You were supposed to spar Canelo a few years ago.
I was meant to spar him and then I had a hand injury. I was gutted at the time, I was still coming through and it would have been a great experience for me but now itโs a different time, and Iโm at a different stage in my career than I was back then.
You must have followed his career, and Canelo is a very good fighter, but heโs not an unbeatable fighter is he?
I have followed him. I like his style and you only have to look at my style to know that. Iโve watched him through the years. He is a very, very good fighter and heโs moulded into the kind of fighter that only works 30-45 seconds of the round. Miguel Cotto became that kind of fighter. Once you get to that level, even though you know how good they are, they only fight in bursts. Heโll throw a lovely combination, then heโll walk, heโll admire it. Thatโs how Floyd Mayweather beat him โ and Iโm not comparing myself to Mayweather โ by making him work for three minutes. Heโd make him cut the ring off, make him do more than just one or two bursts a round. Iโm gonna try and make him fight at a pace that heโs uncomfortable at, I know he doesnโt like working at a high pace so itโs up to me and [trainer] Joe [Gallagher] to come up with a plan to make him fight in a way he wonโt like.
How excited is Joe?
[Laughs] Yeah, he is. Weโll be up-and-down, weโll have our arguments along the way, but weโll have a great training camp. Weโll have arguments and great days, but thatโs nothing new and I wouldnโt change that. Thatโs the way weโve always worked. I know heโll be just as excited as me to get his teeth stuck into it, and go against one of the best training regimes in the world.
What did you make of Caneloโs performance against Amir Khan, who you sparred in the build-up?
A lot of people knew that Amir would start well. And it went the way most people expected. Itโs funny, you tell the average person on the street that youโre going to fight Canelo, all theyโve seen is him knocking out Khan, and theyโre like โWoah, really? Youโre going to fight him?โ It was a bad knockout, but that fight has put no dent in my confidence at all. It was always a case of if Amir could last the distance, but if he couldnโt, that was always going to happen. But he was small, he was very small, and I knew when I got in with him [to spar ahead of Canelo showdown] that I was a lot bigger than him. It was always going to be an uphill task for him.
Does it worry you that most observers had Khan winning at the time of being knocked out, yet the judges saw a different fight?
Not so much because Amir was on the back foot, trying to outbox him. But Iโm not going to go in there and do that. If Iโm winning the rounds, Iโm winning the fight, Iโm bossing the fight, and Iโm confident the judges will see it that way. If they donโt, then itโs out of our hands, but if it goes to points, Iโm confident that Iโll get the decision.
Does the fact you worked so closely with Khan mean you have already done a lot of homework on Canelo?
I couldnโt wait to see that fight, and the outcome of that fight did not deter me in any way. Watching what Amir was doing early on, and how easy he was making it look, has given me massive confidence. I sparred Amir and we had very, very good spars. The way he went in and handled him showed me thereโs no way I wonโt be able to go in and handle him. Iโm going there to win, believe me.
How exciting is the prospect of the event, of being out there during fight week, of the boxing world being focused on this fight?
Even talking to you now my stomach is going, the excitement is coming right through my body. Iโve been around big fights. [My brother] Paul against [Arthur] Abraham and Andre Ward. And I was around a big camp, helping Amir get ready for Canelo. HBO 24/7 were in the gym, doing interviews. Then when Amir left for America, Anthony Crolla was fighting [Ismael Barroso] and my brother Paul were fighting. But when I got home on social media I saw the grand arrivals, and I thought it was unbelievable and now Iโm going to through the same thing. I canโt wait, and Iโll suck every bit of it up.
All of your brothers are signed with Matchroom, yet youโre with Queensberry. Has that ever been difficult when theyโve all been preparing to fight on the same card? Were you ever tempted to switch?
Itโs not that simple. Iโm under contract to Frank Warren, and I wasnโt going to walk away from that. I trust him to carry on what he started and heโs doing that. I always believed Frank would deliver, and he did do. He delivered with the world title, and there was a bit of stick for the defences, but we always said a big fight was in the pipeline and it was. We tried to get [Kell] Brook but weโve come out with a bigger fight than that.
