Canelo's latest public experience is in our hometown of San Diego to promote his upcoming fight against Dmitry Bivol in May.
The Mexican champion is set to fight against the Kyrgyzstan-born boxer on May 7 at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, and Alvarez is already feeling the anticipation for the difficult challenge ahead of him. However, it's a difficult challenge he is looking forward to in his quest for an even greater legendary status in the boxing history books.
“For me, it’s to continue to make history, right?” Álvarez said Wednesday during his promotion stop in San Diego ”I like the idea to go to 175 and fight (Bivol), the second-best fighter in that division, the champion. That’s a good challenge for me.”
At 31 years of age, the Mexican boxer feels at the very peak of his career. With an incredible boxing record, Alvarez still feels he has a whole lot to give in a boxing ring, and he says that his physical and confidence is at an all-time high for him.
“I like to be busy,” said Álvarez, who fought in four main events in a span of 11 months without seeing a defeat. “I feel I’m in my prime. I feel more confident in everything, more strong, so I don’t know if it’s because I’m more active or not, but I like to be in the ring.” he added.
One of the biggest misconceptions of Alvarez is that he avoids big name fighters throughout his career, a misconception that Canelo is simply tired of and can't understand why it's a thought that ponders many people's mind considering who he has defeated over the years.
“I know I’m the best fighter, but I fought the best fighters in the division, and I beat everybody at 168,” Álvarez stated. “You still say, ‘No, but you need to fight …’ Why? I don’t understand that. But right now, I can do whatever I want, and I just do the best things and I fight with the best, with the champions. … (Bivol) has something to offer me. He’s a world champion at 175. He’s a better fighter than (Charlo or Benavidez).”
In attendance was also Canelo's opponent, Bivol, who is ready to enter the biggest fight of his career.
"Me and my team wanted this fight. This is very important for me especially because I’m fighting one of the best, if not the best in the world right now," Bivol said Wednesday.
However, this isn't the only fight Bivol is facing during this time period. In fact, he has an even more personal fight happening at this moment in time.
Although Bivol was born in Kyrgyzstan, he spent many years of his life in Russia, who at the moment are involved in a deadly conflict with Ukraine. Bivol said he worries for the lives of many friends and family who still live in Russia, as he fears that this on-going conflict won't stop anytime soon.
“I have a lot of friends in Ukraine,” Bivol said. “I have a lot of friends in Russia. My family is in Russia. I have a lot of friends everywhere, and I wish them only peace and only the best. It’s really sad for me. Every day I wake up and read the news and I hope it will stop.”
