WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) today hosted a media workout at the House of Boxing in San Diego, just a week before he departs for Las Vegas for his upcoming showdown with Amir “King” Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) on Saturday, May 7 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Canelo was joined by Eddy Reynoso, head trainer, Jose ‘Chepo’ Reynoso, manager and trainer, and Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya at today’s media workout. Canelo and his team spoke onsite about his matchup with Khan and his training leading up to the mega event for his middleweight titles. Below is what Canelo and his team had to say at today’s workout:
CANELO ALVAREZ, WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion:
“I always prepare 100 percent for every fight. They only thing that changes is the strategy. Every fighter is different, every fighter brings different skills and you have to adjust for that. For Amir, we have focused on increasing my hand speed, counter punching and preparing for lots of movement and footwork.
“We believe [Amir] will adopt a similar style to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Erislandy Lara; however, we have made sure that I am prepared for that style of boxing and anything he brings to the table to not be surprised on fight night.
“I have my game plan and he has his. We are both preparing to the best of our ability to what we know are each other’s strengths. Yet, fight night can be very unpredictable. You have to adjust to what your opponent is doing and also apply pressure at the same time. I can’t predict a definite outcome, but I can say that I am going to bring the best of me in the ring.
“I don’t like to talk trash just to be able to sell fights. What I do is I train hard and do my talking in the ring. I want people to respect me and to follow my fights, not because of what I say but what I do.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions:
“On May 7, Canelo is going to go out there and go out there for the knockout. He will go out there and be aggressive and continue giving the fight fans what they want to see.
“It’s great for Canelo to have this fight on Cinco de Mayo because its important for the fight fans to carry that tradition. It is a tradition that Julio Cesar Chavez started. On that date, people want to see fights, people want to see action. People want to see great boxing and they will get that on May 7 because Canelo is an exciting fighter to watch. I think it’s important that we have a fighter like Canelo own this Cinco de Mayo weekend because it’s guaranteed action. It’s a win-win.”
EDDY REYNOSO, Head Trainer for Canelo Alvarez:
“Canelo is a very intelligent fighter. He takes in everything very quickly and is always willing to learn. This camp, we have made sure to focus on increasing his hand speed. We have made sure that he is prepared to quickly counter punch when needed.
“Amir’s style is one of speed, both hand speed and foot movement. We have made those adjustments to Canelo’s camp and made sure to select sparring partners with similar styles in order to prepare Canelo for fight night.
“Canelo is in the best shape of his career and the fans will be surprised at how fast and strong he is going to be. We are 100 percent prepared for anything Amir brings on fight night.”
JOSE ‘CHEPO’ REYNOSO, Manager and Trainer for Canelo Alvarez:
“We have seen Canelo grow up as a fighter and every year he gets better and better. Canelo is not at his peak yet. We will see a better Canelo this upcoming fight, better than when he fought Cotto.”
“We have adjusted a lot for this training camp. Amir is going to be a challenge, and we have to make sure we are not surprised on fight night. One of things we have worked on for Canelo is to make sure he is faster and stronger.”
Canelo vs. Khan, a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Championships, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Canelo Promotions and sponsored by “Cerveza Tecate, Born Bold,” O’Reilly Auto Parts, Casa Mexico Tequila, DOOM® — Fight Like Hell on May 13, and HANDS OF STONE: The True Story of Roberto Duran, in theaters this August. David Lemieux vs. Glen Tapia is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Eye of the Tiger Management and Patrick Teixeira vs. Curtis Stevens is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Main Events. The mega-event will take place Saturday, May 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Episode two of HBO’s reality series “24/7 Canelo/Khan” premieres Saturday, April 30 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. Liev Schreiber narrates the 18-time Emmy-Award-winning series.
Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000, $800, $600, $400, $250 and $150, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person (a limit of 10 per person at the $1,500, $1,000, $800, $600 and $400 price levels and a limit of two [2] per person at the $250 and $150 price level) are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com.
