Canelo Alvarez believes that his fight with Callum Smith is the latest in the line of tough challenges he has set for himself.
Alvarez is a four-division world champion and takes on Smith this weekend (on DAZN globally, excluding Mexico) for the Englishman’s WBA and Ring Magazine super middleweight titles.
Explaining his decision to return to 168lbs to face one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in action today, Alvarez said on DAZN's 40 Days: “I like to be under pressure. I like to know there’s a challenge waiting for me, motivating me.
“Well, they’re tough fighters and I like challenges. That’s why I wanted to be in those fights. That’s what I like.
“Feeling challenged. Doing things that make me exert myself in training. And keep the mentality of making history. That’s what I like, and that’s why I keep taking the big challenges.”
Alvarez believes that his past experience puts him in a strong position to take on Smith, and is happy to attract critics along the way.
“I always believed I was the best in the world, ever since the beginning,” he said.
“You have to believe it to become it. You know, thank God, I have a strong mindset, and I know how to handle all this.
“There will always be someone with a different opinion who won’t like how you fight, or how you do things. It happens to every athlete, to everyone who is high up in any field. As they say, you should worry when nobody’s talking about you.”
Episodes 2 and 3 of "40 Days" will be released this week. You can watch on DAZN's YouTube channel.