If anyone has heard, there’s a big fight tomorrow in another edition of the Mexico-Puerto Rico boxing rivalry between Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 32 Kos) and Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto (41-4, 33 Kos).
Canelo caught up with the media earlier this week to talk about mostly his opponent and his possible strategy for the fight. Alvarez seemed indifferent about Cotto being stripped of his WBC belt, making the belt only on the line for Canelo.
Canelo stated that he did not care about the fact that Cotto got stripped, as his focus since the start of his training camp has never been on the belt, only Miguel Cotto. Alvarez also mentioned that he does not think it dampens the fight at all basically reinstating the truth that the fighters make the belts, and not the other way around.
Reporters and writers alike have exclaimed for weeks that the key to a Canelo victory will be his uppercut: a punch Cotto has been susceptible to over the years. Alvarez obviously has not commented on his specific game plan for the fight, but confidently said that he will practice that and we will find out.
Things got a bit interesting when Freddie Roach was brought up: the man who claims to have sources in the young Mexicans training camp, and has called Canelo lazy, and an undedicated boxer. Canelo had this to say about Freddie,
“Freddie has always been a person that likes to disrespect, likes to talk sometimes just to listen to his voice, but me and my camp, we respect everyone. Inside the ring, we do our thing, and that’s it.”
Freddie has been extremely open with his disrespect towards Canelo, and the twenty-five-year-old is not the type to show much emotion or anger, but he clearly must be either annoyed or angered by Freddie’s constant jabs at him leading up to this fight.
This is as much of a toss-up mega fight that there has been in recent years. Canelo has always struggled with boxers, and if Cotto can pull off a beautiful 12 round display of boxing he may hand Alvarez his second career loss.
Cotto may not be as slick as Mayweather, Lara, or Trout, but he does move very well for a 35-year-old and can also possibly land body shots on Canelo on the inside. Cotto has been through far more battles than Canelo has, however, which could have an affect down the stretch.
It is tough to say which fighter has more on the line, which is a testament to how big this fight is for both men.
For Cotto, it would be arguably the biggest and best win of his career. Cotto has rarely been an underdog going into a fight that he has won, but he is a solid underdog headed into this fight. A convincing win over Canelo, however, would solidify his place right next to Trinidad on the Puerto Rican Mount Rushmore of boxing.
Alvarez with a win may silence some of his doubters, who simply just think he is a young, good looking Mexican with red hair who is very limited and that he does not have a signature win on his resume.
Many questions will be answered about these two men tomorrow night, but most likely many more will be left unanswered as boxing never fails to lack some type of commotion or controversy after a fight.
