Canelo Blog Part 4: “I really don’t like him [Golovkin]”

How important is this fight for your legacy?

“I’m very happy with my career. I’m very proud of what I have done in these roughly 13 years in the sport. I think I’m creating a legacy that is leaving me very satisfied. Obviously, I still have many years in the sport, but at this rate I am satisfied with what I have done.

“My objectives in the sport of boxing is to take advantage of my opportunities and to make history. I’m going to keep making the best fights. A career in boxing is short, and I want to do it well. I’m going to do my best and take advantage 100% in this sport to leave a great legacy, which is what I hope for.

“It’s definitely more personal now. I really don’t like him [Golovkin]. It’s personal, and I take it that way. It will make me train harder and give it the extra push to knock him out on September 15.

Canelo Blog Part 3: “It is I who has made them [Team GGG] gain so much [money]”

It seems you genuinely don’t like Golovkin. Have you ever felt that way about an opponent before? And are those personal feelings a motivator, or something you need to put aside?

“You will see an aggressive Canelo Alvarez in this fight. This fight has become personal. I will use this in my favor—obviously with intelligence—for this battle. The cordiality that we had, not in the ring but outside of it, has ended because of many things. Because of the many times they opened their mouth. Everyone knows that I don’t like to talk a lot. It’s one of those times where—well, I have my way of being. I get mad. But I know how to control myself, though the cordiality between us has ended.

“I know they are bothered, but I don’t know why since it is I who has made them gain so much [money]. They say they don’t worry about that. They say they don’t fight about that, but that’s the first thing they fight about—the money, the purse. There’s nothing else they care about more. It’s hypocritical for them to say otherwise.

“I don’t know why Golovkin’s corner or team have been aggressive in their talks. It may be because of their rivalry. I don’t know. I think they’ve gone too far. They’ve gone beyond just trying to sell the fight with their statements. I don’t like talking or instigating with the fighter or even trying to make a show to sell the fight. People know that when we get into the ring, we’re going to give a great fight, period. In some sense, he might have offended me. But I always consider who’s saying what. The truth is that Golovkin is my opponent, so I understand it. With Abel Sanchez, it doesn’t worry me at all. Because at the end of the day, what about him? At the end of the day, he’s not going to get in the ring with me.”

Canelo Blog Part II: “Abel Sanchez is a dumbass”

Abel Sanchez keeps saying that you “ran” during your first fight with Golovkin. Golovkin says you should stand and fight him in the center of the ring. What’s your response?

“Comments from Sanchez don’t really bother me because he actually thinks he’s a great trainer, but he doesn’t know what boxing is. He doesn’t know what it is to have technique. He doesn’t know what it is to box or to move. He doesn’t know what it means to adapt to the circumstances of a fight and not just go forward and throw punches. What I do is box. I find it strange that someone who believes himself to be a great trainer does not know how to distinguish between having technique and what he’s saying [the running].

“It’s one thing to be coming forward like a donkey and it’s another thing to be moving, dodging punches, counterpunching, and even staying on the ropes without him hitting you. I hope he goes back to his house and realizes what I’ve been saying about him: that he’s a dumbass [pendejo]. The first have has given me the confidence that I will win this fight. If I work him well throughout the fight, I can knock him out.”

Canelo Blog Part 1: “I’m 100% focused on this upcoming fight and nothing more”

What have the last few months been like for you? How do you feel about the criticism you have received from some other fighters? How have your fans responded?

“I’ve already spoke about what has happened. I want to turn the page on this and focus on this big fight on Sept. 15. I want to move forward. The people know. I gave the explanation I needed to give at the moment I needed to give it. I’m 100% focused on this upcoming fight and nothing more.

“I already touched on that topic. I already gave an interview on that topic. That was going to be the only and last interview that I was going to do on that topic so that I could turn the page on this chapter and so that we could all focus 100% on the fight. If there is any doubt, I would like for everyone to grab from there [the interview] because I won’t be saying the same thing to every single person. We gave an exclusive interview on this topic. I did to so that every one of you would refer to that interview regarding what happened.”

On the year that has passed:

“I always stay in shape. This has all served as experience, and I keep training, which is important. Thankfully, my body has been very good to me and has always been able to adapt quickly to everything. [During the time off] I dedicated myself to do other things. I needed to fix some things that I had pending. After being in the sport for 13 years, it also gave me some much-needed rest.”

On criticism:

“A lot of the criticism comes from people who don’t know. They just talk. Usually it’s just people who talk for the sake of talking. They don’t read about or know about what is going on. They just want to attack people. They don’t do anything with their lives besides attack people. But that’s why I just see them and see myself and know that it won’t affect me.”

24/7 Canelo/GGG 2 debuts Tues., Aug. 28 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Canelo vs. GGG 2 takes place Saturday, Sept. 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.