By Keith Idec

Canelo Alvarez has dismissed Freddie Roach’s criticism of his work ethic and refuted Roach’s claim that he once trained in one of Roach’s gyms.

Alvarez was asked on a recent conference call about Roach calling him lazy, but the Mexican star avoided a war of words with Miguel Cotto’s outspoken trainer.

“My words are most important November the 21st in the ring,” Alvarez said.

When asked what he recalled about his time training at Roach’s gym, Alvarez added, “My recollection is I’ve never been to Freddie Roach’s gym.”

Roach told multiple media outlets in a late-August, post-news conference interview during the Alvarez-Cotto press tour that Alvarez’s work habits aren’t particularly strong.

“He’s not the most dedicated fighter in the world,” Roach said. “He’s a little bit lazy. I’ve got those reports from my gym, Wild Card West, when he used to work out there and so forth.”

Roach, the renowned trainer who has coached Cotto to three straight technical knockout victories since they began working together, has owned the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, since he opened it in 1994. He co-owns Wild Card West Boxing Club in Santa Monica, California, with movie producer/director/actor Peter Berg.

It was unclear during the aforementioned question-and-answer exchange if Alvarez realized that Roach referred to Wild Card West Boxing Club, not Wild Card Boxing Club, when he made those critical comments about him.

Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), a 3-1 favorite, and Puerto Rico’s Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) are scheduled to square off Saturday night in Las Vegas. Their 12-round fight for Cotto’s WBC and The Ring middleweight championships will headline HBO Pay-Per-View’s four-fight telecast from Mandalay Bay Events Center ($59.99-$69.99).

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.