Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, undisputed super middleweight champion, was honored with a statue in his honor in his hometown of Juanacatlan, Jalisco, Mexico.

The sculpture was placed on the boardwalk of the municipality of Jalisco, and was made by plastic artist Sigifredo Islas, who took a couple of months to create the two and a half meter high work, made of bronze, with a base of quarry and silver.

The mayor of Juanacatlan, Francisco de la Cerda Suarez, granted him the status of 'distinguished son', in addition to giving him a recognition called the 'Cross of the Foundation of the Municipality'.

Canelo happy for the recognition

In a post on his Instagram account, Canelo thanked the government of Juanacatlan for its recognition, along with the people who attended the unveiling of the statue.

"It is a great honor for me to be recognized in the place that saw me grow up and made the person I am today. Thanks to the government of Juanacatlan for this recognition and to all the people who attended."

"I feel very proud, it is an honor for me. Thanks to everyone who made it possible and to my family who is always supporting me. One day I was like you, here in Juanacatlan, with many dreams of being someone, of getting ahead, of getting my family ahead and if I got ahead, you can too, it's just a matter of discipline," said the world champion at the ceremony.

Canelo has had a great boxing career

Canelo turned professional at the age of 15, and 17 years after his debut, he has held multiple world titles in various divisions, has a record of 58 wins, 2 losses, 2 draws and 39 knockouts. The Mexican fighter currently holds the undisputed super middleweight crown.

In his first fight this year, the 32-year-old fighter was stunned by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, the Mexican suffered the second loss of his career.

However, Canelo ended the year with his hands up by defeating Gennady Golovkin for the second time in his career and ended the rivalry with the Kazakh boxer.