LAS VEGAS – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez admits something has changed.
For so long, he pushed to test himself against more experienced fighters such as Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto.
Or he would press to accept a bout against a foe in which the outcome was in deep suspense – the first two Gennady Golovkin fights, winning that fourth belt against light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and then losing to another 175-pounder, Dmitry Bivol, just two years ago.
But now, as he heads to Saturday night’s defense of his three super middleweight belts against major underdog Edgar Berlanga, Alvarez said he can feel the difference.
Asked by BoxingScene if the nerves are there and the juices are flowing for Berlanga, 27, like they were before meeting Golovkin in 2017 to open a trilogy, Alvarez quickly answered, “No.”
During Wednesday’s news conference, when Alvarez was asked on stage how he came to “settle on” Berlanga as the opponent – a play on words, to be sure – Alvarez said he rather easily just accepted the Brooklyn, New York, fighter with Puerto Rican bloodlines.
“I fought everybody already,” Alvarez said of his immediate thought back then as he chatted with his manager and trainer, Eddy Reynoso, over finalizing the choice.
“So I was on vacation, and Eddy called me. They were working on the fight, and I said, ‘You know, whatever, I don’t care. I fight everybody, so …’”
That absence of a rival who stirs the soul is a compelling dynamic here for Mexico’s Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs), who also recently told BoxingScene he doesn’t know much about Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco, two rising unbeatens who are top-ranked contenders in the 168-pound division.
At 34, with a secured legacy, a fortified bank account and a determined/stubborn mindset about how his career will play out, Alvarez said he maintains interest in continuing to fight but feels the void of knowing there’s someone out there who can take away what he has.
During his ascent to this precipice, Alvarez would always be motivated by the industry chatter pushing him to fight the most deserved opponent.
That name, he was reminded Wednesday, is Phoenix’s David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), the former super middleweight titleholder who became so fatigued at being bypassed by Alvarez as the WBC’s top-ranked and mandatory contender, that he moved up to light heavyweight and earned a June victory over a former world champion, and is now being pointed to another 175-pound bout Dec. 14.
Have Alvarez’s previous urges to prove himself to the doubters and address the unknown vanished now? Is it a result of his stature and more pressing interest to dictate his path?
“I always fought everybody,” Alvarez said. “I’ve had legendary fights – Cotto, Golovkin They brought something to the table. They brought me legacy.
“I know you guys. … If I beat Benavidez, you’re going to put another fighter there [for me to beat]. If the money is right in that special fight, I’m in. Because [Benavidez] doesn’t bring me legacy; he doesn’t bring me anything.
“If the money’s right, I’m in.”
Of course, Alvarez has asked in excess of $125 million to fight Benavidez. Whether Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions can pay that kind of purse is unknown.
Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh has indicated interest in backing an Alvarez fight against lighter, unbeaten four-division champion Terence Crawford, but it’s unknown how deep he would sink into the apparently bottomless well of Middle East oil funds to bankroll Alvarez-Benavidez.
“I’m not going to beg,” Alvarez told BoxingScene recently of negotiating with Alalshikh, whose Riyadh Season is sponsoring the UFC 306 event across The Strip at The Sphere this weekend, to the tune of $20 million-plus.
When someone asked Alvarez which fighter from today’s landscape boosts his legacy as Golovkin and Cotto did, he said, “I don’t know. Right now, there’s not many people left. I’ve fought everybody already.”
Is there one guy he can think of?
“No,” Alvarez said.
When Bivol’s name was mentioned, Alvarez nodded affirmatively.
WBA light heavyweight titleholder Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is preparing for the undisputed light heavyweight title fight against unbeaten Russian countryman Artur Beterbiev in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 12.
“Bivol … I have a rematch [coming],” Alvarez said. “If he wins the undisputed … I think he has the ability to do it. Beterbiev is a really strong fighter. It’s going to be hard, but [Bivol] can do it.”
Until then, Alvarez moves to what’s developing as the formality of defeating Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), even though the fighter and his trainer proclaimed their readiness to produce a thrilling bout Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Alvarez made clear he wasn’t saying these things to disrespect Berlanga, the WBA mandatory contender.
He said he knows it’s the unknown sport of boxing.
“I’m [just] always confident of myself, my skills, my experience,” he said. “Even in the Golovkin fight. I’m always confident in every move I make.”
So what still inspires him?
“I enjoy it … everything. The feeling of these big fights, being in front of [reporters], my routine of being in training camp, the feeling when I walk in the ring on fight night.
“It puts more money in my account, too, obviously.”
This repeated refrain of “I’ve already done everything” raised the most obvious question.
Is Alvarez’s career moving to the 12th round?
“No, I go fight by fight. And I feel at my best now,” Alvarez said. “This Canelo beats the Canelo of 25, 26, 27.
“I feel great. My mind. My training camp. I take care of myself, my body. I have more experience every time I fight.”
Even if it feels like he’s experienced it all.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
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