Canelo Alvarez on getting bashed for avoiding Golovkin: “I don’t worry about that stuff”

Canelo Alvarez has heard the torching criticism of his veering from unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin to instead fight little-known 154-pound Liam Smith of England.

“I don’t worry about that stuff,” Alvarez told The Times on Monday in a telephone interview from AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, where he’ll fight for Smith’s World Boxing Organization belt Sept. 17 in an HBO pay-per-view bout.

“I’m worried about my career moving forward. That’s the only thing that I’m interested about now.”

Mexico’s Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) generated the firestorm of negativity when he knocked out England’s Amir Khan on May 7 in Las Vegas, and summoned Golovkin into the ring, heatedly underlining that because he’s Mexican, he wouldn’t “[mess] around.”

Yet, the entertaining words were followed by the disappointing actions of Alvarez surrendering his World Boxing Council middleweight belt to mandatory challenger Golovkin and choosing Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs), who’ll make his U.S. debut.

How did the moment in the ring with Golovkin (35-0, 32 knockouts) lead to this?

“Negotiations,” Alvarez answered. “It takes a lot of details and negotiations for both teams to be happy and satisfied with the agreement. That’s what it came down to.

“But [Golovkin is] a fight that’s going to happen. It has to happen.”

Alvarez, who turned 26 Monday, said he didn’t argue fiercely with promoter Oscar De La Hoya to make the Golovkin fight in September. After Alvarez chose Smith, Golovkin chose to defend his three middleweight belts Sept. 10 in England against that country’s International Boxing Federation welterweight champion, Kell Brook.

“I want the [Golovkin] fight. [De La Hoya and I] both want the fight, actually, and at the end of the day, it’s the negotiations,” Alvarez said.

Certainly, part of what was negotiated with Golovkin was the value of Alvarez’s drawing power, which is being showed by taking the bout against an obscure foe to a sports palace that has only twice previously staged boxing cards, both headlined by Manny Pacquiao at the height of his fame.

“I’m very blessed and pleased to be here,” Alvarez said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work and dedication into the sport with my team and to come to this point I’m very fortunate.”

Alvarez has previously drawn 40,000 to San Antonio’s Alamodome and 31,000 to Houston’s Minute Maid Park, setting up a possible return against Golovkin after his team promised to make the bout by September 2017.

The value of fighting Smith ahead of Golovkin is gaining experience against a taller, bigger man than former 140-pound fighter Khan with more power, as the date with the 5-foot-10 ½ Golovkin awaits.

“I’m not going to give away a fight,” Smith told The Times. “I’m here to win. I can win. I’m not a blown-up 147 who he’s going to chase and bully around. I’m big enough to get him out of there and I’m very confident it won’t be anything the likes of the Khan fight. I’m a big 154. I’ve got a solid chin. It won’t be a case of, if Canelo lands, he’s going to get me out of there.”

Alvarez said, “Every fight is a different experience. He’s different from Amir, a stronger fighter, a come-forward fighter. It should turn out to be a more exciting fight from the beginning bell throughout because of styles.”

Alvarez said he plans to fight again in December.

Eric Gomez, an executive for De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, earlier said that Alvarez will fight at 160 pounds in December, and that it’s possible the Golovkin fight could happen in May 2017.

Alvarez declined to reveal his own thinking on the future.

“I’m preparing myself for Liam Smith,” he said.