By: Sean Crose
Don’t expect Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s biggest star, to test positive for banned substances after eating tainted beef. For while preparing for his May light heavyweight title bout against the formidable Dmitry Bivol, Canelo has decided to go vegan (engaging in a diet free of meat and animal by-products) For those who don’t know, the red haired star was suspended from the fight game in 2018 after testing positive for banned substances. Canelo argued that he had consumed meat which, unbeknownst to him at the time, was contaminated. Although no one other than Canelo and his team can know for sure what led the fighter to test positive, the entire affair clearly had an impact on Canelo himself, leading the man to essentially now avoid consuming meat altogether.
According to The Mirror, Canelo “had been advised by PETA Latino to go vegan after the failed drug test, but it took the pound-for-pound No.1 four years to make the switch to a meatless diet.” It might strike some as a bit strange that Canelo has decided to give up meat at a time when he’s preparing to go up in weight to face Bivol. One thing that can be said of Team Canelo, however, is that it’s never unprepared. In other words, the 31 year old simply doesn’t slip between the ropes without being in the best condition possible. What’s more, the 57-1-2 Canelo appears to be happy with having changed his eating habits.
“I feel very good,” he recently said to ESPN Deportes. “My body is adapting very well. My stomach feels very good.” Not that Canelo is fanatical about vegan cuisine. “It’s not something I grabbed all at once and gave up everything I was eating,” he said. “Obviously all week I try to eat what is vegan and if some other day the opportunity arises to eat meat or chicken, I have no problem but I do try to stick to eating vegan all week.”
Discipline has never been an issue for the Mexican superstar…a good thing, since he may have his hands full against the undefeated Bivol. Not only has the Kyrgyzstan fighter never tasted defeat, the 18-0 defending WBA titlist has reportedly wanted to get in the ring with Canelo for a while now. Come May 7th, the man will have his chance, though Canelo will certainly be ready for him (a third high profile fight with arch rival Gennady Golovkin will mostly be on deck should Canelo win against Bivol).
In the meantime, the biggest name in boxing has nothing but praise for the (mostly) vegan lifestyle he’s now embraced. “I highly recommend it,” he said.