Boxing’s biggest superstar could have been doing something much different with his life.

Canelo Alvarez has long been considered the top name on boxing, having risen to stardom during a career in which he has enjoyed record-breaking success inside the ring.

The 63-2-2 pro has held multiple world titles across four different weight classes and became the first and only boxer in history to become the undisputed super middleweight champion in 2021.

Not many can hold a candle to Alvarez’s accolades in the sport, and the 35-year-old had to go against his father’s wishes to make that possible…

Canelo Alvarez’s father wanted him to sell ice cream

Last time out, Alvarez defeated William Scull to become a two-time undisputed super middleweight champ. The bout marked the first on Alvarez’s four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, which will boost an earnings total for the Mexican that already sits at an estimated $620 million.

Had things gone as planned for Alvarez’s father, though, he’d be earning a living in a significantly different walk of life.

In his early years, the Guadalajara native helped his father’s ice-cream selling business. And before focusing on his budding career as a boxer, Alvarez was instead urged to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“My father advised me not to start boxing,” Alvarez told the Mirror in 2021. “He wanted me to study and to work with him in his store that he used to have selling ice creams.

“I helped him a lot when I was younger. He sold ice creams from vans and I helped him from when I was five until I was 17 until I was told I needed to devote my time to boxing.”

Alvarez ultimately opted to pursue a future in the ring at age 17. The rest, as they say, is history.

Canelo Alvarez is predicted to hit $1 billion in boxing earnings next year

Alvarez has already achieved an incredible amount inside the ring, and his deal with Riyadh Season looks set to catapult the Mexican to $1 billion in earnings.

Just one boxer is credited with that financial milestone thus far — Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. Per Sportico, the American collected $1.15 billion in earnings.

Alvarez is currently behind Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, but his business manager told The Ring earlier this year that his fighter is on track to pass the Filipino legend and become only the second boxer to hit $1 billion.

“Canelo is, without any question, the smartest businessman in boxing I have ever met,” Richard Schaefer said.

“And we are going to get him over that next hurdle…to break the billion dollar (earnings).

“I have zero questions about it. When? Probably next year.”

Alvarez’s next sizable payday will come in September, when he faces a challenge from Terence Crawford in a super fight promoted by Alalshikh and the UFC’s Dana White.