Media Interview with Shane Mosley & Canelo Alvarez

Kelly Swanson
Thank you everybody for joining us. We are actively out there promoting “Ring Kings: Mayweather/Cotto” Saturday, May 5th and of course, as a special co-main event, we will see Canelo versus Shane Mosley. Both the fighters are joining us today with Canelo being first.

Oscar de la Hoya
Thank you very much, Kelly. Thank you everyone for being on the call. Thank you to Canelo. We greatly appreciate it. We are getting close to Ring Kings, which will be taking place on Cinco de Mayo on Saturday. The co-main event, as Kelly mentioned, will be Saúl Canelo Álvarez versus Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s a main event in itself. It will be for the WBC Super Welterweight World Championship title. And the televised undercard also features Jessie Vargas versus Alfonso Gomez and DeAndre Latimore versus Carlos Quintana.

This event is being promoted by Mayweather Promotions, by Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions. The Canelo versus Mosley is presented by Canelo Promotions and Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions. We are extremely excited that Hatfields & McCoys on the History Channel will be a sponsor and will be promoting along with DeWalt Tools who has been very instrumental in promoting many of our big events. We’re excited that AT&T is promoting this event alongside O’Reilly Auto Parts and also Puebla-Cinco De Mayo, which will be promoting the event all over promoting Cinco de Mayo; also, Corona, which is a sponsor of Golden Boy Promotions.

This event will be taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandalay Bay and Monte Carlo, the Mirage will be hosting the closed-circuit telecasts of Ring Kings. Tickets can be purchased in advanced. They will be at $75. Tickets are really going fast and there’s thousands and thousands of tickets that will be sold for Cinco de Mayo.

Also, HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning all access series 24/7, which will debut this Saturday, April 14th at 9:45 p.m. Eastern. We’re always very excited to seeing what goes on behind the scenes with Mayweather and now with Miguel Cotto.

This event will also be shown and broadcast in high definition in more than 440 movie theaters nationwide. NCM Fathom will be broadcasting Ring Kings: Mayweather vs. Cotto live, in high definition. If you buy your ticket in the movie theater, you can watch the whole pay-per-view from top to bottom. So, that’s always very exciting, getting that experience with other fans and watching it on that huge screen. You can go to www.fathomevents.com for more information.

Obviously, we’re here to talk about Saúl Canelo Álvarez. He hails out of Guadalajara, Mexico. He has a record of 39 and 0 with 29 knockouts. He is the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion. He turned pro in 2005 when he was just 15 years old. I can tell you one thing-he’s already Mexico’s brightest young star.

At 21 years of age, he’s quick to becoming an international sensation with fans just asking for him all over the world. I’ve witnessed this first hand. He does have a rock star like following and sells out huge arenas throughout Mexico and gets amazing ratings on Televisa. He is considered Mexico’s next boxing icon. So, we are truly looking forward to his fight against Sugar Shane Mosley. He is now training in Big Bear-and without any further ado, Saúl Canelo Álvarez.

Canelo Alvarez
Thank you very much. I’m very happy to be on a card of this magnitude and to be fighting a fighter with the caliber and the experience of Shane Mosley. I assure all of the public and fans that they’re going to go home very happy.

Q
Canelo, when Shane Mosley was a world champion last, you were seven years old. There’s a big difference in age and in the experience. How do you feel about having an opponent like Shane Mosley with all his achievements that he has accomplished in his career?

Canelo Alvarez
No, I’m very motivated because I am fighting a fighter of Shane Mosley’s caliber. Growing up, when I was coming up in boxing, I used to watch a lot of videos to pick up stuff from him, to learn from him. So today, to now be fighting him is a dream come true and I know once inside the ring, there’s going to be some obstacles and it’s going to be difficult at times, but I have no doubt that, we’re going to go out and be the winner.

Q
Mosley is towards the end of his career. Do you think that’s going to be a very difficult task for him? You’re a big favorite in this fight. What are your thoughts?

Canelo Alvarez
Yeah, many people are saying that-that I’m the big favorite, but I can’t underestimate a fighter like Shane Mosley. I am confident of my conditioning, of my training, of the camp I’ve had, but not of the opponent. I’m going to be very weary, very smart in taking my punches, but very, very confident that he’s coming in at the best. I’m looking forward to fighting the best Shane Mosley ever.

Q
Oscar has fought Shane and has an experience with him from the past. Has he given you any type of advice of what to look for and how to fight Shane for this upcoming fight?

