GRAPEVINE, Texas – Canelo Alvarez didn’t have a lot to say on Gennady Golovkin’s fifth-round stoppage of Kell Brook on Saturday. But what he did say will likely produce a tsunami of reactions.

Sporting a full beard and a solemn gaze, Alvarez described Golovkin’s effort as “nothing special” during a brief interview with reporters following an appearance at a public workout on Wednesday. Alvarez will challenge Liam Smith on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on HBO PPV. It’s a fight that Alarez took rather than face Golovkin, who was his mandatory before he vacated the WBC middleweight title.

“A win is a win,” Alvarez said through translator/Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz. “Nothing special. But he got the win. Like I said, nothing special.”

Golovkin seemed to take more punishment than unusual in the bout with Brook, who was rising two weight classes to face him at 160 pounds. Perhaps because Golovkin had no fear of Brook’s power, he waded in with little defense, absorbing some flush shots. Golovkin’s face at the end of the match was considerably more marked up than it has been against other middleweights. Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya has maintained that Canelo will face Golovkin in the fall of 2017, though only a verbal agreement exists between the two camps.

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