Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero notes Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez’s transformation since he learned English.
Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) has gone from being a humble, soft-spoken fighter when speaking in Spanish to a trash-talking guy, using expletives and showing more aggression in press conferences.
The Need for Entertainment
The change of personality by unified super middleweight champion Canelo is one of adapting to how fights are sold in the U.S. Nowadays, fighters must be over-the-top in terms of their personality, bringing an element of WWE theatrics to their interviews and press conferences and have a strong social media presence to market themselves.
“English Canelo is like a whole different animal. English Canelo talks more [mess] than everybody, including me, at this point,” said Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero to the ESNEWS YouTube channel, noting the transformation in superstar Canelo Alvarez’s speaking style since learning English.
“Spanish Canelo is calm, humble, doesn’t really say much. English Canelo is another level. I ain’t even going to lie.”
With Canelo’s popularity, he doesn’t need to go overboard as much as fighters with no following. However, it’s still essential for him to liven up his interactions with the media because his events compete with the UFC and the other many interests that the U.S. and world public have with online entertainment and cable televisions with hundreds of channels.
The Importance of Persona
It’s more important than ever for fighters to jar the audience with their actions with the media because they can no longer afford to be humble and unassuming in this era of boxing. Even if they’re outstanding fighters, they won’t receive attention if they’re dull and lifeless in interviews. Terence Crawford is an example of that.
Despite his outstanding talent, casual boxing fans largely ignore him because he has little to say during interviews, shows no emotion, and does not liven things up. It took him 16 years to become popular, which wouldn’t have happened had he been more outgoing.
Fighters need to take acting classes between fights to help them develop a character and a persona and help sell their fights. Some feel this is beneath them, but they need it because fans focus more on exciting fighters to listen to outside the ring. They want to be entertained before the fights.
Heavyweight Tyson Fury is a prime example. He doesn’t have much talent, but his personality has made him a star in the UK, and thanks to that, he’s sitting on top of a $200 million fortune.
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