‘There is no comparison between me and Canelo’: Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. says his son can get the better of Alvarez

No translator is needed to understand a smirk.

While legendary Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. denies taking what appeared to be a slight measure of satisfaction on television after watching his younger countryman Canelo Alvarez lose to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013, Chavez says drawing comparisons between himself and Alvarez is ridiculous.

“People are very confused and wrong because there is no comparison between me and Canelo,” Chavez said Friday in a conversation interpreted from Spanish with the Los Angeles Times. “Most people know who I am and what kind of legacy I have.”

Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 knockouts) has transfixed fans in bouts like last year’s knockouts of Amir Khan and Liam Smith, the former to open T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and the latter before more than 50,000 fans at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas. Chavez did the same thing in fights against Greg Haugen, Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor,

Returning to T-Mobile on May 6, Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) will step inside the ring in a 164-pound catch-weight bout that livens the debate, with the legendary boxer’s son vowing to punctuate his father’s insistence that there is no comparison.

“It’s nothing personal. It doesn’t affect me at all,” the elder Chavez said. “It’s just an important fight for Mexican boxing as a whole.”

Television analysts know, however, there’s more to this clash of the country’s two most popular fighters.

Fans are torn over which side to choose.

On one side, there’s Chavez Jr., the former middleweight-champion and son of the 54-year-old former super-featherweight, lightweight and super-lightweight champion who was unbeaten after 90 professional fights and finished 107-6-2 with 86 KOs.

On the other is Alvarez, the recent 154-pound champion who is seeking to prove he can handle the extra weight while bound for a September date against unbeaten, three-belt middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

“Everyone’s into it,” said Ricardo Jimenez, former La Opinion boxing writer and veteran publicist.

“People who don’t know anything about boxing are coming up to me asking, ‘Canelo’s fighting Chavez? I want to see that.’ The people in Mexico who grew up with Chavez — the old school — is with him. The new school is with Canelo. He used to be on Televisa every week, boxing or not. He’s a celebrity.”

It’s the younger Chavez’s contention that fight fans understand the distinction.

“People in their 20s who might hear of me don’t care about Canelo because their fathers or mothers have told them about who I was,” he said.

Jimenez covered Chavez Sr.’s career, documenting the relentless fighter who personified the term “savage.”

“He never likes any fighter being compared to him. … Everyone has told him he’s the best there ever was, so he believes no one should be compared to him. And it’s the truth,” Jimenez said.

“He’s the best Mexican boxer I’ve ever seen. And as good as [Erik] Morales, [Marco Antonio] Barrera, [Juan Manuel] Marquez were, they were not even close. He was a natural. He knows no boxer has reached his level.”

Chavez has trained his son before, but now he provides only counsel.

The younger man’s commitment to training and the sport have been questioned because of weight issues and a positive marijuana test. But Chavez sees a turn for this career-making event.

“I’m very impressed by the ways Junior is taking this fight so seriously. With all the hard work and preparation that Junior has already done, that’s what’s going to lead him to victory,” he said.

“This is what the fight is about, to see how legitimate Canelo Alvarez is, to see if he has the actual power he says he has.”

Chavez Jr. has said he expects to rehydrate following the May 5 weigh-in to be around 180 pounds on fight night. His father predicts the younger boxer’s fighting spirit will prevail.

“It’s going to be a tough fight. Both of them are going to go neck and neck,” the elder Chavez said. “However, I know how Junior prepares — his discipline and his mentality — will decide how he wins the fight.”

Alvarez, 26, has — perhaps politically — tried to downplay any potential friction with Chavez given the widespread respect for the legend. Alvarez’s promoter, Eric Gomez, said the comparison talk is driven by competitive nature.

“Chavez Sr. has it, and a big thing that makes Canelo such a great fighter is how competitive he is. When you go into the battle of a boxing match, where you don’t know if you’re going to win or be carried out on a stretcher, you have to have that warrior mentality. These guys sign up for fights because they believe they cannot be beaten.”

So, did Chavez take any delight in seeing Alvarez picked apart by Mayweather in their 2013 match? Chavez says no. “You’re crazy. I would never want a Mexican to lose a fight like that. I wasn’t happy.

Then he added, “But, of course, yes, I would’ve defeated Mayweather. In my best moment, yes, I would’ve won.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

@latimespugmire