SAUL ‘CANELO’ ALVAREZ is a modern-day Mike Tyson but Chris Eubank Jr reckons he can tame the planet’s new baddest man.
The Mexican superstar has the weight of his fight-crazy nation behind him, all four sanctioning bodies desperate to work with him and very few officials willing to score against him.
On top of that, the 30-year-old four-weight champion is one of the finest technical boxers and most ruthless body punches around, with a chin seemingly made from Aztec gold.
Because of that, Eubank Jr gives fellow Brit Callum Smith very little chance when they meet on Saturday night in Texas.
But the Brighton 31-year-old says his own ruthless aggression will be enough to topple one of the planet’s top pound-for-pound icons, if they get to clash.
“Fearlessness is what beats Canelo,” Eubank Jr said. “His opponents have been scared.
“Callum will fight him like a scared fighter, just like Sergey Kovalev did in his previous fight.
“These guys are going in to survive, just to escape a knockout or getting hurt.
“I don’t have that in me, no matter how big or bad my opponent is, I attack them and Canelo is not used to that.
“He is used to winning these fights before he even gets in the ring, like Mike Tyson used to.
“But nobody is going to get into my head and make me put my tail between my legs.
“I think my speed and combination punches would give him huge problems.”
Eubank Jr campaigned at Smith’s super-middle limit between 2017 and 2019 but is now the WBA’s interim middleweight champ.
Canelo holds that full title and if he chops down 6ft 3in Smith, as Eubank Jr expects, the son of British ring legend Chris Sr will bid again for his crack at greatness.
He said: “The Callum Smith fight is not a bad fight, because right now there are not a lot of guys who want to fight Canelo.
“Billy Joe Saunders wimped out of the fight and Callum stepped up and you have to respect him for that.
“I don’t see Callum having much success, especially after watching his performance against John Ryder.
“I guess you could say he has a puncher’s chance, he is strong and he can hit but Canelo has a good chin.
“After that fight I will be right there, trying to make that Canelo fight.
“I have said that he is No1 on my hitlist and he has the WBA world title and I have the interim title.
“Aside from him being this big guy in the sport, he has the title I want and I think I can beat him. That fight has to happen or he has to vacate the belt.”
