The red carpet was rolled out on Tuesday night as Canelo Alvarez, Rocky Fielding, Sadam Ali, Mauricio Herrera, Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya and others made their way through The Ainsworth in New York City.
The commencement was a gathering of all the fighters who are stepping into the ring this weekend. As usual, everyone had plenty to say in regards to their upcoming fights.
Rocky Fielding spoke at length about coming into this fight as an underdog and already being experienced fighting away from home.
“I went to Germany to win the title and nobody gave me a chance then,” said Fielding. “Nobody’s giving me a chance now other then my team and my family but that’s all I need.”
Fielding also discussed the attention he is garnering because of this event.
“I’m enjoying it all. Every fighters dream is to get to this level,” said Fielding. “To have all of this media and to be on the red carpet. From my journey where I started you would never think that.”
Bernard Hopkins, who knows a thing or two about big fights, discussed what his expectations are for this weekend.
“Alright y’all want the truth? Canelo is gonna win in the fifth round,” said Hopkins. “Body shot.”
Hopkins knocked out his now-business partner, Oscar De La Hoya, so it’ll be interesting to see if his prediction comes true.
De La Hoya spoke about his excitement surround Canelo’s first fight in the big apple, but he also touched on his trepidation of Canelo fighting at 168 pounds against such a tall opponent.
“168 is a whole different animal,” said De La Hoya. “I don’t know how he’s going to react. I don’t know how his body is going to take it. I didn’t want this fight. I didn’t want this weight class, but Canelo is Canelo. He wanted to make history. He wanted to be the ninth Mexican champion to capture three weight divisions.”
Canelo knows he can’t overlook the champion and discussed the challenges that Rocky Fielding presents.
“I’m entering into his comfort zone and that’s the challenge,” said Canelo. “It’s no secret that I’m the better fighter that I have more experience but that’s the challenge moving up in weight to fight a guy like that.”
The atmosphere on Tuesday night was certainly festive, but Saturday night will be a different scene. Will this be an easy match for Canelo? Can Rocky Fielding create a huge upset?
In terms of undercard action, can Sadam Ali bounce back?
These are some of the questions that will be answered come fight night on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
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