Lakers News: Canelo Alvarez Believes LeBron James Could Have Been A Boxer If He Wanted To

Corey Hansford
4 Min Read
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

In order to be successful as an athlete, you have to put an unbelievable number of hours of work in to truly perfect your craft. Many athletes were truly meant to succeed in that one area, but then there are a handful of super athletes who could likely have succeeded at anything, and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James certainly qualifies.

As a matter of fact, LeBron showed this off while in high school, playing football for two years, totaling over 2,000 yards and 23 touchdowns as a wide receiver. But could he have taken over the fight game if he wanted? One of boxing’s biggest stars believes so.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez recently answered some questions during a visit with GQ Sports and one of them was whether he believed James could have been a boxer. Alvarez responded positively, believing that if LeBron had dedicated himself, he could have:

“Why not?” Alvarez responded when asked if James could be a boxer. “I think he has skills for the sport. He’s an athlete, 100 percent. If he had dedicated himself to being a fighter, he could do it.”

With his combination of size, speed, arm length and strength, LeBron would have been an absolute terror at heavyweight. In comparison to the heavyweights of today, James measures out pretty favorably overall.

Tyson Fury for instance, can match LeBron from a height and weight standpoint at 6-foot-9 and 265 pounds, but wouldn’t be nearly as fast. The likes of Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are a little smaller than James but are fast for their size and the power of Wilder is legendary. In all honesty, the problems LeBron could cause are similar to the basketball court in that those his size are too slow, and those who are quick enough don’t have the size to deal with him.

Nonetheless, combat sports require so much training and is truly a specialty that very few can master. But LeBron has proven time and again that he defies so much of what we believe, it would be foolish to bet against him.

LeBron James ‘happy’ to have Dennis Schroder back on Lakers

Regardless of the words of Canelo, James is focused solely on the Lakers and getting back towards championship contention. The team recently brought back point guard Dennis Schroder on a one-year deal and LeBron is ecstatic about it.

James went on social media to express his happiness and excitement at the return of Schroder to the purple and gold. Now, the two plan to make things right after a less than ideal ending to their original season together with the Lakers.

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Corey Hansford is the Senior Editor for Lakers Nation, as well as a contributor for Dodger Blue, Rams News Wire, and Raiders News Wire. He is a passionate follower of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chelsea FC, and the UFC. He can usually be seen arguing the merits of Kobe Bryant or cursing the decisions of Jerry Jones. He is also a former producer and associate producer for Sirius XM Sports Radio on both the Fantasy Sports Channel and College Sports Nation. Proud graduate of Long Beach Poly High School and The Real HU, Howard University, with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Follow him on all social media outlets at @TheeCoreyH.
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