Alvarez, 23, faces pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather on Saturday at a stipulated poundage of 152, although hasn’t been able to make that limit since defeating Matthew Hatton at a catchweight in 2011.
The ginger-haired superstar was 5.4lbs away from his target at the WBC seven-day weight check, but De La Hoya does not envisage any problems when ‘Canelo’ weighs in for his defining fight on Friday and expects Alvaez to avoid any fines for coming in over.
“There is a penalty (for coming in over 152) but, obviously, Canelo is going to have no problem making the weight whatsoever. He made 153 against Austin Trout with no problem, so Canelo is going to have no problem whatsoever,” predicted De La Hoya.
A win for Alvarez on Saturday night at the MGM Grand would see the WBC and WBA light-middleweight champion become the first challenger in history to beat the great ‘Money’ man and De La Hoya is of the belief that the victory would be one of the best by a Mexican fighter.
“Well, it would definitely rank up top two or three. Mexico has produced a lot of great champions, a lot of great fights, but this fight here in particular, especially in the last 15 years, will be one of the most important victories for all of Mexico.”
Since making the comments, De La Hoya has made a statement to confirm that he will be unable to attend the massive clash following a relapse in his battle with drug and alcohol problems. WBN wishes him well.
