Canelo Alvarez Says He Negotiated His Brother's Release After 2018 Kidnapping

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez had to negotiate with kidnappers for three days after his brother was taken in 2018. 

In a conversation on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Alvarez said he received news from Mexico shortly before his December 2018 fight with Rocky Fielding his brother had been kidnapped:

Canelo explained that he spent three days on the phone negotiating with the kidnappers to get his brother free.

"Over the phone, I negotiated all the—I negotiated everything for his release," Canelo told Bensinger in Spanish. "For three days, I negotiated with those assh--es so they would let him go. Three days."

Alvarez didn't divulge details of the negotiations but noted he did get his brother released. The 30-year-old said in a separate clip from the show that he doesn't stay in his native Mexico much anymore "because it's not safe."

Despite the turmoil going on in his personal life at the time, Canelo showed no signs of being distracted for his bout with Fielding. He won via third-round TKO to capture the WBA super middleweight title. 

Canelo is set to return to the ring on May 8 against Billy Joe Saunders. He will defend the WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight titles. Saunders is putting his WBO super middleweight championship on the line.