Fielding Reflects on Fight With Canelo, Picks To Decision Golovkin

Rocky Fielding says that fighting Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez is as much a mental as a physical punishment.

Liverpool’s Fielding put his “regular” WBA super middleweight title on the line against the Mexican in December 2018 in New York, but Canelo was in a destructive mood at Madison Square Garden that night and stopped Rocky in three rounds. .

Fielding remembers Alvarez’s relentless “pressure” and “presence” and knows he learned some valuable lessons about how to fight at the highest level of the sport.

And the 35-year-old is backing Canelo to emerge victorious in his trilogy clash with Gennady Golovkin this weekend.

“This was my first experience of fighting at that level,” Fielding told Probellum.com.

“And with Canelo, it was all about his front foot control and wherever you were in the ring, he could cut you. It was also as if he was there before you. He brought that pressure and that presence.

“At that level, you have to put your shots together at the right time and there is absolutely no change. At lower levels, you can get away with it but not against him.

“I caught Canelo, but he just shook it off and I was like, ‘Damn, it’s only round two!’

“The first body shot he caught me with was like a punch to the stomach that, in combat, you would normally take.”

Canelo was moving up from middleweight to challenge Fielding, having beaten Golovkin in a rematch earlier in the year.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult night; he was putting on weight and he was fresh and strong,” she added.

“There was a 10-pound rehydration clause in the contract and while I wouldn’t normally put on much more weight than that, mentally it was challenging because for the first time I came off the scale and had to think about how much I was putting into my body.

“‘Can I have this?’ and ‘Can I have that?’ before weighing ourselves again the next morning.”

Canelo and Golovkin controversially drew in their first fight before the Mexican was given the nod in the rematch.

Fielding is expecting another entertaining fight, but believes the young Alvarez, who is the undisputed super middleweight champion, will prevail.

“I think Canelo will beat GGG,” Fielding predicted.

“It will be a good fight, but I think Canelo has better speed, reflexes and shot selection.

“Golovkin still has his punching power, but Canelo has taken it over the course of two fights. Starting in the fourth round, I expect them to stand in the middle of the ring and have it, with Canelo winning on points.”