Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo'' Alvarez feels superior to Avni Yildirím. That doesn't mean, however, that he's not taking the upcoming contest seriously.

Canelo will defend his WBC, WBA super middleweight titles against the Turkish challenger on February 27 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. The contest will be carried on DAZN.

Yildirim and his handlers believe Canelo (54-1-2 36 KOs) is underestimating a man who absolutely has nothing to lose and very few believe he'll even be competitive.

"None of that [is happening], I do feel superior and I am superior to Yildirim," Canelo said to George Ebro.

"But I'm training like it's my biggest fight and I'm not underestimating him at all. I know this is boxing and one punch can change everything. It's not in me to underestimate anyone.''

Yildirim is scheduled to fly to California this Friday to close his training camp at the headquarters of his head trainer, Joel Diaz, after several weeks of preparation in Antalya, Turkey.

Canelo, for his part, is finishing up camp with his longtime coach, Eddy Reynoso.

Yildirim (21-2 12 KOs) has been waiting for this mandatory opportunity to fight for the WBC title since February 2019, when he lost a technical decision to Anthony Dirrell, who suffering a cut on the eye that forced a halt to the action.

But many view this fight as nothing more than a tune-up for Canelo.

The two fighters have sparred in the past - and Canelo expects Yildirim to be competitive in a high-drama encounter.

"I'm not going to deny the favoritism [for me], but boxing is very complicated and I do think Yildirim will be a good opponent,'" Canelo said.

"He's a good boxer and I think we're going to make an exciting fight for the audience who are going to attend the event that night and for those who will follow the fight on television.''