CANELO ALVAREZ has once again showcased his devastating power ahead of his clash with Avni Yildirim.
The Mexican will defend his WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight titles against Yildirim in Florida late next month.
And the pound-for-pound king’s promoter – Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn – has given fans a glimpse into his preparations for his showdown with The Turkish Wolf, sharing a video of him hitting the heavy bag on Twitter.
The clip showed the 30-year-old brutalising the bag with vicious hooks, which echoed throughout the gym.
What made the gut-wrenching shots even more impressive was the fact they were thrown with very little wind-up.
Canelo’s handy work on the heavy bag drew praise several from boxing fans, one of whom tweeted: “Hitting the bags like [Floyd] Mayweather.”
Another said: “My liver hurts just watching it.”
And another said: “Freakish power… kind of scary. He really hurt Amir Khan and [Sergey] Kovalev.”
Canelo’s battle with Yildirim will be his first outing since his unanimous decision victory over Callum Smith last December.
Despite Yildirim being his mandatory challenger, boxing fans are by no means enthused by the fight.
But former undisputed light-heavyweight champion Andre Ward insists critics of the bout can have no complaints.
During an appearance on the AK and Barak Show, he said: “I don’t think anybody should be upset. That’s really the name of the game.
“I don’t care what your resume is, it’s not healthy to face a top guy fight in and fight out.
“You won’t last long and if you do, you’re going to have some issues when your career is over. It’s a chess game.”
He added: “You got to take a hard fight, maybe like a decent name like he just fought Callum Smith. Then you got to fight a mandatory.
“The mandatory is out of his hands so he’s got to satisfy that from the WBC.
“Then he’s got to face another good name in the sport like Billy Joe Saunders. I don’t have a problem with that at all.”
