By: Sean Crose
“The press conference in Guadalajara was an unbelievable moment for me,” Canelo Alvarez said on Thursday, “because I saw my grandmother, my father, my mother, my brothers and my family there. I met a lot of people in the media when I started boxing.” The man has good reason to be pleased, as he is indeed attending the press conference for his homecoming game in May against must-have rival John Ryder. “For me,” Canelo continued, “I feel very proud and happy to bring this game to Guadalajara and give people some of the experience that I have had elsewhere as a player. best in the world.”
Perhaps still the sport’s biggest star, the undisputed super-middleweight boxer tends to fight in Las Vegas or Texas, where the maximum amount of money and attention can be brought in. However, Canelo has long wanted to fight again in his hometown of Guadalajara. “I think this is the perfect time,” he said. “I’ve wanted to fight in Guadalajara for a long time, but I think this is the perfect time, the perfect battle to bring to Guadalajara.”
The past twelve months have been a challenge for the future Hall of Famer. After losing to Dmitry Bivol in a daring attempt to increase the weight division to take the WBA lightweight belt from Bivol’s waist, Canelo then faced arch rival Gennady Golovkin for the third time. Although he won that match easily, many people think that Canelo should have beaten the old Kazakh player with more certainty. Now, however, Canelo feels he has a chance to respond to criticism that says he’s starting to fall.
“I’m excited to show people that they were wrong,” he told the media on Thursday. “I feel very good. I have a lot of years in the profession; 17 years as a professional. I have also had injuries. I am not at my best but I am very motivated and I am happy to go to the gym. exercise, train with 100% energy and they’ll see what’s going to happen. I’m excited and motivated. Be careful with that.”
Canelo then went on to say that the match against Ryder could be the pinnacle of his career. “It will definitely be one of the best moments of my career. The game against Billy Joe Saunders in Dallas was amazing, one of the most exciting matches I’ve ever been in. I think it will be the same in Guadalajara or even more.”
