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“The press conference in Guadalajara was an incredible moment for me,” Canelo Alvarez said Thursday, “because there I saw my grandmother, my father, my mother, my brothers, my family. A lot of media guys I saw when I started boxing. The man had good reason to be pleased, because he was indeed at a press conference for his May homecoming bout against mandatory opponent John Ryder. “For me,” Canelo continued, “I feel very proud and happy to bring this fight to Guadalajara and give people some of the experience I have in other places as the best in the world.”
While perhaps the biggest star in the sport, the undisputed super middleweight titlist tends to fight in Las Vegas or Texas where the maximum amount of cash and attention can be handed. Yet Canelo had long wanted to once again fight in his native Guadalajara. “I think it’s the perfect time,” she said. “A long time ago I wanted to fight in Guadalajara, but I think this is the perfect time, the perfect fight to bring to Guadalajara.”
The last twelve months have been busy for the future Hall of Famer. After losing to Dmitry Bivol in a daring attempt to move up in weight to snatch the WBA light heavyweight title from Bivol’s waist, Canelo then fought arch-rival Gennady Golovkin for the third time. Though she won that match handily, many felt Canelo should have beaten the elderly Kazakh more definitively. Now, though, Canelo feels she has an opportunity to respond to those critics who say she’s begun to slip.
“I’m so excited to prove everyone wrong,” she told media on Thursday. “I feel very good. I have many years in my career; 17 years as a pro. I too have had injuries. I’m not at my best, but I’m very motivated and I’m very happy to be in the gym, training 100%, and they will see what happens. I am very excited and motivated. Be careful with that.
Canelo then went on to say that the fight with Ryder could be a highlight of his legendary career. “It will definitely be one of the best moments of my career. The fight with Billy Joe Saunders in Dallas was amazing, one of the funnest fights I’ve ever been in. I think in Guadalajara it will be the same or even more.