Canelo Alvarez
Yeah, we spoke a little bit about the subject and Oscar’s given me advice of where Shane doesn’t like to hit and where to hit him, but right now we’re working on our game plan, because after the first round, a lot of the times you know that it can all go out the window and you have to adjust. And we’re prepared for anything.

Q
Canelo, when I look at your career, I look at your breakout fight as the Baldomir fight. Do you agree with that, number one? And number two, if not, how big was that fight in your career to finish him in such devastating fashion when he had gone a distance with guys like Floyd Mayweather in the past?

Canelo Alvarez
No, definitely. It was a very impressive finish, impressive performance for the fans. I do believe that that’s the fight that opened up many doors. If you recall the fight, I was the co-main event. Shane Mosley and Mora were the main event and during the main event fight, people were screaming out my name, asking for more. So that was obviously a good feeling.

Q
As a segue into this fight, there are some people who are saying that because Shane is where he is in terms of his longevity and being 40 years old that you need to have a similar performance as to what happened with Baldomir. Is that in any way on your mind-that kind of a performance?

Canelo Alvarez
No, not at all. My mentality is to go in there, perform and win, but not look for the knockout. When you go out there and look for the knockout, other obstacles will come through and you don’t get your plan out. So, I’m prepared for the best Shane Mosley and I’m prepared to do my job in the ring. I’m ready for 12 rounds.

Q
Oscar, I have a similar question. Shane’s past includes the two wins over you, the knockout of Margarito and having gone the distance in two fights with Pacquiao and Mayweather. Knowing what you know of Canelo and his progression as a fighter at this point, would you be surprised if he was to knockout Mosley or would that be gravy and you’re just looking for him to show improvement, show skills and win the fight?

Oscar De La Hoya
I would expect him to look better than Pacquiao and Mayweather did against Mosley because that’s the type of talent that Canelo has. I don’t expect him to go and look for the knockout with Shane Mosley because he hit it right on the button. If you look for the knockout, you won’t get it, but he didn’t look for the knockout when he fought Baldomir, so you just never know what’s going to happen in that ring, especially when you’re facing Canelo.

Q
Would you be surprised if he knocked him out?

Oscar De La Hoya
I would be pleasantly surprised if Canelo knocks him out. Obviously, it would catapult him to just another stratosphere. Nobody has ever been able to knockout Shane Mosley, including myself, including the best in the world. If a 21-year-old fighter named Canelo can do it, then that will be huge.

Q
The fight is on Cinco de Mayo. You are the big Mexican star of the card being that the main event is not that kind of fight. What are your thoughts about fighting on that holiday and certainly in front of a crowd that’s going to have many of your fans in it? Do you have any particular feelings about that?

Canelo Alvarez
I’m very happy to be representing Mexico on such a very important day for all the Mexicans and for me to be on this card, to be fighting on this day and to be fighting a fighter like Mosley, it’s very important and I’m very honored and proud. That’s why we’re working very, very hard so that all the Mexicans can celebrate and be happy come Cinco de Mayo.

Q
There’s been a lot of discussion about what Shane has done recently. Frankly, he looked very bad in his last three fights-two losses by shut out decision against Pacquiao and against Floyd and also the draw against Sergio Mora. I wonder if it is at all difficult for you to look at the card where you see Floyd in the main event, you have talked about in the past his desire to fight Floyd, now you are fighting in a co-feature. If Floyd wins the fight in the main event, you’ll be winning one of the belts in the same weight class. How hard is it for you to not think about the possibility that in the near future maybe you and Floyd will be in the main event against each other?

Canelo Alvarez
No, I assure that nothing is going to break my concentration, my focus. I’m concentrating solely, 100 percent on Shane Mosley. I have the experience now. It happened to me once, precisely on the card when Floyd fought Shane. I was a little distracted because it was all new-the big card, the big event, the media, the people, the scenery. So, I’ve learned from that. Today I’m 100 percent concentrated on the task on hand and that’s what I’m going to do.

Q
Oscar, let me ask you about that. You don’t have to concentrate on the fight because you can sit back and promote it and watch it. What are your thoughts about the possibility of in the future, if Canelo takes care of the business like everybody expects he will on May 5th, that it could be another big pay-per-view event that you could promote involving Canelo against Mayweather?

Oscar De La Hoya
Well, there’s definitely a bigger prize at the end of the tunnel if Canelo wins or if Mosley wins. I mean, the winner will go on to bigger and better fights. That’s a given. You can either face the winner of Andre Berto/Victor Ortíz or you can face the winner of Floyd Mayweather/Miguel Cotto. So, this is a very important fight.

