Saul "Canelo" Alvarez recently defended he and trainer Eddy Reynoso's decision that any possible trilogy fight against Gennadiy Golovkin would have to take place at 168 lb, where the Mexican star now competes.
Canelo and Golovkin fought to a draw in 2017 before Alvarez took a majority decision in another close fight one year later. Both bouts took place at 160 lb, but while Golovkin continues to fight there and made a record 21st world middleweight title defence against Kamil Szeremeta on Dec. 18, Canelo is now a super-middle and defeated Callum Smith the following day on Dec. 19 to become WBA, WBC and The Ring magazine champion.
Reynoso recently said it would be 168 or bust for a possible third fight between his client and the Kazakhstan boxer, even though the first two bouts were met with widespread critical and commercial success.
And in an interview with The Ring, Alvarez reiterated the statement, before claiming he would finish things inside the scheduled distance this time around.
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, I did my job already by beating him twice and right now, I want to stay at 168, and if (GGG) wants to move up, we’ll see what happens, if that’s what the fans really want. I’m at 168 and I don’t have to do any favors for anyone. I’m at 168 and our goal is to unify here," Canelo said.
“I feel good right now, I feel strong. I feel like I’m at my peak and I continue working hard. If a fight happens a third time (with GGG), I feel so good that I could I most likely knock him out and do some serious damage.”
Golovkin is now 38, and would be 39 by the time a trilogy could realistically be set up. Promoters such as Eddie Hearn and Oscar De La Hoya have expressed more interest in pairing "Triple G" with elite middleweight rivals Demetrius Andrade and Jaime Munguia than in a trilogy with pound-for-pound king Alvarez.
Canelo, meanwhile, has his eyes on a busy 2021 admit reports he will return to the ring as early as next month to grant Avni Yildirim his mandatory title challenge before targeting another fight in May, possibly a unification contest with WBO super-middle king Billy Joe Saunders, and then a third fight in 2021 in September.
“I’ve worked hard for this and it’s a great situation to be in,” continued Alvarez. “It’s a pretty simple plan for 2021, fight for all of the belts at 168 and fight three times, maybe four. We’ll see.
“We all work together, the media, the fans to make the fights. I love my fans.”