LAS VEGAS ? The conviction in Canelo Alvarez?s voice Tuesday was an indication of how much motivation he has drawn from the naysayers.
The two-division champion from Mexico has used their doubts as fuel for his preparation for the second-biggest fight of his 12-year pro career. He plans to prove millions of boxing fans wrong Saturday night by upsetting Gennady Golovkin in their 12-round fight for Golovkin?s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC middleweight titles at T-Mobile Arena.
The 27-year-old Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) expressed those sentiments Tuesday following their grand arrivals at MGM Grand?s lobby.
?For the people who said this fight wasn?t gonna happen, for the people who said I?m gonna get knocked out, well, the answers will [come] on Saturday night,? Alvarez said through a translator. ?We?ll see.?
Alvarez also has taken note of many of the negative things said about him by Abel Sanchez, Golovkin?s outspoken trainer, other members of Golovkin?s team and even Golovkin himself. The confident Alvarez intends to make Kazakhstan?s Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) pay for those statements Saturday night in their HBO Pay-Per-View main event.
?There?s been things said from his team, from his camp, him,? Alvarez said. ?He?s gonna knock me out, this and that. Well, that?s what we prepared for. We?ll see Saturday night.?
Thought very confident, Alvarez acknowledged that he and Golovkin are evenly matched and that he expects a difficult fight against the hard-hitting middleweight champion. Golovkin has knocked out 89 percent of his opponents since making his pro debut 11 years ago and had knocked out 23 straight opponents prior to his last fight ? a hard-fought, 12-round, unanimous-decision win against former WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs).
?This is a true 50-50 fight,? Alvarez said. ?So I?m risking it, but so is he. All I have to do on my side is to prepare myself to give the fans a great fight and do what I always do. ? It?s gonna be a great fight.?
