With his latest title bout looming, the super-middleweight master talks about his fearsome work ethic, his viral takedown of Demetrius Andrade, and staying hungry in silk pyjamas
“Everybody believes they can beat me but it’s different when we’re in the ring,” Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez says coolly. The best boxer in the world pauses, stares at me intently and then delivers his heavy punchline. “Then it’s really different, really bad, for them. They all say the same thing because, maybe on the outside, it looks easy to fight me. But it is way different when the bell rings.”
On Saturday night in Las Vegas, in one of modern boxing’s rare unification title bouts, the IBF super-middleweight champion, Caleb Plant, may just become the latest fighter to discover the harsh reality of sharing a ring with Álvarez, who will defend his WBA, WBC and WBO titles. It is a landmark contest but Álvarez arrived in Vegas on Monday night in relaxed style. He flew on a private jet and stepped on to the tarmac in a blue silk pyjama suit. The 31-year-old Mexican then posted a photograph on Twitter and asked: “You ready Vegas?”