Canelo Alvarez Says Floyd Mayweather Loss Made Him Better Ahead of Miguel Cotto

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is using his 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. as a source of motivation heading into his November clash against Miguel Cotto, saying he's a better fighter because of that majority-decision defeat.  

The result stands as the only blemish on Canelo's career to date, boasting a record of 45-1-1 as he prepares to face Cotto next month, but he told ESPN Deportes it helped him "really improve" (via Miguel Rivera of BoxingScene.com):

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[The loss] hurt my pride. I don't feel like it's a thorn in my side. Obviously I would have liked to face him again, but this rematch was requested and nothing happened. I believe that it's already put back in the past, but that fight really helped me to improve and move forward in my career. So I keep looking ahead.

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Mayweather's retirement earlier this year means Canelo will most likely never have his chance at redemption, but the upcoming fixture against Cotto is another opportunity for him to claim a major victory in the sport.

Cotto lost to Mayweather a little more than a year prior to Canelo's defeat at the hands of Money, at which point the Mexican was still just 23 years of age and a trailblazer among boxing's starlets.

Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press

Now 25, Alvarez is a more seasoned professional and could be more prepared to take on the biggest names around, starting with his chance at the WBC and The Ring middleweight belts on offer against Cotto.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Golden Boy Promotions founder Oscar de la Hoya stated the winner of this meeting could well have his shot at WBA, IBO and IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin:

That in itself is incentive enough for Canelo to ensure he doesn't repeat the mistakes of two years ago, hoping to build a streak of four successive wins since his stumble in 2013.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times helped in further teasing the notion of a Golovkin bout in the future, noting the unbeaten Kazakh will even be at Mandalay Bay on November 21 to survey his potential opponents:

It's often posed that mistakes are what really make a fighter and the ability to hit back against adversity the true trademark of a champion. In that sense, Canelo appears to be making his way back to the top in the right manner.

He's received a gleaming endorsement from the evergreen Bernard Hopkins to go and become that next poster child of his weight class, per Fighthub (via BoxNation.com): "If Floyd has retired, there’s so many people that are right there. Canelo’s one of them, to be that next blockbuster superstar. I’m not saying he’s not that now, it’s just now it’s clear that he’s the only one who can chase that seat that Floyd’s been holding for many, many years."

John Locher/Associated Press

Just as Mayweather once did, Cotto is sure to provide a seasoned test for the emerging star, although it will be in stark contrast to his clash against Money considering he's stopped his last three opponents in succession.

Canelo already has a treasure trove of professional experience for one still so young, and the biggest question now is whether he's learned enough from his only defeat to go and establish himself as a great.