By Keith Idec

FRISCO, Texas – Eleider Alvarez believes Sergey Kovalev is full of excuses.

Kovalev thinks Alvarez is full of himself.

The former WBO light heavyweight champion told BoxingScene.com before a weigh-in Friday afternoon that he senses overconfidence from the Colombian boxer. Alvarez dropped Russia’s Kovalev three times and stopped him in the seventh round August 4 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The 35-year-old Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KOs) will attempt to win back his title Saturday night in an immediate rematch at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility. He is a slight underdog against Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs).

“The way he acts,” Kovalev said, “the way he carries himself and the way he talks, it’s like he’s already the best, like he’s already undisputed. Just wait, Saturday will be the rematch and the rematch will show who is who.”

Kovalev claims he over-trained for their first fight. He avoided making that mistake again after hiring trainer Buddy McGirt and strength and conditioning coach Teddy Cruz to work with him in Oxnard, California, for this rematch.

“He didn’t hurt my head,” Kovalev said. “It’s just that my body was drained. He knocked me down and I didn’t have the power or energy to stand up and fight. He got really lucky that I over-trained again. It’s my problem, really. Right now, in my training camp, Buddy didn’t let me over-train.”

The 12-round, 175-pound championship match between Alvarez and Kovalev will be streamed live by ESPN+ from Ford Center at The Star. The ESPN+ portion of the show will begin at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT, when emerging lightweight contender Teofimo Lopez (11-0, 9 KOs) will face veteran Diego Magdaleno (31-2, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder.

“Thanks to Buddy,” Kovalev said. “He saved my energy for the fight. Right now, I feel much better. We’ll see Saturday. But mentally, I didn’t break. I knew that in the first fight that if I didn’t knock him out by the fourth round, I’m done. I couldn’t say before the fight, ‘I’m not ready.’ I took the risk and I lost. It’s my mistake. I took the risk and paid for it.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.