Canelo is satisfied with the defeat before the Golovkin Triple Battle

• Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returns to the ring on Saturday against Gennady Golovkin.
• Super middleweight fighters exchange slugs at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
• Canelo needs a crushing win to bury the memory of the last loss.

LAS VEGAS – The first time Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez lost, he developed his skill set over the years and racked up several elite wins, becoming the number one boxer in the sport and establishing himself as a Hall of Fame fighter.

In his 61st match against Dimitri Bevol in May, after 16 unbeaten fights, Canelo lost again in a upset.

The Mexican boxer wanted to create more of a legacy in the light heavyweight – a division he had no right to dominate since he started his welterweight career – but failed due to Bevol’s bluffs and his triple buns.

He returned to the ring on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, for another marquee boxing match. This time, Gennady Golovkin – a fighter who has already faced him twice – is in the opposite corner.

Given Canelo’s career history, the question, this time around, is whether he will develop again and start another winning streak to re-establish himself as the number 1 in the sport.

“Look, I’m always trying to learn,” Alvarez told Insider in an interview arranged by lead sponsor Hennessy. “I learn from everything.”

Alvarez is taught by his manager and coach Eddie Reynoso, one of the most famous boxing coaches. Reynoso will be in his corner, as he has been from the start, to try to reclaim Canelo’s place at the highest level in the fighting game.

There will be pressure on Canelo not only to bounce back with a victory over Golovkin but to do so by knockout, so the knockout bury the memory of the defeat to Bivol.

“I can’t wait to be in the ring again, and come back stronger than ever,” Canelo told us. “I, all my life, have been trying to learn from everything. In this fight, I will do my best.”

Losing is okay

Insider covered Canelo’s last fight in Las Vegas.

Unlike many elite-level fighters, his entourage is not unnecessarily large. He has his own coaching team. He has his family.

As he made his way to the stage during his big arrival at the beginning of the week in May, after being introduced to his audience by a raucous mariachi band, Canelo’s five-year-old daughter Maria sat next to us.

She clapped when she saw her father and yelled “Babi!” They exchanged loving looks with the fighter.

“When you win, you celebrate,” Canelo told us this week before another week of his fight. “You are happy and with friends, team and family.”

During losses, these relationships are just as important.

It seems that it is those relationships that define Canelo, not the rare defeats.

“You need a strong mind and forward thinking,” Canelo said. “Losing is okay. You need to learn from that too.

“With the loss, you have to accept that as a man, and I’m fine with that. I’m 100% focused on this fight and can’t wait to be in the ring.”

Canelo’s pursuit of boxing helps the sport, according to a TV executive

Prior to his defeat to Bivol earlier this year, the promotional message from Matchroom and DAZN was that their standout fighter, Canelo, was daring to go great by moving up the weight class to challenge a legitimate champ.

The message, this time around, is that by chasing these legacy-boosting matches, Canelo is helping move the sport forward by showing that losses don’t take the shine away from a star fighter.

It’s a hangover from the Floyd Mayweather era, DAZN Executive Vice President Joe Markowski told Insider at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this week.

A major part of Mayweather’s legacy is that he was undefeated despite participating in some of the best-selling boxing bouts of all time.

In that period, the loss appears to be affecting the fighter’s standing in the division and the broader sport.

Between the UFC, where there are more ways to lose a match, and Canelo, Markowski argues that the sport of boxing has moved on.

“Canelo helps the sport move beyond the obsession with an undefeated record,” Markowski told Insider. “It doesn’t matter commercially or in the fan’s eyes.

“If you look at the UFC, the biggest draw is Conor McGregor but I’ve lost count of how many times he’s lost. He still generates seven-figure pay-per-view numbers because it’s a tie, it’s interesting, and people care about his career.

“They don’t really care about perfecting it, keeping it, and maintaining it.”

Markowski said people are drawn to Canelo because he “uses his career to test himself”.

He added: “Canelo faces the big challenges that come with taking risks. Those risks cost him wins against Mayweather and Bevol, but I think the level of respect on both occasions has him filling him in.

“I imagine he’s going to rematch Bevol sometime soon which will be a massive physical test. So in my eyes, I respect him more.”

To the crowd, Markowski thinks he’s adding intrigue to whether he’ll bounce back with a knockout victory over Golovkin, or struggle against his old rival.

Canelo promises a “great battle” against Golovkin

Markowski said Canelo and Golovkin “have a real dislike for each other” going back years.

This needle can raise the bar, as Canelo promised himself “a great fight”.

“My goal is to finish the fight before the 12 rounds – and that’s my goal – by knockout,” said the world middleweight champion, who has put his WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF world titles on the line.

He finished by describing Golovkin as “a great fighter, a strong fighter. Whatever he brings, I will be ready.”