With Canelo Alvarez putting the finishing touches on his training camp as he heads into this weekend’s middleweight unification match against Daniel Jacobs, the Mexican star tells the LA Times that he’s been preparing for difficult stylistic fights like these for a long time.
Specifically Canelo recalls his 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather, saying he knew that fight would prepare him for what was to come regardless of the outcome on that particular night.
“I always wanted to face the best fighters … to cement my path and be able to place myself in the history of boxing,” Alvarez said in a statement to The Times on Monday. “ … The reason I fought against the kind of style that Mayweather [has] is because I was already used to [other] kinds of fighters.
“I also knew that fighting against the best would prepare [me] for challenges like the one I have against Daniel Jacobs.”
Since Mayweather effectively left the sport and with Pacquiao’s star diminishing, Canelo would emerge as boxing’s biggest star and its face — particularly in America. And his Golden Boy promoters believe that his past experiences against great fighters like Floyd now have Canelo on the cusp of becoming the master boxer he once fell short against.
Check out our full preview of the Canelo-Jacobs fight right here!