Canelo Alvarez has made clear his feelings about Gennadiy Golovkin ahead of their Sept. 17 trilogy clash, displaying a level of disdain for his opponent we rarely see from him ahead of fights.
The Mexican superstar, who will defend his undisputed super middleweight crown against GGG in that fight, also had a bit to say about Ryan Garcia, who formerly trained in Canelo’s camp, when speaking with Ak and Barak on the DAZN Boxing Show this week.
On his harsh feelings for Golovkin
“I dislike that man because I hate that kind of person, the one who is one person in front of the people, and behind (the scenes) he says a lot of bad things. Then it’s, ‘Nothing happened, I’m good, I’m respectful.’ I hate that.”
On whether GGG has ever hurt him in their fights
“No. Never.”
On whether being too aggressive makes him vulnerable
“You need to use the (brain), too, be smart. But I really want (to knock him out). You need to use it in your way; calm, but angry.”
On passing on the Bivol rematch to do the GGG fight
“The day after the fight, I told Eddie Hearn, ‘I want the (Bivol) rematch for September.’ I wanted it, and he said, ‘We have this contract with DAZN and with GGG, he already signed it, too.’ It’s a lot of trouble. But now I’m 100 percent focused on Golovkin, and I have a mission in my mind.”
On how badly he was trying to bait GGG at the presser
“So bad.”
On whether the hatchet can be buried with GGG
“I don’t know, and let me tell you why. I’m always good, like, with Bivol, I’m always respectful with my opponents. But it depends on how they come, what they say. You need to be how you are. (Bivol or Plant) were nice people, respectful, and I showed them the same thing. But with this, I don’t know what (GGG) is going to bring after the fight, because he’ll say something (to my face) and other things (elsewhere).”
On his motivation after losing to Bivol
“I’m a more dangerous fighter now. … I’m training angry, like, that motivated me. It’s just different. I just feel in a different zone right now. I just wanted to go back and be in the ring and show everybody my comeback. When you look for greatness, you will find (adversity). … I’m in that position right now. I’m going to accomplish what I want.”
On GGG’s showing against Ryota Murata in April
“I just watched highlights, but he was strong and he was smart. … If you put everything — he’s in Japan, away from home, it’s a lot. But I really don’t care if he looked good or bad. I’m just going to train my 100 percent and be ready for the best Golovkin.”
On the hardest puncher he’s faced
“James Kirkland. I felt it in my arms. … I said, ‘I need to finish this fight right now.’”
On Floyd Mayweather possibly rematching Conor McGregor
“For business, it’s good, he does it for business. Not for legacy.”
On whether he’d fight McGregor if an opportunity came up
“Yeah, at some point, maybe. Not now, because I’ve got a mission. But at some point, why not? We are talking about business, not legacy.”
On what’s left for him in boxing after GGG and Bivol
“I don’t know. There’s always something.”
On his current P4P standing with various outlets
“I’m not looking about the position. I feel like I’m the best, and that’s what’s important. I’m the only fighter who’s never scared to lose. I’ve tried to do different things. But I feel I’m the best.”
On Ryan Garcia picking GGG to win
“He’s just mad because he’s no longer on the team. He’s always going to be against us, no matter what. But he’s a little kid. You need to understand him. He needs to learn a lot of things. My advice for him is just do your job, focus on your career, win a world championship first, and then talk about other people. Because you’ve accomplished nothing, and you start talking about fighters who have accomplished a lot. When I was 20 years old, I was a world champion.”
“You can call out everybody and talk, but at the end of the day, you’re doing nothing. We need to understand him. He’s no longer with the Canelo team, so he’s going to talk shit about us. It’s fine. But you need to remember how much Eddy (Reynoso) did for him; a lot of things. He and his father still owe money to Eddy, and Eddy don’t say anything because he don’t need it. But it’s not right, he’s talking shit about everything in the camp. He came to my gym, we showed him love, we supported him, and he goes and says (whatever). When a person is ungrateful, it’s one of the worst things he can be.”
On whether he still roots for Garcia
“Yeah, of course, why not? I’m not jealous of anything. I wish all the best for him.”
On whether Garcia can beat Gervonta Davis
“I don’t think so. Not yet. If he puts his mind into boxing and tries to learn, he can do a lot of things. He has talent.”