LOS ANGELES — Canelo Alvarez shot back Friday at statements made by his most recent opponent, Sergey Kovalev, who suggested he took the Nov. 2 title bout against Alvarez for the paycheck despite a grueling schedule.
Alvarez scored an 11th-round knockout to grab Kovalev’s light heavyweight world title at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Kovalev, who took the fight with Alvarez after defeating Anthony Yarde on Aug. 24, said recently that having two training camps so close together took a toll on his conditioning, causing him to have doubts about his chances against Alvarez.
Alvarez responded Friday by calling Kovalev a “bad boxer,” saying that weight “has nothing to do with it.”
“He’s a bad loser,” Alvarez told ESPN Deportes’ A Los Golpes. “Weight is not an excuse. All fighters have to battle to make weight.”
Alvarez also took issue with what he considered unfair criticism, including claims that his fights are fixed, but he conceded that it’s all part of the business.
“The media takes things out of context,” Alvarez said. “If you study boxing, you can give your point of view and know what you’re talking about. There was no reason for that to bother me.”
Alvarez has fought Gennady Golovkin twice, winning their second fight by majority decision after the first ended in a draw, and said he has no desire to see GGG inside the ring again.
“I don’t want to fight with him. He doesn’t mean anything to me anymore,” Alvarez said. “I gave him 24 rounds, and that’s that.”
As for a potential rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who on Thursday night teased coming out of retirement in 2020, Alvarez said he has taken the only loss on his record to heart.
“I’ve imagined fighting him again, but more than a loss, that fight was a lesson,” Alvarez said of his majority decision loss to Mayweather in 2013. “I would love to [fight him again], and hopefully we can.”