Canelo Alvarez: “Everyone wants [Jermell] to beat me, but it’s going to be difficult”

By Brian Webber: Canelo Alvarez is aware of the many fans who are hoping that Jermell Charlo will defeat him this Saturday night to knock him off his 168-lb throne, but he says going to be “difficult” for him to do that.

Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) says Jermell hasn’t been fighting opposition like him during his long 15-year professional career, so he’s going to be facing a whole different level of fighter for the first time.

Alvarez has much to prove in this fight because people think he’s ready to be beaten, and Jermell is in the right place at the right time. This is the time to do it if you’re Charlo.

If he had arrived at this spot two years earlier in 2021, he’d be out of his league against that version of Canelo, who was firing on all cylinders at that time.

A lot of fans believe Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) is going to get totally massacred by Canelo in their twelve round headliner on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

On the flip side, Canelo’s detractors point to his last three fights in which he’s struggled and not looked good against John Ryder, Gennadiy Golovkin & Dmitry Bivol.

Beating Canelo won’t be easy

Jermell is a better fighter than Ryder, and it’s fair to say that he’s fighting at a higher level than the 41-year-old Golovkin we saw last year against Canelo in their trilogy match.

If Jermell had gotten a taste of what he’ll be dealing with against Canelo by moving up to 168 to take on guys like Diego Pacheco, Caleb Plant & Edgar Berlanga, he wouldn’t be in such a shock.

Obviously, this is about Jermell chasing greatness and a payday by going up to super middleweight without prior experience to try and do a job against the best fighter in the division.

“They want, but to do it is different,” said Canelo Alvarez to Full Send Podcast when told that many boxing fans want him to lose to Jermell Charlo. “It’s not the same fighter that he’s used to fighting. Everyone wants him to beat me, but it’s going to be difficult.”

Why Jermell won’t win:

• No experience at 168. This will be Jermell’s first fight at super middleweight, and he’s facing the best.
• Fighting the Face of Boxing: Beating Alvarez by decision could be impossible, and Jermell isn’t a big enough puncher to knock him out.
• The venue favors Canelo.
• Inactivity: Jermell has been inactive for 1 1/2 years, and that’s not ideal when you’re fighting Canelo.

“No,” said Canelo when asked if he’s playing golf during camp. “That’s difficult for me not to play golf because I love playing golf so much.

“I’m glad to go away from him because he’s f***ng crazy,” said Canelo about leaving Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. “Nobody that knows close [likes De La Hoya].

“He’s a hypocrite. He’s not loyal. That’s why he’s having problems. He doesn’t have any fighters left. Ryan Garcia because he signed with him, but Ryan Garcia is having problems with him. That’s why nobody wants to be with him because he’s not loyal.

“Right now, he’s [De La Hoya] talking s**t about me, but if I went with his promotional [company]. ‘Oh, he’s the best. We’re going to do this, and he’s the best pound-for-pound,’  but I’m not with him anymore, and he’s the opposite.

“I told Ryan Garcia before he signed, ‘Be careful. See first if you want with your career,’ and then he signed with him, and look what happened,” said Canelo.

As you can tell, Canelo doesn’t think too highly of his former promoter De La Hoya.