Days before the junior middleweight non-title bout between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Erislandy Lara on July 12 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, the contenders are in a heated exchange with the Alvarez promising to “shut up” Lara on Saturday.

The verbal tirade between the two started on March 8 after Alvarez’s win over Alfredo Angulo when Sara called out Canelo to fight him next.

Four months later, Lara will get his wish and more, if Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 knockouts) delivers on his promise.

“He was talking so much shit on Twitter. He kept running his mouth, and now I’m going to shut him up on July 12,” said Alvarez via Boxing Scene in a press conference in Los Angeles.

Lara, who dropped a World Boxing Association (WBA) title bout against Ishe Smith for an opportunity to fight Alvarez, has toned down a bit and even gave props to Canelo.

“I give Canelo respect for accepting this fight, and even though it took him awhile to step up, we’re going to give the fans a great performance on July 12,” Lara (19-1-2, 12 KOs) said Lara via Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I’m coming to show the world I’m the best fighter at 154 pounds.”

Still, Lara wasn’t going to be stopped in guaranteeing his own victory on Saturday.

“This is the biggest fight of my career, and beating Canelo will get me closer to my ultimate goal, a showdown with Floyd Mayweather.”

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