Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin were both men of relatively few words at today’s final press conference, as the two superstar fighters are geared up and in the zone for Saturday’s trilogy bout in Las Vegas.
Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KO) and trainer Eddy Reynoso talked about their motivation not just for this rivalry fight, but also in coming in from a defeat in May against Dmitry Bivol, while Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KO) and trainer Johnathon Banks both acknowledged they’re ready for an aggressive Canelo, who continues to say he plans to get a knockout on Saturday.
Here’s what everyone had to say:
Canelo Alvarez
“I’m really motivated to be here. Obviously the defeat (to Dmitry Bivol) hurt, but we’re back on the path to greatness, and on Saturday you’re going to see the best of me.”
“I feel like I work better under pressure, and the pressure I’ve put on myself is to finish this inside the distance. I know it’s going to be very difficult, but nothing in life is easy. I always look to achieve what’s difficult. I’ve got a really tough rival in front of me; a strong, intelligent opponent. But the knockout will be my aim on Saturday night.”
Gennadiy Golovkin
“Last time was four years ago, it was a long time. Finally, Saturday night. I think this is the biggest day for boxing right now, and the biggest gift for the fans. I feel confident, I feel strong, I feel ready.”
“I believe I’ll win, I believe in myself, I believe in my team. This is my life. This is my true life.”
“We’re both professional athletes. His strategy is more aggressive, mine is more experienced. We’ll see. In the ring, we’ll see who’s better. This is the biggest fight for us.”
“This is at 168. Everything has changed and everything is possible.”
Eddy Reynoso, Canelo’s trainer
“(Coming off of a loss), we’ve got great motivation. We’re in great shape and have worked really hard in camp.”
“Canelo is a really competitive sportsman, he’s been like that since he was a kid. You learn not just from victory, but also defeat. We’ve done some fantastic work over the previous weeks.”
“We know they’ve done 24 rounds, we also know the level of boxing we can expect. They have different skills and attitudes. The person who wins will be able to show them on the night.”
Johnathon Banks, GGG’s trainer
“We could see the best fight of the three. This is big time boxing. This is the moment everybody’s been waiting for, nothing but excitement on both sides.”
“You’ve got two professionals, and both of them take their job seriously. That’s the reason this fight has the draw that it has. It’s gonna be a great night, two titans going head-to-head.”
“GGG is a true professional. If he fights at middleweight, he’s coming at middleweight. If he fights at super middleweight, he’s coming in at super middleweight. I don’t think it’s going to help or hurt him. This is the weight he agreed to fight at, I don’t think it’s going to make a difference. We’re just excited to have this challenge on the table.”
“I think you’d be really foolish to believe Canelo’s not going to come out aggressive. Both guys are ultimate competitors. He comes out aggressive against anyone else, so why wouldn’t he now? But however he comes, G is ready for him and he’ll meet the challenge.”