Wait, Canelo Alverez? He’s a boxer, what does he know about acting? Is that what you’re thinking? Well, let me tell you what I learned about acting from watching his last fight.
Known just as Canelo, because a lot of his brothers are also fighters, he is a Mexican Super Middle Weight Champion Boxer who has been on the international stage for nearly two decades. He’s also considered one of the best his sport has ever produced. At 33 years old he’s had 65 fights and won all but 2. Starting boxing at 13, he turned pro at 15.
On Cinco de Mayo weekend this year he was scheduled to fight Jamie Munguia, also Mexican, and a younger fighter by 7 years. Munguia had fought 43 total fights with zero losses. He was hungry and set on defeating his idol, Canelo.
The fight started explosively for Munguia. He jumped in and took charge. Being a Canelo fan it was a bit disconcerting. The announcers were heatedly going on, was Canelo getting too old? Did Munguia have what it takes to unseat the legend? After all he was undefeated.
Canelo took his time. He took the punches. It was as if he was reading his opponent for the first two rounds. Getting the feel of him, seeing Munguia’s boxing style, clocking every move, even if he was feeling the brunt of the blows. The first two rounds went to the younger boxer. We were nervous. Fans of Munguia were elated. The announcers talked about a possible overthrow. It was a nail biter.
But then by round three Canelo and his vast training and experience took over. He had assessed his partner, figured out his fighting style and went to work. It was astonishing. His punches were clean and calculated, landing hard and precise. Munguia was trying to hold his own, but in the fourth round with a well-placed upper cut from Canelo, Munguia dropped. It was his first time being knocked down. Ever. It wasn’t a stone-cold knock out, Munguia got to his feet right away, but it decidedly changed the fight.
After that Munguia started to brawl. If he’d had a game plan for the fight, it went out the window then. He was combative and tried to pepper Canelo with blows, but not much landed. Not like Canelo’s punches. Munguia was throwing his power away in a fury, not leaning into technique. He simply didn’t have the experience that Canelo had. And that made all the difference. After 12 rounds, Canelo won by unanimous decision from the three judges.
And it was witnessing Canelo’s experience—which came from years of deep training and all those fights—that really stood out to me. That made me think about acting. Canelo had 20 fights on Munguia and half a decade more time in the professional ring.
Even Munguia said after the fight, “I came out strong and was winning the early rounds. I let my hands go, but he’s a fighter with a lot of experience.”
Canelo summed up the fight well, “I took my time. I have a lot of experience. Munguia is a great fighter. He’s strong and smart. But I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did.”
Munguia will have another day to win. He’s talented and trains hard too. Just that night, his lack of experience, or Canelo’s glut of it took the fight.
So what does that mean for us actors? Meisner says it takes 20 years to become an actor. We watch the greats, like DiNiro, Blanchett, Swinton, Pacino. We see their experience. We see their craft. How can we get that for ourselves? How can we become one of the greats?
Start now. Do everything you can to get experience. Train, get in a great class, have a daily acting workout, get on set as much as possible, produce your own work, believe in yourself, take care of your mental health. And most importantly, lean into your passion for acting, just like Canelo does with boxing.
If you want to act, you were meant to act.
Link to highlights of the fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfuUszLrjkE
Check out our acting classes: https://www.actorsinactionconservatory.com/training/
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