Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán (born July 18, 1990), commonly known as El Canelo (from canela, Spanish for cinnamon, in reference to his red hair), is a
Mexican professional
boxer in the
Light Middleweight division. He is the former
WBC,
WBA, and
Ring Magazine Light Middleweight Champion. He is promoted by
Oscar De La Hoya's
Golden Boy Promotions.
In an interview, Álvarez explained that he was born in the city of
Guadalajara,
Jalisco, but his family was at the time living in San Agustín de
Tlajomulco de Zúñiga. At the age of five his family moved to their current home of
Juanacatlán, Jalisco. Growing up on his family's farm, he learned horseback riding, which he continues today. Álvarez is the youngest of eight children, seven of them boys; all of his brothers also became professional boxers. Among his brothers are
welterweight boxers
Ramon Álvarez,
Ricardo Álvarez and former
Interim WBA World Champion,
Rigoberto Álvarez.
Álvarez was engaged to 30-year-old
Marisol González, who is
Miss Mexico Universe 2003 and a sports reporter for
Televisa Deportes. He has one daughter that he had with a former girlfriend.