By Adam Baskin: At today’s final press conference in Las Vegas, Canelo Alvarez politely let challenger Gennadiy Golovkin know that he will knock him out this Saturday night in their headliner at T-Mobile Arena.
(Photo credit: Matchroom Boxing)
Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) says he is pushing himself for a knockout over Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs), who has never been stopped or thrown off balance during his long 17 years as a pro. . career.
It will take a superhuman effort on Canelo’s part to knock out Golovkin because he has a chin of steel, and he’ll probably let his hands stay busy defending the Mexican star.
Golovkin’s weakness is taking body shots, and Canelo and his trainer Eddy Reynoso are likely to turn their attention to that area. Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Ryota Murata hurt Golovkin with body shots and had him on the brink of knockout.
The event Canelo vs. Golovkin will air on DAZN pay-per-view this Saturday night at 10:00 pm ET. In the co-feature, WBC super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez will take on Israel Gonzalez in a 12-round bout.
“The pressure I put on myself is to finish this within 12 rounds,” Canelo Alvarez said during Thursday’s final press conference for his fight against Gennadiy Golovkin.
“It will be very difficult, but nothing in life is easy. I always seek to achieve what is difficult. I have been very excited and motivated during my training camp to try and finish this before 12 rounds,” continued Canelo on his goal of knocking out Golovkin.
“I have a very strong and tough opponent in front of me, but that will be my goal on Saturday night.”
“Canelo, on Saturday you put an end to this great rivalry. A rivalry that boxing always needs. Every great champion needs it, but on Saturday night you will end this great rivalry between the two of you and Gennadiy Golovkin,” said Eddie Hearn.
“There will be thousands of fans here tomorrow for the weigh-in at the packed T-Mobile Arena. It is also Mexico’s Independence Day.
“I want to thank Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin and both teams because, in boxing, we need great rivalries. These are two of the greatest champions of our generation,” Hearn said.
“This is going to be very difficult, but that’s what I want and what I want to achieve on Saturday night,” Canelo said.
