(Reuters) – Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez said his upcoming trilogy fight with longtime ring rival Gennady Golovkin is “personal,” adding that he was hoping to end the Kazakhstan boxer’s career.
Alvarez and Golovkin, known as “GGG”, first met in 2017 and fought to a disputed draw. In the rematch in 2018 the Mexican won an even more controversial points decision that many observers thought could have gone the other way.
A money-spinning third instalment is scheduled to take place on Sept. 17.
“Yeah, he’s two different people, he pretends to be a nice guy here but he’s not,” Alvarez told reporters on Friday.
“Yeah, it’s personal for me and this is the way I am. I don’t pretend to be another person or say things in the media or other places and (then) come here and pretend I don’t want to say anything.
“It’s personal for me, because he talks a lot of things… That’s why he’s special now. I just can’t wait to be in the ring.”
Alvarez added that he would end Golovkin’s career with a knock out, saying it was the “only way” he wanted to finish the fight.
However, Golovkin downplayed any suggestion of animosity.
“If we take my opponent’s achievements, I believe he did great,” Golovkin said. “I’m a big fan of boxing, and from that standpoint I respect him a lot.
“As for him saying this is personal, I really don’t understand what he’s talking about as after the second fight we shook hands and I believe we put everything behind us back then.
“If he says he still has something against me, again, it’s his problem not mine.”
Alvarez, who holds all four major belts at super middleweight, stepped up to light heavyweight in May but was beaten by Russian Dmitry Bivol. Golovkin, 40, has won four consecutive fights since losing to Alvarez in 2018.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam Holmes)
