Boxing sensation and up and coming prospect, Michel Rivera (23-0, 14 KOs) has a striking resemblance to that of the legendary Muhammad Ali, both the face and the body, although Ali was a heavyweight standing 6-foot-3, and Rivera is a lightweight at 5-foot-8. Rivera also fights like Ali and he wears the same white boxing trunks which Ali always wore
These similarities in physic and fighting styles have gotten Rivera noticed more through massive media attention for this young Dominican.
“The T.V., when I come over here [U.S.] in my first fight, ShoBox, everybody was saying that I was looking like Muhammad Ali, Julian Jackson, something like this,” -said Rivera
Rivera said that people pointed out his likeness to Ali since he was fighting in his home country, the Dominican Republic. Ironically, he never saw an Ali fight film before the comparisons and he added, “One day after the [Jon] Fernandez fight, when I get the amazing knockout and this, I started to see video of young Ali, Cassius Clay, and I started to see that my style is similar like him.”
Around his 10th pro fight, Rivera finally watched footage of Muhammad Ali early in his career and saw a bit of himself. Rivera had dressed like Ali in the ring but had never studied his fight film.
When Rivera did, he saw why people were interested “My right hand, my jab, and I was like, whoa, that’s crazy,” Rivera said. “It’s really my style look like him.”
Many believe that Rivera modeled his boxing technique after Ali, but that’s not the case, he says “The people believe that I have copied him,” Rivera said. “I don’t copy. That’s my real, natural style.”
Rivera also pointed out that his hairstyle also naturally resembled Ali’s. Yes, the shorts and nickname, ‘La Zarza Ali,’ purposefully mimic Ali, but the rest is all chance.
Currently, Rivera resides in Miami, FL, and is trained by German Caicedo. Oh, Caicedo happened to be mentored by Angelo Dundee, Ali’s trainer.
