Canelo Alvarez has hailed Gennady Golovkin as one of the best fighters in the sport - despite their heated feud.
Alvarez and Golovkin will do battle for the third time on September 17 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The duo have been embroiled in a heated war of words since the announcement of the fight, with Golovkin keen to right the wrongs of the past fights, where he feels he had the upper hand.
The Mexican star has been unhappy with his rival's "personal" comments in the build-up to the clash and is ready to settle their grudge in the ring. However, Alvarez believes his Kazakh foe is a talented fighter and admitted being impressed by Golovkin's performance against Ryota Murata.
“He was looking good in the last fight [against Murata],” Alvarez told a group of reporters of Golovkin. “He’s strong. Like I say he’s a talented boxer. I watched the highlights because I was in Greece on holiday. Like I say, he looked always strong, a pressure fighter, looking good. He’s one of the best. He’s one of the best for sure.”
Last month, the pair came face-to-face for the first time in LA and had an intense stare-down after a period of exchanging heated words. Alvarez will be looking to bounce back having suffered his second career defeat after making a switch to 175lb to face Dmitry Bivol
The Mexican star will now return to 168lb to face the challenge of Golovkin, where he will put his undisputed super middleweight titles back on the line. Alvarez earned victory in the rematch between the pair back in 2018, but it was again met with controversy after many inside the sport had Golovkin ahead on the scorecards.
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Alvarez claimed his rival had since pretended to be a nice guy but slammed his rival, accusing him of being an "a**hole". "It's personal for me," Alvarez said when asked about their rivalry by the media. "And this is the way I am. I don't pretend to be another person or say things in media or in other places and come here and pretend I didn't' say anything or I don't want to say anything.
"No. It's personal for me because he talked a lot of things. That's why it's personal. And I just can't wait to be in that ring. He's two different people. He pretends to be a nice guy but he's not, he's an a**hole. That's what he is.
"He pretends to be a nice guy and says 'Oh, yes, I'm just looking for the fight, I'm happy'. And then in other places he talks a lot of s***. It is what it is. Just be a man and say what you say." Golovkin currently holds the unified middleweight crown but a win would put him in a fine position, giving him countless titles in two weight classes.