How have your brothers reacted to this fight?
Theyโre over the moon. I told them Iโd got the Canelo fight and they were a bit like everyone else, โIโll believe it when I see itโ. I was saying it was close, but I couldnโt announce it yet, I just need to sign this and HBO need to agree that. There were a few ifs and buts, and then the minute it was announced they were buzzing! You know how close we are, and itโs like theyโve got a big fight too.
Thereโs talk of Billy Joe Saunders fighting the winner. Is the middleweight division somewhere youโd be happy going to, among the likes of Billy Joe and Gennady Golovkin?
I’ve got no thoughts of going there yet. But if I beat Canelo Alvarez, then yes, I will fight Billy Joe next. Weโve both got the same management team, itโs been spoke about before, and if that comes up, then yes, I will fight Billy Joe. But Iโm not going to fight someone like Golovkin unless itโs stupid money because Iโm not a fully-fledged middleweight yet, but I would be confident in facing certain people and I would go to 160 to face Billy Joe. Even now โ if I didnโt fight Canelo and I got offered Billy Joe for December Iโd take that fight. But Iโll beat Canelo, then if the Billy Joe fight is on the table, Iโd go up to 160, but if not, Iโll do what I can at 154 first and make a name for myself.
You Tweeted recently that youโd had an โunbelievable reactionโ to the fight being made. That 75 per cent was great, 15 per cent had never heard of you, and 10 per cent were โkeyboard warriorsโ. What do you make of those who have nothing better to do than criticise?
I just put that on to highlight what a good reaction Iโve had to be honest. I couldnโt have asked for better, especially the people who have gone and booked it.
So 75 per cent were great, and the ones who slag me off, well, it goes over my head and I donโt take any notice. Theyโre people who are just behind a keyboard who are not happy with their own lives, theyโre not happy with what theyโre doing. But Iโm happy with my life and no comment on social media is going to change that. And the other percentage, who donโt know me, itโs not dragging me down, itโs the Americans who donโt know who I am. Thatโs because I havenโt boxed in America, and I guarantee theyโll take note after this fight, theyโll soon know who I am.
Some fans are frustrated that Canelo is not fighting Gennady Golovkin. Can you empathise?
I understand it. Iโm getting the backlash from it, do you know what I mean? Iโm getting people comment on pictures of me and my girlfriend that โCanelo is a pussy, Canelo is a chickenโ. Itโs nothing against me and my girlfriend [laughs], itโs just that itโs on my pictures! All Iโve done is been away and put a picture up on Instagram of me and my girlfriend on holiday and Iโm getting Mexicans and Americans attacking Canelo. They were expecting Canelo-Golovkin, and the next minute theyโve got Canelo-Liam Smith who theyโve never heard of. I think even if it was someone theyโd heard of theyโd still be unhappy because itโs not the fight they wanted, itโs not โGGGโ. But their loss is my gain and Iโll take full advantage of it.
Caneloโs last four fights have been at a catchweight of 155lbs. Do you think the fact this is for your title, at 154lbs, is an advantage to you?
Iโd have taken this fight at 154 or 155. Heโs a light-middleweight, heโs not a middleweight like Golovkin. Iโll tell you one thing right now, size will not be a factor in the outcome of this fight. If I lose it will be because I lose to a better fight on the night. People are saying heโs a monster, that heโs big at the weight, but Iโm bigger than him, Iโm taller than him. No way am I small at the weight. Canelo is short, heโs thick, heโs solid, but size will not play a part. There will be a lot made of the fact heโll put 20lbs on [after the weigh-in] but if I wanted to I could put 20lbs on. Amir was a blown up 158 or something like that in the ring, but Iโll be 172 or 174. People are talking about me fighting Billy Joe, and if I wasnโt big enough, people wouldnโt be talking about that. Iโm confident, and thereโs no way Iโll get bullied like he bullies people. Iโm taking my title over there and Iโm bringing it back home.
This interview was originally published in Boxing News magazine