I told my 5-year-old son he must learn to take a punch first if he wants to follow his dreams to be a boxer, says Canelo

CANELO ALVAREZ revealed his five-year-old son is already dreaming of following in his footsteps – but first he needs to learn to take a punch.

The Mexican superstar was inspired into a career of fighting after watching his older brothers in action.

INSTAGRAM @caneloCanelo Alvarez with his son Saul Jr[/caption]

GettyCanelo’s eldest daughter Emily, son Saul Jr and little girl Mia[/caption]

GettyCanelo with his son and daughter[/caption]

And amazingly, by 15 Canelo was a professional knocking out fully grown men.

Now, his young son Saul Adiel wants to continue the family trade and is already convinced he will headline in Las Vegas like his famous father.

In an exclusive interview with SunSport, Canelo said: “He loves boxing. He told me, ‘Hey, when am I going to fight in Vegas?’ 

“I said, ‘OK, take it easy. When you grow up and you’re 18 years old, maybe you can fight in Vegas. First you’re going to take the first punch and then let me know if you want to be a boxer or not.’”

Canelo, a doting dad also to his daughters Emily, Mia and Maria, has sacrificed half his life to the sport that has made him millions.

And he warned his son would have to be willing to show that same dedication in order to get his blessing to box.

Canelo said: “He needs to love boxing, he needs to have that discipline. He needs to be able to handle that sacrifice that comes with boxing. 

“Plus that talent, because if you don’t have talent, find another sport.”

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For Canelo, boxing is a family affair with older brothers Ramon, Ricardo and Rigoberto all fighters.

So for as difficult and nerve-wracking as it could be as a father, the four-division champion will not stand in Saul Jr’s way of doing the same.

He said: “Boxing is hard and you have your kid there who loves boxing it’s hard, it’s going to be hard for me. 

“But if he loves boxing that much then I need to support him no matter what.” 

Canelo last year topped Forbes’ sporting rich list as the highest-paid fighter on the planet after earning £90MILLION.

And in 2021, he cemented his place further by winning all four super-middleweight belts to become undisputed 168lb king.

But even after 63 fights and 18 years in the ring, Canelo still continues to make history.

As on Saturday he will take on American Jermell Charlo, 33, marking the first time two current undisputed champions have fought.

Charlo moves up TWO divisions to do so and Canelo has vowed to make the light-middleweight champ pay for his previous trash-talk.

Ahead of the Showtime PPV fight, he said: “I love boxing and I love these kind of fights. 

“And it motivates me more and more because he never believed in my skills, he’s always calling me out, always talking s*** about me. 

“He never believed in my skills and right now, I’m able to show him my skills and why I’m here. That motivates me. 

“And I love boxing. I love being in training camp, I love training so my routine is something I enjoy a lot.” 

Canelo and Jermell Charlo with their belts