Canelo Alvarez to challenge Sergey Kovalev for the WBO light-heavyweight crown

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will face the 175-pound title holder Sergey Kovalev as the Mexican bids to become a four-weight world champion.

Canelo, whose only loss came to at the hands of Floyd Mayweather, has collected world titles at Super-Welterweight, middleweight and super-middleweight. However in an opportunity to cement his legacy, the challenger will move up to an unfamiliar weight class and lock horns with Kovalev.

Only 18 men have been able to win world honours in four-weight classes, with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao and Roberto Duran all writing themselves into boxing folklore.

With the Russian posing an obvious size and reach advantage, Canelo admits he’s fully aware of the risk posed on  November the second:

“It’s a risk for me because naturally he’s heavier than me, he’s stronger than me, bigger – but my skills and strength will have me ready for this.

That’s why we’re here trying to change everything and make history in boxing… that is the only thing I want.”

Their press conference that took place on Wednesday evening in a packed-out Los Angeles room was certainly a well-mannered one. The pair were in respectful mood as they posed for a selfie and were all smiles in front of the media.

Kovalev said:

“He has a lot of skills of course. He has dreams to make history. I never stop. But I respect Canelo because he takes risks.”

When asked whether Canelo is a better fighter than Andre Ward, the man who beat Kovalev twice, he said:

“Yes, I believe he is a better fighter than Andre Ward. Canelo is a real fighter unlike Ward. It’s the biggest fight I’ve had.”

Ryan Garcia will act as chief support on the show promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya. After recent weeks of bad blood with his opponent, Garcia will face Romero Duno in a lightweight clash.