By Miguel Rivera
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) explained that the only reason he dared Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to stake his purse in their upcoming fight is because his countryman made things very personal.
The two Mexican stars are scheduled to collide on May 6th, in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
There is a catch-weight in place for the Cinco De Mayo showdown, with both fighters agreeing to trade punches at 164.5-pounds.
During last week's media tour, things got very personal between the two fighters - and they challenged each other to a high stakes bet where both of their purses would have been on the line.
Chavez Jr.'s father, the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., eventually stepped in and put a quick end to the bet.
Canelo would still be willing to do the bet, if Chavez Jr. was ready to put his money where his mouth is.
"I'm a man of my word, if he wants to follow through with the bet - we can make a contract," said Canelo to Edward Cauich.
"I do not like to talk about people and make statements that I'm going to knock them out. The only thing I could say, is that he's made a lot of statements that he is going to knock me out, he's made memes taking shots at me. If he is so sure that he can beat me, bet everything that you're going to win. If you're so sure you're going to win, I'll bet you. Why [would I do that]? Because I do not care about the money that I'm going to win in this fight. This goes above and beyond that, this is a matter of pride. That's why I told him (to do the bet)."
"When we are men - we say things right in front of someone. That's the only thing that bothers me [about him], he says things behind my back. There is a rivalry with him that's been going on for eight years. The fight had to be done, it was now or never. Because if we didn't do it now then it was never going to be done."