Boxing: Canelo says Vegas bout will prove superiority to GGG

[June 22, 2017]  By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Promoters believe the showdown between unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez could turn into a series of classic clashes but Alvarez says he needs just one meeting to prove he is superior to the vaunted 'Triple G'.

Kazikhstan's Golovkin will carry a 37-0 record, including 33 knockouts, and his WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO championship belts into the Sept. 16 fight in Las Vegas.

Alvarez, the red-haired darling of boxing-crazed Mexico with a 49-1-1 record and 34 knockouts, told a group of reporters at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday that there would be no need for a rematch or potential trilogy.

"It only needs to be one," he said on the New York stop of the promotional tour. "I want to make it clear that I’m better than him and there will be no need for another fight."

Knockout artist Golovkin was so efficient in the ring over the last few years he had a hard time getting top-flight opponents to agree to fight him, including Alvarez.

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya said now was the perfect time for his 26-year-old Alvarez to get in the ring against 35-year-old Golovkin, who was pushed to 12 rounds for the first time in his previous bout against Danny Jacobs.

"The timing couldn’t be at a better moment," said De La Hoya. "Canelo is a full-blown middleweight and Golovkin is undefeated at middleweight. This fight has been perfectly planned at the perfect time."

Canelo began boxing professionally at 139 pounds aged 15 before moving up through the weight classes, holding world middleweight and super welterweight titles.

The Mexican said Golovkin's previous opponent missed a golden opportunity to hand the Kazakh his first defeat.

Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin pose after the press conference Action Images via Reuters / Henry Browne Livepic

"I think Jacobs gave him too much respect the first two rounds and if he would have started sooner and not respect him as much he would have won a clear decision," he said.

The Golovkin-Alvarez bout will come three weeks after the much-hyped fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor.

Golovkin has already branded the crossover bout a "circus show" and while Alvarez has also dismissed the importance of that fight, it does hold some interest for him.

The only blemish on the Mexican's record is a 2013 title fight defeat to Mayweather via a 12-round decision.

"That fight motivated me. It motivated me to become a better fighter," he said.

And if Mayweather, who retired after his last fight in September 2015, has it in mind to resume his ring career against legitimate boxers, Alvarez said he was interested in getting revenge for his one and only loss.

"Sure, why not? It’s in the back of my mind, that fight. And I would love to erase it."

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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