Canelo Alvarez hasn't even stepped in the arena yet and already his super-welterweight title bout with Liam "Beefy" Smith is mired in controversy.

Simply put, fight fans have long been clamoring for an Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin match, and in terms of star-power attraction the biggest pay-for-view draw in the sport instead lacing up against the little known British champion just won't do.

Alvarez Heavy Favorite

Be that as it may, Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) is assuring all his fans he'll be as focused and zeroed in as he always is when he enters the ring at the 80,000 seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Saturday night at 9 pm. ET.

You can watch a live stream of the match here.

"You know - there's always going to be critics," the as heavily favored as 12-1 Alvarez said of his decision to face Smith instead of Golovkin. "It's part of the business. But the important thing is it doesn't faze me. I'm used to it now and I've got to do what's best for my career."

To a man, all those in Alvarez's corner insist that entails getting back down to his natural weight and not rushing to tack on even more pounds in a race to face Golovkin at 160 for the middleweight crown.

"Canelo knows his body, his trainers know his body and the bottom line is Canelo is a 154-pound fighter," said his promoter Oscar De La Hoya. "The fact that he fought at 155 [pounds] people expect him to go up and fight at middleweight and that's not the case. He's a 154-pounder and he's going to go up to 160 when his body feels ready."

When that may be remains anyone's guess and fight fans lament.

"[Alvarez] is the star fighter in boxing and people want him to fight the very best," De La Hoya said. "And he has always fought the very best and fighting Golovkin is going to be no exception. He's going to fight him but when he's ready to move up to 160."

Golovkin Still in the Picture

Still the questions about Golovkin linger, with even Smith adding to all the drama by claiming the only reason he landed the biggest pay day of his career is because Alvarez elected to dodge Golovkin, pointing out that he even relinquished his WBC middleweight title rather than face the challenge.

"He told the fans he wouldn't give up titles," he added. "He's just not big enough to fight him. He will be under pressure in this fight to put on a performance and that's because he has lost the respect of his people for giving up the title."

As for Saturday night, Smith promises to deal Alvarez yet another dose of humility.

"It's not the biggest fight of his career now, but when he loses it will be and his team will do everything possible to get the rematch," he said.

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