By Chris Cella
Over the last few weeks undefeated WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO) has been adamant about wanting a shot at Mayweather Jr. Alvarez is scheduled to fight undefeated WBA world light middleweight champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout (26-0, 14 KO) April 20 in Texas, although the fight was originally to be fought on Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s undercard May 4. But when Mayweather Jr. wouldn’t confirm that he would fight Canelo, the stellar undercard title fight got moved to its own separate card.
Photo: Showtime
So now, the only way for Alvarez to get the fight he wants against the pound-for-pound king of boxing is to defeat Trout and compete in a unification bout in September.
“I’m ready to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he’s ready to fight me,” said Alvarez in a recent two-day, three-city press tour with Trout.
But before Alvarez can have the chance to truly define his legacy against one of the best fighters to ever lace up the gloves, he needs to get past Trout, who seems to be a bit of a stepping stone in Alvarez’s aspirations of light middleweight domination.
Trout, who rolled through Miguel Cotto this past December, has been a quiet storm in the division and since the big win at MSG over Puerto Rico’s favorite boxing son, has exploded onto the scene and has shown he has what it takes to compete with the best.
About the upcoming unification bout with Trout, Alvarez commented,” We are working hard. My team and I are focused 100 percent on my opponent. I have great respect for Austin Trout and what he has been able to achieve. The fight is a complicated one. He’s not only tough but a lefty and he also knows how to keep his guard with his left. He’s a very intelligent fighter, young skilled and tough. It’s not going to be an easy task to beat him, but we’re working hard and getting ready. I respect Trout outside of the ring, but once he’s in the ring, that’s a different thing.”
The young fighter knows that if he is not able to get past Trout, the fight with Mayweather Jr. will never materialize, and he will be back to the drawing board. Most 22-year-old fighters are progressively working their way up through the ranks, fighting for alphabet belts and making a name for themselves. For Alvarez, his time is now, and he has the biggest opportunity of his young career. He has already displayed the maturity of a ring veteran, and will need to keep his task at hand (Trout) as his sole priority through training camp and block out a potential subsequent title fight against Mayweather Jr.
Alvarez has shown through 42 fights that he knows how to win, and in addition to having the chance to fight in September against the sports best, an added motivation going into the ring against Trout is to avenge the loss of his brother Rigoberto, who Austin defeated in 2011, when he first captured the vacant WBA world light middleweight title.
“This fight for me is personal,” said Alvarez. “I know Trout beat my brother. I was there that day and that made me feel helpless. Now I’ll get the chance to avenge his loss and bring him up to the ring with me when I win.”
