By Arvin Nundloll

Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez took time out to speak about his upcoming Middleweight mega-fight with Gennady Golovkin and why he’s determined to cement his legacy on the sport.

First up was the Mexican style boxing from Golvokin and why Canelo is the real Mexican in the ring:

“Yes, he has a little bit of a Mexican style. He’s aggressive, big puncher and has a good left hook but you know I’m Mexican, Mexican blood. That’s what makes for a good fight because of the style.”

When asked about the alleged fear he had of Golvokin, Canelo dismissed those claims as nonsense:

“I don’t care. People are going to say that when you’re at the top, you’re going to get criticized so it never really bothered me and I don’t care about the comments. “

Although the Cinco de Mayo fight with Chavez Jr. was one-sided, Canelo did have one key takeaway from that fight:

“If there was one thing that I learned was that in this sport you have to have balls because if you don’t have balls what’s going to happen to Chavez is going to repeat itself.”

“He (Chavez Jr.) did nothing to try and win the fight, he wasn’t trying to win the fight. I think he was trying to survive but I can understand it because when you throw one punch and five others come back I understand him. But that’s why I said to be in this sport, to be a champion you have to have balls.”

When asked about Golvokin’s recent fight with Jacobs, Canelo believed that he saw the same Golovkin but just against a boxer who could expose him

“I saw nothing really new in Golovkin, he’s pretty much one dimensional. He’s an aggressive fighter who comes forward but I did see that when you have a fighter who’s a little bit intelligent, who moves and boxes he’s going to give Golovkin trouble. I think that Jacobs gave him too much respect in the first few rounds and if he wouldn’t have started a little sooner and not respect him so much he would have won a clear decision. Even though that didn’t happen, I still had Jacobs up by one or two points.”

With Golovkin being fairly lax about defense, Canelo believes that body punching remains a vital in defeating Golovkin:

“[Body punching] It’s important in any fight, its fundamental. When you start going to the body you start breaking down your opponent.”

“Combination punching is key, it’s very important in this fight. I think that you have to go to the body and have to go upstairs. Not only that but distance control will be very important. If you’re standing right in front of him at a distance he’s dangerous so you either have to be all the way in or out so that’s going to be something that’s very important in this fight.”

There was no doubting that Canelo has the upper hand in taking on a greater variety of opponents that demonstrate different boxing styles:

“I’ve faced some very difficult styles, fighters who have moved a lot and fighters who have been very difficult so that’s part of my advantage and what I’m going to take into this fight.”

When asked by FightNews about a potential series or trilogy of bouts, Oscar De La Hoya was delighted by the prospect of it all:

“The styles of both fighters calls for a great fight and a trilogy. Canelo and Golovkin, they don’t like each other. I’m not saying there’s hate but they want to fight each other. There’s blood there that’s boiling and the fact that you have the two top middleweights in the world with power calls for a great fight and you never know what’s going to happen after that. The chances of them solidifying their legacy together as a trilogy is very possible.”

Canelo intends to start training camp next month and believes that he must put on a convincing performance.

” I’m always training, I’m always keeping in shape and am always going something maybe 3 to 4 times a week. I’ll start my training camp on the 6th or 7th of July and that’s when I’ll go 100%. I love to train and train hard and I think that every training camp I get ready for my opponent and that’s what I’ll get ready to do.”

“I want to make it clear that I’m better than him. No controversy, no nothing. I’m better than him and there’s no need for a rematch.”

When asked from FightNews about GGG being over confident and undefeated, Canelo relished the challenge

“I really don’t know what he’s thinking. There’s always a first time.”

Asked about looking back on the time he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. to now, Canelo believes he has learned a lot since then. He also would jump at the chance to avenge his sole defeat against Floyd.

“I’m more confident now and I have more experience. That fight motivated me and I think more than anything instead of deterring me it motivated me to become a better fighter.”

“There’s a saying, first things first. Sure why not. Obviously, it’s in the back of my mind that fight and I’d love to erase that.”

Canelo knows that the world will be watching this fight and a knockout is highly likely given both fighters power:

“Everybody loves a knockout, the fans and myself as a fighter. It’s a high probability it’s going to end as a knockout because of the high KO percentage we both have. You never really know but there’s a good chance.”

Oscar De La Hoya also reminded us that Canelo is normally the bigger guy.

DLH: “Canelo has always had to come down in weight, he’s not the smaller guy, he’s a big guy. The fact that he was making 154 just last year who knows how he did it.”

Canelo: “Nor do I!”

DLH: “He’s not going to have go up in weight, he will have to come down just like Golovkin.”

Canelo: “My legs started feeling tired and weak, fighting at 164 in the last fight felt so much better, it felt great. I think that 160 is the right move for me.”