Canelo Alvarez has drafted in Olympian Darrelle Valsaint as a sparring partner for his upcoming super fight with Terence Crawford.
Valsaint competed for Haiti at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, making it all the way to the quarter finals before he was eliminated by Russia’s Gleb Bakshi.
After narrowly missing out on a medal, Valsaint turned over as a professional, where he has gotten off to a perfect 13-0 (11 KOs) start under the guidance of Marc Farrait and Asa Beard in Tampa, Florida.
While the 23 year old’s towering 6ft 1in frame is larger than ‘Bud’s’, his southpaw stance makes him a good candidate to emulate Crawford when he switches stances.
Valsaint also operates at super welterweight, where Crawford was competing before he made the brave decision to move up two divisions to challenge Canelo for his undisputed super middleweight crown.
Taking to Instagram to upload a picture of him and Canelo in the gym together, Valsaint wrote: “In Camp Helping Canelo Get Ready For One Of The Biggest Boxing Matches In History Truly Blessed.”
Canelo and Crawford are set to square off on September 13 in Las Vegas.
Besides the 168lbs world titles, there is also history on the line.
If Crawford can overcome the odds and beat Canelo then he will become the first male three-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era.
Crawford unified the super lightweight division in 2017 before doing the same at welterweight six years later.
Most expected him to attempt to achieve the lofty feat at super welterweight after moving up to the weight class last year.
In his 154lbs debut, he defeated Israil Madrimov on points to claim the WBA super welterweight strap.
But rather than pursuing the other champions, he signed to fight Canelo in what is expected to be one of the highest grossing bouts of the decade.
Given the weight disparity between the pair, the expectation was that a rehydration clause would be inserted into their contracts to level the playing field.
However, that didn’t prove to be the case, with Crawford’s trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre going as far as to suggest that they didn’t ask for one.
“We don’t give a damn about that, you can only get so big,” he told Ring Magazine of the decision not to have a rehydration clause.
“If you get too big then that is on him. I love Terence’s chances.
“I have zero issues with it, Terence has zero issues with it…
“You accepted the fight lets fight as men, it is as simple as that.”