Canelo: I’m In My Prime Right Now; That’s Gonna Be The Difference Against Golovkin

LAS VEGAS – If Canelo Alvarez truly considers Gennadiy Golovkin to be a faded 40-year-old shell of his once-rival, it wouldn’t be up to the Mexican legend to point the finger as he tries to boost pay-per-views and ticket sales for their third matchup. .

Instead, Alvarez has stated throughout the buildup to his long-awaited third fight that Golovkin strikes him as the same fierce fighter, expecting another tough fight to complete his trilogy. The four-division champion admits, however, that the fact that he remains in his physical prime, eight years younger than Golovkin, will help separate them in their DAZN Pay-Per-View main event on Saturday night on T -Mobile Arena ($64.99 for subscribers; $84.99 for non-subscribers).

Alvarez, 32, also feels he is a more complete fighter than he was when he won their 12-round majority decision rematch nearly four years ago at T-Mobile Arena.

“I think I’m more mature, more experienced, stronger,” Alvarez told a small group of reporters Tuesday after his “grand arrival” at the MGM Grand. “I’m at my best right now. I think that’s going to be the difference.”

Golovkin has boxed just four times in the four years since his second middleweight title fight. Alvarez has fought eight times since their September 2018 bout and won world titles in two more weight classes, but he reckons Golovkin deserves his respect, even though the Kazakhstan native will be making his debut at top super middleweight. 168 lbs.

“It’s also a dangerous fight for me, because he’s a really good fighter,” Alvarez said. “He is still strong. I take this very seriously and trained hard. I trained the best I could and I only come to win, like all fights.”

The Guadalajara native also downplayed Golovkin’s age.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with it. In this particular fight, genetically he is strong,” Alvarez said. “He takes care of himself. [Age] it could affect certain things, but for me, particularly in this fight, I don’t think it has an effect.

Álvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) and Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) will fight for the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles held by Álvarez. If Golovkin wins a fight in which most bookmakers place Alvarez as the favorite by at least 5-1, he would become boxing’s undisputed champion in the 168-pound division, something he has not achieved during his tenure. successful career as a middleweight.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.