Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) today hosted a media workout at the House of Boxing in San Diego, just a week before he departs for Las Vegas for his upcoming showdown with Amir “King” Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) on Saturday, May 7 on HBO PPV. Find all of the quotes and photos from the session here, as he was joined by trainers Jose and Eddie Reynoso, as well as Oscar De La Hoya.
CANELO ALVAREZ, WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion:
“I always prepare 100 percent for every fight. They only thing that changes is the strategy. Every fighter is different, every fighter brings different skills and you have to adjust for that. For Amir, we have focused on increasing my hand speed, counter punching and preparing for lots of movement and footwork.
“We believe [Amir] will adopt a similar style to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Erislandy Lara; however, we have made sure that I am prepared for that style of boxing and anything he brings to the table to not be surprised on fight night.
“I have my game plan and he has his. We are both preparing to the best of our ability to what we know are each other’s strengths. Yet, fight night can be very unpredictable. You have to adjust to what your opponent is doing and also apply pressure at the same time. I can’t predict a definite outcome, but I can say that I am going to bring the best of me in the ring.
“I don’t like to talk trash just to be able to sell fights. What I do is I train hard and do my talking in the ring. I want people to respect me and to follow my fights, not because of what I say but what I do.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions:
“On May 7, Canelo is going to go out there and go out there for the knockout. He will go out there and be aggressive and continue giving the fight fans what they want to see.
“It’s great for Canelo to have this fight on Cinco de Mayo because its important for the fight fans to carry that tradition. It is a tradition that Julio Cesar Chavez started. On that date, people want to see fights, people want to see action. People want to see great boxing and they will get that on May 7 because Canelo is an exciting fighter to watch. I think it’s important that we have a fighter like Canelo own this Cinco de Mayo weekend because it’s guaranteed action. It’s a win-win.”
EDDY REYNOSO, Head Trainer for Canelo Alvarez:
“Canelo is a very intelligent fighter. He takes in everything very quickly and is always willing to learn. This camp, we have made sure to focus on increasing his hand speed. We have made sure that he is prepared to quickly counter punch when needed.
“Amir’s style is one of speed, both hand speed and foot movement. We have made those adjustments to Canelo’s camp and made sure to select sparring partners with similar styles in order to prepare Canelo for fight night.
“Canelo is in the best shape of his career and the fans will be surprised at how fast and strong he is going to be. We are 100 percent prepared for anything Amir brings on fight night.”
JOSE ‘CHEPO’ REYNOSO, Manager and Trainer for Canelo Alvarez:
“We have seen Canelo grow up as a fighter and every year he gets better and better. Canelo is not at his peak yet. We will see a better Canelo this upcoming fight, better than when he fought Cotto.”
“We have adjusted a lot for this training camp. Amir is going to be a challenge, and we have to make sure we are not surprised on fight night. One of things we have worked on for Canelo is to make sure he is faster and stronger.”
