Canelo Alvarez (167.4 pounds) and Gennady Golovkin (167.8 pounds) both made weight on Saturday as the latter fired a brutal shot at his rival ahead of their blockbuster bout.
Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs), roared on by his devoted fans who celebrated Mexican Independence day, will try to beat the hard-hitting Kazakh for a second time after a controversial victory in their most recent fight in 2018.
Watch Canelo v GGG 3 LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday 18 September from 10am AEST. ORDER NOW >
With the bout taking place at super-middleweight, it’s a chance for the Mexican superstar, undisputed champion in the 168-pound weight class, to avenge his last fight loss — a defeat at light heavyweight to Dmitry Bivol — and become the pound-for-pound finest in the eyes of the boxing world.
Speaking to DAZN ahead of Saturday’s weigh-in, Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) said Alvarez “looked so horrible” in the loss to Bivol.
“I’m so sad,” he said.
“For Canelo, yeah. He is a big star from boxing and he looked so horrible.”
Golovkin, 40, will fight in the weight class for the first time but the weight should suit the middleweight champion, who says Alvarez was lucky to earn a draw in their opening bout in 2017 before delivering the lone career loss for “Triple G.”
The fighters have made no secret of their dislike for each other, a rivalry sparked further after Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol in March 2018, delaying a third matchup until now.
“It’s personal for me,” Alvarez said of the fight earlier in the week at the press conference in Los Angeles.
“He talked (about) a lot of things. I just can’t wait to be in that ring … He pretends to be a nice guy but he’s not. He’s an a**hole.”
Golovkin though said he is not approaching the fight as a “personal” vendetta.
“I think of this as a sport,” he said.
“I am who I am,” he said. “I go out to box. If he has something personal against me, it’s his problem not mine.”
WEIGH-IN RESULTS (in pounds)
Canelo Alvarez (167.4) vs. Gennadiy Golovkin (167.8)
Jesse Rodriguez (114.8) vs. Israel Gonzalez (114.6)
Ali Akhmedov (167.8) vs. Gabriel Rosado (167)
Austin Williams (160) vs. Kieron Conway (159.2)
Diego Pacheco (167) vs. Enrique Collazo (167.8)
