Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will be an overwhelming favorite in his upcoming fight against Joshua Clottey, but the former world champion believes that he will have to work hard to score a convincing win on December 6 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Alvarez said in an interview with BoxingScene that while most people are already writing Clottey off, he believes that the 36-year-old will be a tough opponent because of his experience in big fights.
"You have a strong fighter in Clottey," Alvarez said. "He's very strong and anything can happen. He's a fighter with a lot of experience. He's been tested, he's coming off a very, very good win and at this level anything can happen. No fight is easy."
Clottey has been on the limelight after his lopsided unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao in March 2010, but the Ghanaian has already bounced back with three straight victories.
The former world title contender is coming off a huge unanimous decision win against Anthony Mundine in April in Australia where knock down his opponent five times in front of his hometown fans.
The win against Mundine earned him a shot at Alvarez, who is preparing for big-money fights against Miguel Cotto or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next year.
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya also said in a recent interview that Clottey will be a durable foe for Alvarez, pointing out that the Accra, Ghana native looked very strong in his recent fights.
"He's coming off a big win over Anthony Mundine, where he knocked him down five or six times" De La Hoya said of Clottey via BoxingScene. "It was a great victory. He looked good, strong. He went the distance with Pacquiao, Margarito, and had a close fight with Cotto. Clottey is strong and he'll be right in front of you."
The Alvarez-Clottey fight will be Canelo's first fight under his new deal with HBO. It will not be a pay-per-view event, but HBO Sports president Ken Hershman is convinced that it will still be an interesting showdown.
"It's on HBO and we think it's going to be an entertaining night," Hershman said. "We have a great undercard we're putting together for that show and we think it's value for our subscribers. Canelo's been on pay-per-view for his last three or four fights now, and it's time to bring him back to the masses."
