When Joe Rogan suggested Canelo Alvarez's vegan diet may have cost him the fight against Dmitry Bivol: "They f***ed with some reality"
Joe Rogan once suggested that Canelo Alvarez's shift to a vegan diet might have contributed to his defeat against Dmitry Bivol. In May 2022, Alvarez challenged Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title and went in to the fight as the clear favorite. However, the undefeated Russian defied handed Canelo his second professional setback with a dominant unanimous decision win.
Before his showdown with Bivol, Alvarez revealed that he had adopted a vegan diet in preparation for the fight. This revelation sparked a wave of fan speculation, with many predicting a potential upset due to the drastic change in his nutrition.
During an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Cameron Hanes in May 2022, the veteran UFC commentator, a staunch critic of veganism and advocate for a meat-based diet, took aim at Alvarez for altering his nutrition plan. Rogan said that this dietary transformation might have diminished the Mexican superstar's athletic performance leading up to the fight:
"He watched that documentary on Netflix, 'The Game Changers'. If you wanna eat only vegan, and you wanna do it for ethical reasons, and you don't wanna be involved in animal death, I get it. You don't wanna be involved in factory farming; I get it. But it's not true when you say that it gives you a significant athletic performance boost—it doesn't."
He added:
"There's no real proof for that, and they f**ked with some reality when they made that. There's no real elite professional athlete at the highest level that I'm aware of who is vegan. I don't think that it has the same bioavailability."
Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (2:22):
Alvarez is gearing up to defend his WBC, WBA, and WBO super middleweight titles against the undefeated Edgar Berlanga. The highly anticipated showdown is set to take place during the Mexican Independence Day weekend (Saturday, Sept. 14) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
When Oscar De La Hoya suggested Canelo Alvarez's vegan diet led to his defeat against Dmitry Bivol
In an interview with FightHype in May 2022, Oscar De La Hoya suggested that Dmitry Bivol presented a stylistically tough challenge for Canelo Alvarez. 'The Golden Boy' further remarked that Alvarez appeared fatigued during the fight and hinted that his switch to a vegan diet may have played a role in his performance. He said:
"Well, look, I mean it; when you change something so drastic, like your diet, just like overnight, you run the risk of it not working for your body or not adjusting properly. Maybe he should have tried it in between fights or something. But if he feels good with it, I mean, then so be it, but you know, I saw him a little tired."
Check out Oscar De La Hoya's comments below (5:00):