By Jake Donovan
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez knew what he signing up for in agreeing to a middleweight title unification bout with Daniel Jacobs.
By his own admission, their upcoming May 4 clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas has the potential to the most difficult in the career of the reigning lineal champion.
“I believe Jacobs has a unique style, unlike any fighter I’ve faced before,” Alvarez noted during a recent media conference call to discuss their upcoming championship bout. “He can box, he can punch, he’s agile. But I have fought every type of style, so if you put together all of that experience I have against all of those styles, it helps me prepare for this fight.”
Alvarez (51-1-2, 35KOs) puts his lineal championship and alphabet titles at stake in his first fight back at middleweight since a 12-round win over Gennady Golovkin in their rematch at this very same venue last September. Wedged in between was a brief pit stop at super middleweight, where he tore through Rocky Fielding in three rounds to claim a secondary title at the weight.
The fight did little to prepare him for what he will face on May 4, other than the experience of sharing the ring with a naturally larger boxer. Of course, that has essentially been Alvarez’ experience in every fight since his May ’17 catchweight clash with countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
It’s not so much the natural size advantage of Jacobs (35-2, 29KOs) for which Alvarez will prepare, but the different things the Brooklynite can do in the ring. Part of that process included his review of Jacobs’ March ’17 close points loss to Golovkin—their one common opponent, against whom Alvarez won and previously fought to a 12-round draw.
“Obviously, I watched the (Golovkin) fight, but we didn’t just watch that one,” Alvarez says of his preparation for the May encounter. “We watched other big fights of his as well. Based on that, we’ve worked on our strategy to get ready for fight night.”
Jacobs comes in on the heels of igniting his second middleweight title reign, which came about following a 12-round win over Sergey Derevyanchenko in their vacant title fight last October. The aforementioned loss to Golovkin ended his near-three year stay as a secondary titlist, having since won four straight.
Alvarez fights for the fifth time with at least one middleweight title at stake. The wildly popular boxer from Guadalajara, Mexico claimed the lineal championship in a Nov. ’15 win over Miguel Cotto. The bout was contested at a 155-pound catchweight, as was his first title defense, a crushing 6th round knockout of Amir Khan which was followed by his aforementioned bouts with Chavez Jr., Golovkin (twice) and Fielding.
Prior to his entering the middleweight mix, Alvarez enjoyed a four-year stay at or near the top of the 154-pound division. His lengthy run included his lone career loss, a 12-round decision at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their Sept. ’13 super fight. Alvarez was just 23 years old at the time, learning as much that night as he has in his 51 wins and one draw.
“Even at different levels, you learn something new. I’m where I am at today because all of the fights I’ve had in the past,” Alvarez acknowledges. “You never stop learning.
“Every single fight has taught me something different. It’s helped me grow in the ring. I’ve learned something new from every fight I’ve ever had.”
IP卡
狗仔卡
发表于 2019-4-10 21:18:43
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
抢沙发
千斤顶
显身卡
发表于 2019-4-10 21:19:10
发表于 2019-4-10 21:46:19
