Canelo: I Feel Stronger, I Have The Power To Knock Chavez Out

By Miguel Rivera

Last week, former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) revealed that his goal was to secure a knockout victory over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) on May 6th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

There is a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds in place. Chavez Jr. is coming down from the super middleweight limit of 168, while Canelo is coming up from 154-pounds.

"It's my motivation [to knock Canelo out]. It would be great. I'm going for the knockout. If it doesn't happen, then I want to win all the rounds, one by one until the last. In the latter it's best to say that I [will knock him out in the] eighth or ninth," Chavez Jr. said.

Chavez Jr. himself was stopped in 2015 by top light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara, but that contest took place at 172-pounds.

While Canelo, the current WBO junior middleweight champion, is moving up nearly two weight divisions - he feels confident that a knockout will be obtainable on the night of the fight.

In his last two fights, Canelo scored sensational knockout wins over former world champions Liam Smith and Amir Khan. He wants to continue his knockout run next month.

“It’s my first time moving up to this division and to this weight, but I do have the power to knock [Chavez] out when that opportunity occurs,” Canelo said to Los Angeles Times.

“Everything’s going great. The camp has been great. I feel stronger. I feel that now that I don’t have to cut weight, I feel more powerful. I can get more out of the training with less fatigue on my body.”

“I’m expecting the best Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I hope he is ready, because I’m getting ready to give my best, fight to the best of my ability. My [advantages of] my experience, my discipline, my skills, my ability — [I expect] to use that in the ring.”