By Radio Rahim
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach credits Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) as displaying a lot of improvements last Saturday night, when Canelo won a twelve round unanimous decision over former four division world champion Miguel Cotto at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Coming in to the fight, Roach saw a lot of holes in Canelo's game. He says the Mexican star has vastly improved and fixed a lot of deficiencies, including some that were present in his big knockout of James Kirkland in May.
With the victory Canelo picked up the WBC middleweight championship. The mandatory challenger is WBA/IBO/IBF champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs). The likelihood of that fight actually happening, at least in the near future, is unknown.
"He was more than I expected. I think he's improved a lot. I think he's become a better fighter. He's a young kid coming. I think from his last fight he looked better in this fight. Again, him and Triple G - I'd love to see that fight," Roach said.
Roach views Canelo vs. Golovkin as the perfect fight to make in the middleweight division and expects the bout to be a potential shootout between two big punchers.
"That's a great fight. You got two tough guys, two real strong guys. Both guys can punch very well. I'd like to see that fight," Roach said.
