RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saul "Canelo’" Alvarez cranked up the temperature on Saturday’s undisputed super-middleweight showdown with William Scull at Thursday night’s final presser.

After Riyadh Season played host to undisputed fights at both light-heavyweight and heavyweight over the past 18 months, it is time for Canelo and Scull to repeat the trick at 168 lbs.

Ring Magazine champion Canelo puts his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line against undefeated IBF king Scull at ANB Arena at around 6am local time Sunday morning.

So far, the build-up has been respectful between the two champions but Canelo broke away from those tactics as the pair did their final talking before the fight.

The Mexican icon revealed he had heard that Scull, The Ring’s No.5-rated super-middleweight, had suggested he was going to "eat him up" during their fight.

“He says he’s going to eat me but the only thing he’s going to eat is this,” said Canelo, raising a clenched fist to the assembled media at BLVD City.

“I hope he goes for it but I don’t think he will. Everybody talks s--t, but when they step in the ring they feel something different. He’s going to feel something different for sure. This is nothing new for me, but for him he will feel something different.”

It has been suggested that Scull could present Canelo the same questions that another Cuban, Erislandy Lara, asked him during their contentious fight in July 2014. That night Canelo won a split decision but many thought he was lucky to leave the MGM Grand Garden Arena with a victory.

When asked whether he expects a similar fight with Scull, Canelo said: “I expect the same.

“At the beginning of the fight it will be a little bit difficult but I’m a different Canelo now and he’s going to feel it on Saturday night, trust me.”

Canelo never lost the IBF title currently held by Scull but he was stripped of it when he failed to fulfil his mandatory obligations with that sanctioning body. He opted to fight Edgar Berlanga in September instead, leaving Scull to win the vacant belt via a unanimous decision win over Vladimir Shishkin in October, which moved him to 23-0 (9).

It means that Canelo, now 62-2-2 (39) is vying to become a two-time undisputed super-middleweight champion.

He said: “That really means a lot because it is a piece of history for my career and that’s what I want. That sort of thing motivates me, so that’s why it means a lot.

“It has always been one of my dreams to fight in another country and now I’m here. I’m ready for Saturday.”

Scull, meanwhile, typically refused to divulge any details of Saturday night’s gameplay but did insist he has no intention of going "crazy."

He said: “We will have to take it round by round. I’ve had great preparation and I’m a boxer who can manage all distances in the ring.

“We will have to see how that plan develops but we won’t go crazy in the fight. We won't reveal the fight plan now and put food on the table for our opponents.

“I’ve always faced different cultures and faced people who have underestimated me. I don’t really care what people say, all I know is I’m going into the fight to show that, yes, you can.”