On Saturday, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will have all of Mexico cheering him on against Floyd "Money" Mayweather, the pound-for-pound king of boxing and biggest superstar in the sport.
While Alvarez has tons of experience for a 24-year-old, he has never taken part in a bout of this prominence. Mayweather is counting on that to play a large factor in this fight against a man 12 years his junior.
"I know what it takes to be involved in a fight of this magnitude," Mayweather said. "Canelo is a solid competitor but it is what it is. I've faced the best in this sport. He's banking on his youth; I'm banking on my experience. I have a lot of experience in championship fights. Look at his résumé, look at my résumé, and see what you come up with."
While Alvarez has Mayweather beat in terms of power and size, "Money" certainly towers over "Canelo" as a defensive wizard. Mayweather's ability to frustrate larger and more powerful opponents is legendary, and he believes that will override Canelo's advantages.
"It's not about the weight, it's about the skills," Mayweather said. "The skills pay the bills. I can't wait to get in there and compete and test my skills against young guy. I feel good. I'm still hungry."
Alvarez has a counterpoint to that, though. He believes he has never fought to his true potential before, because he's never had an opponent good enough to draw it out of him. "I've always said that I've never fought to my potential, but that's because I've never had an opponent to bring it out," Alvarez said. "I feel that maybe Mayweather will be the one to bring it out. Even though I'm young, I have a lot of experience," Alvarez said. "That's why I asked for this."
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