Canelo Alvarez knows.

His fight with Gennady Golovkin is a special event, and it’s about more than just securing the victory.

Alvarez yearns for something far greater on September 16 in Las Vegas: legacy.

“This can be one of the best fights in history on paper,” Alvarez said during a media conference call Tuesday while Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez translated. “It’s going to rival some of those big fights … but it really depends how the fight pans out. I’m going to do my part to make it memorable so it can go down as one of the best fights in history.

” … I’ll give the best of me; the best possible part of me that I can give in that fight. If it means throwing more punches, attacking more — whatever it takes to win the fight, but make it memorable, and exciting. I’m going to do whatever I have to do.”

Neither Alvarez nor Golovkin have ever participated in THE RING’S fight of the year. In fact, they’ve never come close. Almost of their fights have been one-sided victories. Golovkin’s March victory over Jacobs was a rousing bout, but it doesn’t have a chance to upend Anthony Joshua’s win over Wladimir Klitschko.

“This is one of the biggest fights ever in the middleweight division,” said Oscar De La Hoya. “We have to wait for the actual fight to see what unfolds and takes place, but in terms of magnitude, in terms of PR and attention we’re receiving, in terms of people who will be watching, this has to be the biggest.

“And we’ll have to see September 16 to see if it’s the best, which I think it will be in the middleweight division’s history. It has all the ingredients to be one of the best fights in the last 30 years.”

Alvarez, THE RING middleweight champion, said he’s noticed some flaws in GGG’s game he hopes to exploit on fight night. Of course, they sparred in 2011, and the Mexican says there were some things he was able to pick up on, but he realizes they’re different fighters now. Much different.

Still, while Golovkin stopped Kell Brook in a highly anticipated bout in London last year, he’s never competed in a fight of this magnitude. Canelo has, though that came in a loss to Floyd Mayweather.

“I’ve always wanted this,” Canelo said. “I’ve wanted to be in big fights and the biggest challenges.”

De La Hoya, who has been party to several marquee fights over his storied career, and, of course, his own big-time middleweight fight against Bernard Hopkins, believes Canelo will only benefit from all the attention surrounding him.

And he’s going to need every advantage he can gain. For as great as Caneo is, so, too, is Golovkin.

Mike Coppinger is the Senior Writer for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger