Gennady Golovkin will be fuelled by a desire for justice when he puts his world middleweight titles on the line against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in their eagerly-awaited rematch in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Golovkin was left stunned when their first bout in September last year was declared to be a split-decision draw – then kept waiting for his second shot after Alvarez failed a drugs test.

All of which has left the big-punching Kazakh to lose respect for his middleweight rival, adding further spice to a contest which is regarded as one of the biggest in the sport.

Golokvin told the media this week: “I have lost respect for him. It changed after the doping scandal.

“After the first fight I said, ‘thank you for the fight, it was a great fight’. He said the same. We were friendly. But after doping? No. This is a terrible situation and right now we have only business.”

Alvarez’s six-month ban after testing positive for clenbuterol – he claimed the positive test came from eating contaminated meat – scuppered the first prospective rematch date earlier this year.

Golovkin marked time with a stoppage win over Vanes Martirosyan and will head into the rematch eager to leave nothing to chance, having started sluggishly first time round.

Canelo Alvarez at a pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas this week
Canelo Alvarez at a pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas this week (John Locher/AP)

For his part, Alvarez says he too will adopt a different tactical approach. Showing he could stand up to Golovkin’s ferocious power, the Mexican still faded badly through the middle rounds suggesting stamina could prove a major factor.

“I have made a complete and radical change and you will see this on Saturday,” Alvarez told media.

“I am bothered by all the stupid things (Golovkin’s team) have been saying and I have been using it as motivation for this fight. Maybe they believe what they say, maybe it is to get me mad – but it has worked.”