Santos Saul Alvarez Barragan, commonly known as El Canelo, from canela, Spanish for cinnamon, in reference to his red hair; is a Mexican professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.

Alvarez started boxing at 13 years old, after watching his older brother Rigoberto Alvarez\'s debut as a professional boxer. In 2004 he won the silver medal at the Junior Mexican National championships, held in Sinaloa. He became the 2005 Junior Mexican National Boxing Champion in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, at the age of 15. Even though Alvarez turned pro young, he had 20 amateur bouts