By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez reiterated Tuesday that he doesn’t want his fight against Gennady Golovkin to go to the scorecards.
Golovkin has knocked out 89 percent of his professional opponents. Alvarez, however, is motivated to become not just the first fighter to defeat Golovkin, but to knock out one of boxing’s most punishing punchers Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The former middleweight and junior middleweight champion emphasized his desire to knock out Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) during an interview session Tuesday with reporters following their grand arrivals at MGM Grand.
“Obviously, this is a very important fight,” Alvarez said through a translator. “And I’ve prepared like I’ve never prepared to look for the knockout. And that’s what I’m happy for. I’m very motivated to give the fans a beautiful fight and answer a lot of questions. They’ll see it on Saturday night.”
However it ends, Mexico’s Alvarez anticipates an action fight that will deliver plenty of entertainment when he and Golovkin go at it in a 12-rounder for Golovkin’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC middleweight titles in an HBO Pay-Per-View main event.
“His style is [that of] an aggressive fighter who comes forward, comes to knock [people] out,” Alvarez said. “I’m a counter-puncher that’s gonna be right there, countering him strong. So those two styles, those two ingredients, it’s the making of a great fight.”
Though more dangerous due to Golovkin’s unusual power, Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) prefers a fight like the one in which he’ll participate Saturday night over the tactical clashes he has had with southpaws Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout. Alvarez won a debatable split decision over Lara in July 2014 and beat Trout by unanimous decision in April 2013.
Alvarez prefers “this style, obviously, because this can show my attributes, this can show my style, this can show my talent and give the fans a beautiful fight, a fight that they wanna see.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.