Charlie Ota and Carson Jones Discuss Sparring With Canelo Alvarez (Video)

Doug Fischer of The RING spoke with Charlie Ota and Carson Jones about their recent sparring with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez ahead of Alvarez's September 17 fight with Alfonso Gomez in Los Angeles. That fight will be shown on the Mayweather vs Ortiz pay-per-view from HBO.

Charlie Ota: "Of course his strength is his strength. The boy is physically strong. I got in there, and when I pressed against him, I'm like, 'Damn, they say you're 20,' but he has real physical power. Also, he's very heavy-handed. ... When he punches you -- I'm pretty tough, so it didn't really hurt me, but the punches do move my body. ... He's a very good counter-puncher. It might not look like it... but his one-shot counter, he's very good at that. Which I learned from experience, first-hand."

Carson Jones: "You can see it in his fights, but you can also see it when you're in there sparring with him, he's real relaxed. He's more like a veteran fighter. ... I've sparred both [Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Alvarez]. Chavez, it seems like somebody's forcing him to be in there, when Alvarez is more relaxed. He wants to be in there. ... Chavez kind of seems like he doesn't really wanna be here."

Ota (18-1-1, 13 KO) fights again in Japan on September 18, where he'll face Yoshihisa Tonimura (15-5-4, 4 KO) for Ota's OPBF junior middleweight title, and you can learn more about him in an excellent recent feature piece here at Bad Left Hook from Sidney Boquiren.

Jones (31-8-2, 21 KO) faces Said Ouali (28-3, 20 KO) on the Mayweather vs Ortiz off-TV undercard at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 17.