Q
But that’s a fight you guys have talked about and that has been in discussion. If things work out, would there be a potential fight between Floyd and Canelo?

Oscar De La Hoya
Well, it’s definitely something we have to sit down and talk about after May 5th. Those would be the plans in the near future.

Q
How big of a fight is that? I mean, I’m asking a guy that’s been involved in many of the biggest fights in recent boxing history.

Oscar De La Hoya
I actually would be biting my nails because that fight can get close to my fight with Floyd Mayweather.

Q
At the beginning, you mentioned you’ve watched many videos coming up of Shane Mosley. What is it that you learned from him? What is it that you picked up from these videos?

Canelo Alvarez
I’ve learned a lot. How he punches and how he counter punches, his movements and everything. I’ve adapted it to my own style, but I’ve learned a lot from Shane Mosley.

Q
Do you think that this will be your most difficult fight that you’ve had in your career?

Canelo Alvarez
Yes, yes. I’m very, very happy and I’m very motivated. We admire him. It’s an honor for me to be fighting him, but once I step into the ring, that all goes out the window. I will be there to fight, we’re going to give the best of ourselves and we’re going to go in there to win.

Q
Do you think Canelo is one of the best fighters to come out in recent years and one of the most popular fighters at this moment?

Oscar De La Hoya
Canelo is very active. For 21-years-old, he’s very much advanced and there’s no doubt he’s on the right path, and yes, he is in a very difficult fight, but he is very confident that he’ll get through it and become one of the biggest fighters in history.
Q
This actually could have been two separate cards with the names and fighters you have on this card, Oscar. How difficult was to make it? You have Canelo against Mosley, Mayweather against Cotto. How difficult was it to put on one card?

Oscar De La Hoya
This is what we’re trying to do here, put on the best cards. This is the first of many and you can expect that. We’re trying to give back to the fans and bring back boxing the way it should be.

Q
Canelo, what do you think you can learn from fighting a fighter with the experience of Shane Mosley?

Canelo Alvarez
I’m going to gain a lot of experience and learn a lot from this fight because Shane can counter punch you. He can get you coming in with his lead punches. I mean, this is the kind of fight you want to advance in your career to get better because the experience is going to be very valuable.

Q
You have a lot of experience for your age, but now that you’re fighting Mosley, do you think that it takes more than experience and intelligence and that you have to go in there and use your strength because of his age?

Canelo Alvarez
No, not at all. In this fight, I have to have everything. I have to have speed. I have to have intelligence. I have to have power. I have to be very alert and I can’t get over confident because it’s a very dangerous, difficult fight for me.

Q
How valuable is the way you beat Mosley? I mean if you go in there and struggle and have a difficult time, people are going to criticize you. But if you go in there and knock him out, people are going to say, “Wow, he’s ready for the bigger and better things.” How important is that and how valuable?

Canelo Alvarez
I repeat. It’s a very difficult fight. It’s a very important fight, but we’re working on it. That’s why we’re working very hard so that the people leave very convinced that I am the winner and that I am ready for bigger and better things.

Q
What does Shane has that worries you the most?

Canelo Alvarez
I’m not worried. I’d be worried if I didn’t train properly, if I didn’t have a good camp, but it’s not a worrisome. I just know what I’ve got. He’s a very difficult fighter. We know that, but we’re preparing for that and we’re very confident.
Q
You mentioned after the fight with Cintrón that you wanted to fight Mayweather and now you’re the co-main event to Mayweather and Cotto. How does that make you feel?

Canelo Alvarez
No, no, no, the bout doesn’t bother me at all. Floyd is Mayweather, he’s on the throne. He decides and he can decide right now because he is at the top. He’s pound for pound the best fighter in the world and all we have to do is keep working hard, keep winning our fights and that is my goal-to fight the best fighters in the world, but one at a time.

Kelly Swanson
Let’s go ahead and wrap up. If Canelo wants to make any last minute comments and then we do have Shane Mosley ready to join the call.

Canelo Alvarez
I just want to thank all the press, all the fans. Hi to Kelly, Oscar and let everyone know we’ll be ready and we’ll see you soon.

