By Miguel Rivera
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (45-1-1, 32KOs) is looking forward to the most anticipated fight of the fall, his HBO Pay-Per-View battle with WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33KOs) on November 21st at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Those on the side of Cotto have called him a reinvented fighter since his pairing with veteran trainer Freddie Roach in 2013. Canelo is not one of those people. He sees Cotto as being the same fighter that he previously was.
"I think a fighter like Miguel Angel Cotto, he already has his style and he's not going to be able to change much," Canelo said regarding Roach to Golpe a Golpe. "All he can is prepare well with Freddie, that's all he can do."
The fight is taking place at a catch-weight of 155-pounds. Canelo is placing a lot of his focus on speed and conditioning. In order to become the start that he wants to be, he says a win over Cotto is an absolute necessity.
"This fight means a lot to me to move forward. To make history in this sport you need to beat fighters like Cotto who have practically won everything. I feel motivated, obviously it's a big responsibility, but I have the desire to win and the work needs to be addressed," said Canelo.
"I'm going to focus a lot on speed, counters and conditioning more than anything else. Miguel is a fighter who shoots combinations, throws strong and curved punches, so we're going to focus on everything but the conditioning and speed will be very important in this fight."
"I have to be very careful, do a lot of preparation because it will be a tough fight. We will train very well to come out with the upper hand. It will be an intense fight, because the styles of myself and Miguel will make the fight intense. We know that it's going to be a great fight."