowledge and since he is a successful boxer they have a lot of respect for him. The most important thing is to wear a communion, it’s something nice because everyone supports each other. He has touched me in other gyms where there was jealousy, because sometimes those who are starting believe that they do not give them the same attention, ”he defines Eddy Reynoso.
“For Team Canelo to remain valid is the fact that these brands (the other boxers) are well worked not only in the visual part but also in the narrative part and are backed by sporting achievements and other added values (…) Converting to Team Canelo in school and quarry of fighters is going to make the legacy of the ‘Canelo’ brand remain valid for a long time. In the individual case of Saúl, the great challenge is to build a medium and long-term vision in which he knows what he is going to turn all his properties into and, above all, how he is going to manage his own personal brand, ”Badillo concludes. Grandson.
“Canelo” will face Russian Dmitry Bivol in his first fight in 2022, marking a new attempt to compete in the light heavyweight category, where he had already been in 2019 when he defeated Sergey Kovalev. It is a challenge in his career after having established himself as the undisputed world champion of the super middleweight category in 2021. Álvarez went from 168 pounds to 175 and has been preparing in his San Diego sanctuary, which is called the unification of his group : Team Canelo.
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