Kelly Swanson
Thank you. Okay, so as we’re making the transition, I do just want to have a couple of program notes. We are getting full into the schedule for Ring Kings and next week Miguel Cotto will be hosting his media day in Orlando, Florida followed by his conference call. The media day will be the 17th, his conference call on the 18th. Floyd Mayweather’s media day will be on the 24th and his conference call on the 25th. There’s a lot of HBO programming going on in between with, like Oscar mentioned, the start of 24/7 and of course tonight Canelo Álvarez: Portrait of a Fighter, which premieres at 9:15 Eastern Time.

So, everybody pay close attention to your e-mails. You’re going to be getting more and more information about this great card. I believe Shane is with us, so I’m going to turn it back over to Oscar for the introductions. Oscar?

Oscar De La Hoya
Thank you very much, Kelly. It is my pleasure to introduce to you a future first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s a six-time and three division world champion. He first won the lightweight world title in 1997 and obviously, he’s beaten many world champions, including the likes of Fernando Vargas and myself, twice against Ricardo Mayorga. He obviously had that spectacular win against Antonio Margarito where everybody, once again, counted him out and now obviously, he’s looking to make history once again against a young, Saúl Canelo Álvarez and he’s looking for that seventh world title.

So, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, hailing from Pomona, California, he’s got a record of 47-7 and 39 knock-outs, Sugar Shane Mosley.

Shane Mosley
Thank you, Oscar. I’m very happy to be here, had a great camp-I’m having a great camp and I am in great shape. I look forward to a big match up with Canelo Álvarez. So, thank you.
Q
Shane, obviously the Pacquiao, Mayweather fights-you were going into those fights a slight underdog and we know how those turned out. But, to be kind of put in as, I guess, the opponent against Canelo, at what point does it really dig in and become personal and about pride of a guy who has beaten the likes of like Oscar said, him twice and knocked out Antonio Margarito and fought at this weight before and that kind of thing? When does it become about pride?

Shane Mosley
It’s about pride now, but all of those fights, the victories that I’ve won; they were all in the past. This is now the future and this is a young up and coming fighter, a young champion I should say, who has the belt that I want. I’m looking to win the belt and going to bigger and better things. We both have our ideas of what we want to do. He has his idea of winning the fight and going on to bigger things and I have the same plan. So, when you have two guys that are looking to be victorious in a grand fashion, then that only makes for a great fight. So, I think we’re going to be getting it on.

Q
Zab Judah said before his last fight with Vernon Paris that he knows what Paris is going through. Paris was saying a lot of bad things about him, disrespecting him and he really said, “I’m not going to be that name fighter that takes this guy to the next stratosphere.” Now, obviously, that’s what Canelo’s trying to do. How much does that motivate you and really kind of put your back against the wall and really feel like this is it for you?

Shane Mosley
I don’t even look at it as my back being put against the wall. This fight I’m looking to make a statement-not just winning but making a statement. And when I get into the ring and I fight, regardless if it goes 12 rounds or if it doesn’t, I’m going to make a statement that I come to fight.

Q
That same night that Judah did what he did to Paris, Erik Morales was losing to Danny Garcia. Did you look at those fights in any way and do you see maybe that people might be thinking that what happened to Morales could happen to you?

Shane Mosley
I didn’t see the Zab Judah fight, but I did watch the Danny Garcia fight and I mean. Yes, it looked to me that Morales was a little out of shape. He was fighting out of his weight class. I know that Danny Garcia was very strong and young and was just more ready for the fight. Even though Morales had more experience than Danny Garcia, it looked like Danny Garcia prepared very well for the fight and Morales didn’t.

Q
To you was that a clear case though of youth overcoming experience? Did you see it in any way that way and do you see maybe that as potentially being the difference if you are not able to summon all the skills and experience that you did in the past?

Shane Mosley
I don’t see myself and Morales in the same boat, especially for this fight. I don’t see myself like Morales. I see myself way better than Morales for this particular fight. I see myself not as an old warrior but a young killer. I don’t buy into the 40 year old or-I’m coming to work like a killer. I’m coming to the fight like I fought with Margarito, like the training camp I had with Margarito and even better.

Q
Okay, is that a reference to the guys that you’re sparring with? Are they young guys? Do you see that? Is that manifesting itself in your training?

Shane Mosley
They’re younger than I am, but they’re also bigger. So, it’s just that I’ve been looking at this fight; I’m not coming into this fight not being able to work like I need to work. I’m coming into this fight working it 100 percent. I’m coming to this fight ready to dominate.

Q
You faced both Cotto and Mayweather. How would you describe their boxing styles and your position for the fight?

