A LOT of people said that Canelo Alvarez is ducking Gennady Golovkin, I didn’t look at it like that, I look at it like it’s got to make business sense for all involved. Obviously they’ve got to that level and fights like this don’t just happen overnight, it takes time to make.
I didn’t think it would be like Mayweather-Pacquiao, I didn’t think it would take that long, but massive fights like this take a lot longer to make and organise than other ones.
I was a little bit disappointed that Canelo Alvarez didn’t try and stop Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr. Chavez Jnr probably killed himself to get to the weight, I don’t think he had much left in the tank. It was an easy night’s work for Alvarez and he fights like that – if he can have an easy night’s work, he’ll have an easy night. He doesn’t over-exert himself, he doesn’t push himself if he doesn’t need to.
It won’t be an easy night against Golovkin, I think it’ll be a very tough fight but I’ve said it from day one when the fight was first talked about; I think Alvarez beats him all day long. Honestly, I’ve said it from day one. I think he’s got the brain, the ability, the speed, the power, the movement. Over Golovkin’s last couple of fights, we’ve seen a little bit of a blueprint on how to beat him. I think Alvarez beats Danny Jacobs, I think Alvarez beats Kell Brook – Golovkin’s last two opponents.
I just think Canelo has the speed and ability and boxing brain to beat “GGG”. People think I’ve said it this long just because I shared a ring with Alvarez – not at all. I always try and state my honest opinion, and I think Alvarez beats “GGG”.
I fought Alvarez about six years ago and he’s a hell of a lot better fighter now. He’s come on massively in every department, and I honestly believe he’s got what it takes to beat “GGG”.
When I fought Alvarez, I noticed that he was very, very accurate with his punches. He never threw anything if he didn’t think it was going to land, he doesn’t waste anything. He’s very accurate with his body shots, with his head shots. He’s got great speed and he’s got great head movement, I never expected him to have as good movement and head movement as he did. That’s what great fighters have. I went in with a gameplan, I had to change my gameplan because I never expected him to box like he boxed. Great fighters can adapt and change their plan if things aren’t working.
I think Canelo will have a plan for Golovkin. We’ve not seen much different from Golovkin in his fights. He comes forward, he’s heavy-handed, he throws shots from unorthodox angles and we’ve not seen much different from him. We’ve seen Alvarez box, we’ve seen him fight, we’ve seen him move, we’ve seen him knock people clean out. So we know he’s got everything.
When Canelo Alvarez attacks, what’s Golovkin going to be like? When Alvarez boxes, what’s Golovkin going to be like? If he stands in the trenches and has a war with him, Alvarez has proven he’s got a great defence. I honestly just think he’s got what it takes to beat him.
He was a superstar in Mexico back when I fought him and he’s an even bigger superstar now. When we arrived at the airport the cameras were there, we were walking down all the streets and saw all the billboards, he’s on TV, he’s in the papers. He’s an absolute superstar in Mexico, they absolutely love him, and so they should because he’s a fantastic fighter. But he’s a different Mexican fighter because he doesn’t use crash, bang, wallop aggressive fighting, he’s got a boxing brain. He can box as well as he can fight and I think that’s the difference, that’s why he’s such a superstar in Mexico, he’s something different in the boxing world. When he beats Golovkin he’ll move to a different level.
