By James Blears
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez says he’s ready and willing to fight Julio Cesar Jr. in September or December. Canelo announced the crunch time, after receiving his WBC green and gold super welterweight belt from World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman, at a Sanbourns brunch in the heart of Mexico City.
He said: “First I’ve got my title defense on June 18th, and Chavez has his fight for the title in June. But the fight between us is something the people want to see and it will satisfy them. It will be possible for us to fight in September or December. There will have to be somenegotiation about the weight.”
There’s been a fair degree of back and forth verbal banter between the two young darlings of Mexican boxing over the last months. Grinning broadly Canelo diplomatically suggested: “I don’t really know him. It’s a sport of rivalries but only connected to boxing and not personal. But I will say it’s almost time to face each other, and for fans to enjoy a great fight.”
In preparation for his upcoming fight in Tlajomulco, near Guadalajara on June 18th at the Vicente Fernandez Gomez Stadium which can hold a 15,000 capacity crowd, for the first time in his career, Canelo will training outside Mexico. All roads lead to the high altitude area of Big Bear in California. Canelo’s training team confirm they’ll soon be leaving for Big Bear only to return on June 10th. And the plan is for Canelo to spar between eighty and ninety quality rounds.
As for his second British opponent in a row, Canelo recognizes and appreciates Sheffield southpaw Ryan Rhodes can punch a bit. He commented: “Ryan is a complete fighter who knows how to box. He can change guards and he’s got a good KO percentage. He’s won his last ten fights with seven knockouts.
“I’m really happy to have tough challenges like this and I’ll be one hundred percent prepared. It’s my first defense in front of my people and it’s going to be a great fight, but I’m motivated.
“In every fight I learn show advances and I’m improving all the time. I’ve also still got a lot to learn.”