Promoting his September 17 boxing fight in Las Vegas against Gennady Golovkin, which will mark his trilogy, Canelo Alvarez has opened up to answer many questions raised by the media. One of them is about the punch he has felt most from an opponent.
Canelo Alvarez, 31, has won world titles in four different divisions. Thus, after 18 years of career, he is the world champion with more fights celebrated, with 61. He holds all the belts of the Super middleweight division, that is to say, the 168 pounds.
The fight with Gennady Golovkin has a double value for Alvarez, as he is coming off a painful loss to Dmitry Bivol, in what was a failed attempt to be crowned again at 175 pounds. And also, because he has mentioned that the clash against the Kazakh is entirely personal because of the statements the latter has made about him after their last clash, almost 4 years ago.
Who has hit Canelo Alvarez the hardest?
With 61 fights in professional boxing, Saul Canelo Alvarez has a wide variety of opponents to face. From great legends, to middle or lower class fighters. That’s why his choice of which fighter has hit him the hardest in his career came as a surprise.
Canelo has fought the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr, a five-division World Champion, and the iconic Miguel Angel Cotto, one of the best fighters in Puerto Rican history; also his current opponent, Gennady Golovkin, a fearsome knockout, and, some time ago, he faced the fearsome Shane Mosley, a three-division World Champion. None of those has been the one from whom he has felt his power the most.
“James Kirkland, I started feeling his punches on my arm and I said my God!” stated Alvarez at a press conference in New York. The nicknamed Mandingo Warrior, born in Texas, faced Canelo in May 2015. He came into that fight with a record of 32-1-0 and 28 knockouts. He was the owner of a powerful punch, but also a weak chin.
Canelo Alvarez punching James Kirkland. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
And the fight between Canelo and Kirkland gave no indication that the Mexican had felt the American’s punch, since he was knocked out by Alvarez in a chilling manner in the third round, however, prior to the final blow, he had gone to the canvas twice.
About the punching power of Gennady Golovkin, his opponent in turn and one of the most feared knockouts in the history of the 160 lbs, Canelo Alvarez commented that he has a similar power to Dmitry Bivol, who defeated him on May 7, but never showed signs of hurting him, just as he did with GGG.
