Speaker 1: Well, it is my pleasure to once again welcome to
our podcast, the one and only Canelo Alvarez. Canelo, You've
been on this podcast before. You know the drill. I
appreciate your time. Look forward to covering my twenty third
Canelo Alvarez fight come September fourteenth, when you defend the
unified Super midiweight World Championship against Edgar Berlanga. It'll be
a PBC on Prime Pay per View at the Team
Open in Las Vegas, as I call it the House
that Canelo built. So welcome and thank you for doing this.
How's everything getting ready for you? Getting ready for this
big fight for you?
Speaker 2: Every day it's very my friend. I'm very happy for
here in Lake Tako. I always training with my hundred
percent there in the game, and I feel great. I
enjoy every day every time I'm being in training comm
and getting ready.
Speaker 1: Now, last week spoke prior to the fight that you
had in May against himI Mangia, I introduced you as
Canelo Alvarez, the undisputed Super midaweight champion of the world.
You were defending your four belts. You went out there
and you beat Homy Monkey and an entertaining fight for
the fans, no controversy, won the fight, and now we
go into this fight between you and Edgar, and unfortunately,
your status has undisputed, is no longer there because the
IBF stripped you of their title because you declined to
fight the mandatory against a fighter named William Skull, who
is so unknown that he fought an eight round fight
on your undercard in May, in a fight that was
not even part of the pay per view or even
on the preliminary stream. So my question for you is
has that upset you that they've taken away the belt
from you? We know you're the champ, but you don't
have that extra belt.
Speaker 3: I know you know that.
Speaker 2: I understand them, and I know I'm not complain about it.
They think they that's that correct thing to do. I
don't really blame on them, you know. I'm Josh and
I'm I'm very happy with that where I am, so
I'm doing my team. I don't I'm not.
Speaker 3: Gonna fight with the school.
Speaker 2: I can fight, I can't fight with everybody at the
same time, right mm hmm. And the fight with the School,
I don't. I don't see that much. I don't see
that fight.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's not gonna sell. It wouldn't sell any
pay per views, is I mean? Listen, you're always gonna
sell pay per views.
Speaker 2: Like, honestly, I never hear of all the school seeing.
When I hear about the schoolers after they they say, hey,
you have them on the toy you need to play
with them. But I look, I'm doing my team and
I'm not. I'm not complaining about it.
Speaker 1: All right, So let's go back to the May fight.
You had to fight against mong Gee, Like I said,
a very entertaining fight. You you won handling on the scorecards.
You're you didn't get the knockout, and then you probably
would have liked that. You're fifth fighting a row without
a knockout, but still a clear decision. I've heard from
some people who have suggested Canelo that once you had
him under control later in the fight because you had
knocked him down, that you basically carried him. You let
him survive and not got the knockout because you didn't
want to embarrass a fellow Mexican. What is your response
to those who think that you could have got the knockout,
but you let him survive because he kind of liked
Mangia and like I said, he is a fellow countryman.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I like my my, my people from Mexico.
Speaker 2: And you know why, having phoned there in the fight,
I really enjoy it a lot. And I say to
my turner, you know, if I put everything in one round,
on two rounds, I maybe finish Mungia, but you know,
I have him phone.
Speaker 3: Taking my time and the people enjoy a lot of fight.
Speaker 1: So after that, when it came time to set up
this fight for you on the September of Mexican Independence
Day weekend, because of who you are and your stature
in boxing, everybody knows that if Canelo Alvarez chooses to
fight somebody, the chances are he can get the opponent
that he wants because of what you bring in terms
of the exposure and the money and everything that goes
along with the Canelo Alvarez event. So my question for
you is what was it that made you select Berlanga.
I know there was also conversation maybe Chris hu Bank
Junior was one of the candidates. What was it that
made you and your team and Eddie everybody say, you
know what, let's give Berlanga the shot.
Speaker 3: You know was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, two or three fighters in the table, and VY
called me and say, you know, we want to make
this fight because we think he's more entertained for the
people Mexico versus Puerto Rico and be Langa is Sean
John and everything. And I say, you know, I don't
care if you choose whatever you want.
Speaker 3: I'm ready, all right.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned that part of it was the reason
that you and your team selected Edgar, who, by the way,
is one of your mandatories. Not that that made a
difference in terms of skull, but nonetheless he is. But
you faced a few Puerto Rican fighters through your career.
But I was looking at your record, I didn't realize
that it had been such a long time since it's
been you facing a portric Yeah, exactly. That was a
huge fight back in twenty fifteen. So it's been a
number it's almost ten years, frankly since that last type
of fight against the Puerto Rican. So tell me your thoughts,
just to describe what it means to you the Mexico
Puerto Rican rival. You fight, you fought Miguel, you fought
his brother, you fought Kermit centron Uh and in past
Mexico Puerto Rico matchups. But what's the rivalry mean to you?
Speaker 2: You know, you know, especially with Mighan Alcoto, for me
was I feel very proudable that pie because you know Micoto,
I watched him when I was young. To to lain
a lot one of my favorite spiders, and to beat
him for.
Speaker 3: Me was special.
