Canelo Alvarez Explains Why He Criticized Ryan Garcia

Canelo Alvarez has opened up on why he criticized Ryan Garcia.

Alvarez recently made waves when he said Garcia was wasting his talent because he isn’t dedicated to boxing. The comments came after Garcia was forced out of his fight, after already having to pull out of another fight earlier this year due to mental health issues.

“Look, Ryan has a lot of talent. But to me in my eyes, he’s wasting a lot of time and wasting his talent,” Alvarez said. “I look at him and don’t see him 100 percent dedicated and, to us, that’s a bad signal.”

“I haven’t talked to him [Ryan Garcia] because he’s just recovering from his surgery, but what I said about him, it wasn’t meant in a bad way. It was meant to be constructive criticism,” said Alvarez on Tuesday when asked about his recent comments about Ryan Garcia needing to be more dedicated (via Boxingnews24). “I want him to take it that way and get the motivation to get on the right track once again.”

Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia have been known to have a big brother, little brother type of relationship so his comments could’ve been more tough love. That is what the Mexican expected it to be, but for him, the focus is on his fight against Caleb Plant on Saturday. He’s also looking to be active next year as well.

“If I have the opportunity to fight three, four or even five times a year, I’m happy,” Canelo said when asked why other fighters aren’t as interested in fighting as much as him. “I’m happy because this is what I do, this is what I love. My love is in the gym and I’m always ready to fight. For me, it’s really good. But for other fighters? I don’t know (why they don’t fight more).”

What do you make of Canelo Alvarez’s comments about Ryan Garcia?