Shane Mosley
Miguel Cotto is definitely a hard worker and very strong and I think he’s a little deceptive in the way that he throws his punches. He appears to be slower than he really is. He’s really fast. I believe that with Mayweather, he has great skills and talent. I think that it’s going to be a tough fight for both guys. The first four or five rounds are going to be interesting, but I think Floyd might take over from there, but you never can tell. If Floyd doesn’t take Miguel serious, then Miguel can be a good choice in the fight being that he is a natural 154 pounder.

Q
What does a seventh world title mean to your legacy as a boxer?

Shane Mosley
Well, I mean, it means a lot, but I think that winning the title-just winning this title is going to mean even more because it puts me in line with the bigger fights that hopefully once I finish I can go ahead and fight the other two rematches.

Q
What would you say your ultimate goal in the sport of boxing is?

Shane Mosley
The ultimate goal is just to be the best I can be each and every fight, fighting until I can’t fight anymore and the ultimate goal is going to be to keep those rematches.

Q
Shane, you lost your last fight to Pacquiao. You lost to Mayweather. You had a draw with Mora. What are you doing differently this time in camp to try to change the result with this bout with Canelo?

Shane Mosley
I think the difference in this camp is that I’m going to the camp I am feeling good-not worrying about anything bothering me. This camp is a different camp because it’s a camp where I’m able to be at my best and I’m happy about that.

Q
You recently revealed that you had an Achilles injury prior to the Pacquiao fight. But going into that fight, you were telling everyone that you felt great. What I wanted to know is are you truly healthy this time and why should your fans believe you when you say that now you’re feeling healthy?

Shane Mosley
Well, I mean, it’s up to them to make that decision-if they want to believe me or not. When they go to the betting odds and they put their money down and they bet, just know that I warned you.

Q
You’re facing a heavy-handed guy in this fight. What’s the strategy going into this fight with Canelo? Are you going to stand with him, try to box, show a little movement? What’s the strategy going into this fight?

Shane Mosley
I better not give away much strategy, but I can just let you know that I’m ready to fight. My mentality is to fight, but I definitely will box-fight, punch. I’m going to do everything.

Q
You’ve been a headliner, pound for pound top 10 guy in your career, but seems like Álvarez’s camp has kind of selected you to be a stepping stone to his career in this fight. How long do you plan to continue fighting and does the fact that they view you as perhaps a stepping stone-does that give you a little extra motivation going into this fight?

Shane Mosley
I have nothing against Canelo Álvarez and the camp. They only listen to what the media or some of the media is saying and hopefully they don’t read too much into it. I’m hearing that Canelo’s not taking that serious, so it’s going to make it a great fight with a great young fightet. The difference is that Canelo’s going to be fighting Shane Mosley than the other two did. So, that’s the difference though.

Q
I was wondering, style-wise Shane, who does Canelo remind you of in terms of past opponents? Anybody that you fought remind you style-wise of Canelo Álvarez?

Shane Mosley
You can tell that he tries to emulate different things, which just shows that he’s really learning the sport of boxing. He’s really learning and he’s trying to learn different things. I think he’s going to be good in the future.

Q
Has your approach to training changed at all because of your age?

Shane Mosley
No, it hasn’t changed. I think that it has improved.

Q
How?

Shane Mosley
Basically I’m able to change and I’m able to do things that I couldn’t do in other camps. I’m able to do a lot more. I can run more. I can move better. I can slip and slide. I can punch harder. I can just do more things.

Q
Tell us, what does it mean to you to come out victorious on the biggest Mexican holiday against currently the biggest Mexican star?

Shane Mosley
It means a lot. I fight a lot of Mexican holidays-Cinco de Mayo, September 15th-those seem to be my days. So, it’s going to mean a lot and it’s actually a comfortable day for me being that I’m in California and living in a predominantly Latino area. It’s no problem for me.

Q
Do you see any threats in Canelo?

Shane Mosley
I mean, there are always threats. He’s a young fighter. He’s strong and packs a pretty good punch. He varies the shots to the head. He does some good things. So, I mean there’s always some threat, but I feel really confident. I feel really confident that whatever he throws at me I’ll be able to withstand and handle.

Q
Is there anything that you’ve in your training camp, any interesting technique that you’ve implemented into your training camp now?

Shane Mosley
No, I think it’s just more of me being able to do things that I need to do in a training camp. The other training camps-I couldn’t really do what I need to do to be at my best in the actual fight. I think this particular training camp is a lot better.

Kelly Swanson
Thank you everyone. That was our last question for Shane Mosley. Thank you Shane. Thank you Oscar and thank you to the media for joining today’s call.