Mexcian superstar Canelo Alvarez uncovered a shocking revelation in the run-up to his clash with Sergey Kovalev this Saturday night.
During fight week formalities, Canelo was asked if he’d ever sparred and knocked out a heavyweight. The unequivocal answer was ‘YES!’
Canelo is expected to weigh around 180 pounds for his light heavyweight challenge against Kovalev this week, so the fact he put a boxer thirty or forty pounds heavier than him out of commission may not bode well for the Russian.
Despite Canelo’s new bombshell, there’s no getting away from the fact that the three-weight ruler is considerably smaller than Kovalev.
The ‘Krusher’ is a beast and looked every inch the taller man when the pair went head-to-head.
Putting on some beef for the Vegas blockbuster, there will be no alterations in the range between both boxers.
The need to get inside is of the utmost importance to Canelo, who may well struggle to get past Kovalev’s long arms.
Discussing his decision to move up in more detail and the need to be tested further, Canelo should be commended for his efforts.
Canelo holds weight division goals
“Moving up two divisions against a world champion is a big challenge for me, worrying about a champion at light heavyweight,” he said. “But I also think that it’s the most important fight of my career.
“That’s why we are doing this, to keep making history. That’s what I like. I like those challenges.
“I always imagined the magnitude of what I could accomplish so fast. And then I discovered more things. I learned more things, and I learned that there are even more things ahead of me that I can keep making history.
“That’s what motivates me to keep going, keep making history.”
.@Canelo replies YES when asked if he’s ever sparred with a heavyweight and knocked them out 🥊💥 pic.twitter.com/QwsJQvV2gw
— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) October 30, 2019
Asked whether he can go up any further himself, potentially to cruiserweight or even the top division, Canelo added: “You know, right now, to move yet to another division would be a lot.
“We can’t exaggerate. It would be too much to move to another division, but I’m looking for challengers. I keep looking to make history.
“That’s how I would characterize myself as the kind of fighter that tries to make history.
“But for us, there are no limits. We want to make history. We want to keep advancing. So there are no limits for us.
“We’re in a good moment in my career, so we have to take advantage of that.”
On sparring those much bulkier boxers in training and worrying about being caught himself, Canelo concluded: “It’s normal for you to feel that when you’re sparring with bigger people. It’s logical.
“But we have felt really well, training and sparring with my sparring partners. I really appreciate that because they’re helping me train, but it’s just a matter of getting used to it.
“Sugar Ray Leonard, obviously, is one of the ones who I remembered who mostly moved up in divisions. I saw videos of him, watched the fights so that I could learn.”