Speaker 2: And there is uh Canelo before and after Helcoro, so uh,
it was very special night for me. And I'm and
I'm and I happy to be in other rivalry versus
Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1: And I guess for you, it's probably a lot better
than taking on another Mexican like you did against Mongia,
which I know that you didn't love the idea of
fighting the Mexican country, Yeah, kind of part of it.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I always say that I represent Mexico and I'm very
honored to represent Mexico and lit or like to fight
with my my country man, my country people, but you know,
sometimes you need to do it, and that was happening
with Mungia, and I think was a.
Speaker 3: Good fight for Mexican too.
Speaker 2: No, and I enjoy a lot, but now is Mexico
versus Puerto Rico, and I'm glad.
Speaker 3: To be to be here.
Speaker 1: So September fourteenth is a date that you fought on
that weekend often because it's the weekend of the Mexican
Independence Day holiday. It's not a secret within the sports
and entertainment business that that's a night that Canelo Alvarez fights.
This fight is going to be on the same night
that UFC scheduled fight also in Las Vegas, the first
ever sports event at the Sphere. I've seen and read
comments from Dana White from UFC, who's basically talk bad
about you doing a fight on that date against their event,
even though you know he knows better than anybody that's
the date that you often fight on, and it seems
like he's talking bad about you and about the fight.
I just wonder, what what's your view of that? And like,
to me, this seems like there's room for everybody to,
you know, put on big events.
Speaker 2: No, no, Like I say, the song coming for everybody, right,
And I don't complain about it. I don't say I
don't want to say anything bad about Dana Why. I
respect him. I respect he's his work. And you know,
I never look when we made this fight. I never say, hey,
we have the UFC there and then I just like
to fight in Mexican Mexican independence, and I enjoy a lot,
and I I I I'm very happy to be to
be to be here, to be fighting.
Speaker 3: In the Mexican independence.
Speaker 1: All right, just have a couple more questions for you.
It's been in the news quite a bit that when
you were going on your press tour to promote the
fight between yourself and Berlanga, that it seemed almost more
of a fight between you and Edgar was the back
and forth within you and Turkey Alshik from Saudi Arabia.
Obviously everybody knows that he wanted to try to make
a fight between you and Terrence Crawford, who had just
defeated Israel Majimov at one hundred and fifty four. Have
you fight him at one sixty eight? You said you
didn't want to be disturbed while you were preparing for
your fight with Edgar, and not that you wouldn't necessarily
talk to him, but it wasn't going to happen while
you were preparing. Can you just basically give me your
take on him, saying then afterwards, you know what, forget it.
I don't want to pursue a Crawford Canelo fight. It
seemed like there was just a bunch of snipping between
you two back and forth. What was what was your
take on all that whole situation?
Speaker 3: Look, ever, did respect anybody? I al would respect everybody,
and and and.
Speaker 2: I like if I respect everybody, I like to they
respect me to write.
Speaker 3: And I have nothing to do.
Speaker 2: I have nothing with with him. Maybe he's a little
bit desperate to make that fight. They call me the
night before the press conference in in in Los Angeles
and and say, you know, he wants to meet you
and then try to make that fight with their scoff
And I say, look, I don't want to talk about
any other pie. I'm focused on the person on on
September and the Verlanga pipe, and I don't want to
talk about any other pie right now.
Speaker 1: And I suppose there's always a chance to talk to
me in the future. I guess, like anything.
Speaker 2: Yeah, But I look he the next the very next day,
he come and say, yeah, you know, you know, he can.
Speaker 3: Do whatever he wants. And I'm gonna do my job
like always. I'm not desperate to make up with them.
Speaker 2: I don't need it.
Speaker 3: If they want to what we mean, we can war
but different.
Speaker 1: All right, So I'll just wrap it up with this then,
So you have the Berlanga fight in front of you, uh,
and I think it's you know, it's because of the
rivalry between the countries Mexico, Puerto Rican everything. It'll be
an attractive fight for quite a few people. But I
think every would be less and honest if people said
Berlanga was like your biggest opponent. You fought so many
great fighters. It's no no knock on Berlanga, but you've
had so many mega fights through the years. And I
wonder when you look at the landscape, what you know,
you're kind of running out of opponents that's super middleweight frankly,
I mean there's not You've already beaten pretty much everybody,
and uh, I just wonder in your mind, you know
there's still Benevidia's out there, and and Morale. They've moved
up to light heavyweight. So the question I have for
you is do you have a desire to go back
to light heavyweight at some point to fight one of
those types guys or what is the big fight for
you in the future.
Speaker 3: The only the only.
Speaker 2: Fight I can make one seventy five was I need
to be with very much with the you go, that's
the only fight and I don't see other than that.
Speaker 1: And so he's obviously got an important fight coming up
for undisputed. Just wrap it up with this and would
you consider the winner then if you could against better
be more people whoever wins that fight come up at
the end of the year.
Speaker 2: Like I said, I use I used wanna go up
to have very much with people. If it wins, we
can we can see before after that.
Speaker 1: All right, very good. Well, first you've got uh Edgar
Berlanga to defend your titles against on September fourteenth. Canelo,
thank you so much for your time. Look forward to
seeing you next month and I appreciate it my pleasure.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Take care,