When Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez makes the walk to the ring, the cameras always find him first. But just a step behind, often calm and expressionless, stands Eddy Reynoso, the man whose fingerprints are all over one of the greatest careers in modern boxing.
As Alvarez prepares for yet another blockbuster fight, this time against the undefeated Terence Crawford, Reynoso’s role has never been more crucial.
Alvarez and Reynoso’s bond stretches back nearly two decades. In 2005, a 15-year-old Canelo turned professional under Reynoso’s guidance, a decision that would prove transformational.
Together with his father, Chepo Reynoso, Eddy oversaw Alvarez’s rise from Guadalajara prospect to global superstar.
Their first milestone came in 2011 when Alvarez beat Matthew Hatton for the junior middleweight crown.
From that point, Reynoso built a fighter who could adapt across multiple divisions, eventually collecting titles at middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight.
The crowning moment arrived in 2021, when Alvarez stopped Caleb Plant to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history.
What makes Reynoso different
Reynoso isn’t just another name in Alvarez’s corner. He’s a strategist who blends the traditional aggression of Mexican boxing with modern conditioning and tactical precision.
His San Diego gym, the House of Boxing, has become a proving ground for elite fighters. At various points, his stable has included Ryan Garcia, Andy Ruiz Jr., Jaime Munguia, Julio Cesar Martinez, and Oscar Valdez.
That environment is built on discipline and accountability. Fighters describe Reynoso as demanding but fair, someone who insists that champions set the tone in the gym.
For Alvarez, that has meant constant refinement, tightening defense, varying attacks, and maximizing ring IQ.
“Jordan was a dawg when we got him out of high school, we just had to perfect him a little bit,” Reynoso once said of another young fighter.
It’s the same approach he used with Alvarez: shaping raw talent into technical brilliance.
For all their success, Alvarez and Reynoso have endured their share of disappointments. The 2013 defeat to Floyd Mayweather taught lessons in patience and ring craft.
Nine years later, Dmitry Bivol handed Alvarez his second career loss, exposing the difficulty of fighting naturally bigger opponents.
Each time, Reynoso was the one tasked with rebuilding his fighter’s confidence and strategy. Rather than abandon their approach, the pair refined it, returning Alvarez to dominance at super middleweight.
The Crawford question
Now the challenge is Crawford, the undefeated American moving up two weight classes for a shot at history.
Much has been made about size, speed, and conditioning, but Reynoso has already dismissed concerns about weight being an advantage.
“I don’t think the weight is going to be a factor at all,” he explained recently. “He’s coming from 75 or 80; he’s going to have to boil down to 68. That boiling-down process, your body understands once you’ve been through it.”
It’s a reminder that Reynoso’s job isn’t just to craft game plans but to manage narratives and pressure.
In the buildup to “The Fight of the Century,” he’s worked to keep Alvarez focused on execution rather than outside noise.
While Alvarez is the jewel of Reynoso’s career, his reputation extends well beyond one fighter.
The Trainer of the Year awards, the conveyor belt of champions coming through his San Diego gym, and the respect he commands across the sport all underline his place among boxing’s great modern trainers.
Yet Reynoso has never chased the spotlight. Unlike some cornermen who become as famous as their fighters, he has remained deliberately understated, letting Canelo’s performances speak for them both.
A career-defining night ahead
As Alvarez steps into Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to face Crawford, the narrative will revolve around legacy: whether Canelo can hand Crawford his first loss and extend his reign at the top.
But behind the scenes, Reynoso will once again be the architect, steadying the fighter he’s guided since adolescence.
Nearly 20 years after their journey began, Canelo and Reynoso remain inseparable – a boxer and trainer whose trust, discipline, and shared ambition have already carved out a place in history.
Whatever happens against Crawford, the partnership itself has become one of boxing’s great untold stories, proof that greatness in the ring often begins far from the spotlight.
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