By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – This is one of the few times in his career that Canelo Alvarez will enter a fight as an underdog.
Las Vegas and Internet sports books list Gennady Golovkin as a slight favorite over Alvarez (-170) with nearly three months remaining before their middleweight championship showdown. Alvarez is a +140 underdog in their 12-round fight for Golovkin’s IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC 160-pound championships September 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 26-year-old Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) isn’t the least bit concerned about betting odds.
“I really don’t think about that,” Alvarez told a small group of reporters through a translator Tuesday night in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. “I don’t worry about that. I’ve probably been the favorite in most of my fights, but I really don’t pay any mind to it. What I worry about is being in shape and being trained a hundred percent, and being ready for the fight.”
The Mexican superstar is 7-0 (4 KOs) since suffering the only loss of his 11-year pro career – a 12-round majority decision defeat to unbeaten legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) in September 2013 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 35-year-old Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) had his 23-fight knockout streak snapped by Daniel Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs) on March 18 at Madison Square Garden, but Alvarez and Golovkin expect their HBO Pay-Per-View main event to end by knockout.
“Everybody loves a knockout,” Alvarez said. “The fans, myself as a fighter, I love the knockout. And you really wanna win a fight by a knockout. And it’s a high probability that it’s gonna end in a knockout because of the high percentage of knockouts that we both have. You never really know. You can’t predict anything, but there’s a good chance it will end in a knockout.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.