Canelo Alvarez has admitted he had to accept a trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin due to their contractual agreement.
Alvarez will take on Kazakh star Golovkin for the third time on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as they prepare to settle their feud once and for all. The Mexican fighter will be looking to deliver an emphatic performance after suffering defeat by Dmitry Bivol in his last outing after making a leap to 175lb.
Shortly after defeat, Alvarez stated his intentions to explore a meeting with the Russian but he instead elected to take another showdown with Golovkin on a return to 168lb. And despite having already signed to fight Golovkin, he revealed he was happy with his decision to abandon his pursuit of Bivol.
"I really wanted the rematch in September [against Dmitry Bivol] but my promoter Eddie Hearn said we have a contract to fight Gennady Golovkin in September and we need to do that fight," Alvarez told reporters during a huddle at yesterday's media day in Las Vegas. "So that is why we are here and I am happy.
"I really wanted the rematch but obviously my team and I decided to fight Golovkin and I think it is a great moment. We will see if I can get a rematch with Bivol but he needs to win and we need to see what happens in that fight [Gilberto Ramirez title defence] first."
Alvarez signed a two-fight deal with Hearn and Matchroom Boxing after forming a good working relationship with the British promoter who put on his fights against Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders. He will now defend the undisputed 168lb crown he earned during that journey with Hearn against former two-time opponent Golovkin.
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The pair have already met twice in 2017 and 2018 with the first meeting ending in a controversial draw before Alvarez had his hand raised in the sequel despite many suggesting Golovkin was unfortunate to not have won both clashes. Both fighters have traded verbal barbs during the build-up with Alvarez suggesting their rivalry was now personal.
Despite having the defeat on his record, Golovkin has claimed he will go into the third bout with Alvarez with an undefeated record and believes he has what it takes to put in a similar display again. "The opinion of one incompetent person would never have any effect on me," he told the Daily Mail ahead of the fight this weekend.
"People were brought back to reality — fans also. I can say that it is not just my opinion. But no I am not concerned about it happening again. Let's take his last fight against Bivol for instance, the judges showed they can be reasonable. So it is not mandatory to knock out Canelo. There could be judges with common sense."
