WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is getting ready to start his sparring for the most important fight of his 8-year pro career against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on 9/14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rob Smith
Mayweather Sr: Floyd Jr. isn’t afraid of Canelo
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Floyd Mayweather Sr. says his son Floyd Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s) has seen all there is to see of undefeated WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO’s0 and he’s not worried in the least about whether or not he can beat the 22-year-old fighter. Floyd Jr. absolutely knows he can beat him when they face each other in two months on September 14th.
Mayweather Sr. said to Hustleboss “My son has fought enough fights to let me know what he sees and what he thinks. There’s no fear in Mayweather; no fear there.”
Cotto to be trained by Freddie Roach for Oct 5th comeback; Delvin Rodriguez likely opponent
Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) will be trained by Freddie Roach when he returns to the ring in a comeback on October 5th. According to ESPN, Delvin Rodriguez is the possible opponent for the 32-year-old Cotto, and HBO will be televising it.
Cotto vs. Rodriguez isn’t exactly an HBO type of main event fight, but hopefully the fight will be packaged with a good undercard, because as it is the fight is a mismatch. Rodriguez has already been beaten by Austin Trout, Ashley Theophane, Rafal Jackiewicz, Jesse Feliciano, Andre Eason, and Isaac Hlatshwayo.
Mayweather: Cotto is a better fighter than Canelo
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s) has been holding back on his thoughts about his September 14th opponent WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO’s), but Mayweather has taken the gloves off after the trash talking that started in Los Angeles in their last city of their press tour. Mayweather says he thinks Miguel Cotto is a superior fighter than the 22-year-old Canelo.
Mayweather said to ESPN “I think Miguel Cotto was a stronger fighter, he was a tougher fighter, and I think a better fighter.”
Ponce De Leon wants Russell Jr. at 130 lbs.
Former two division world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (44-5, 35 KO’s) wants to face unbeaten #2 WBO, #3 WBA, #5 WBC, #8 IBF, featherweight contender Gary Russell Jr. (22-0, 13 KO’s) next on September 7th, according to The Record. De Leon, 32, was reportedly offered the fight and he definitely wants the fight, but at 130 lbs. [super featherweight], not featherweight.
De Leon said to The Record “I was offered Gary Russell Jr., and I want that fight but at 130. I’m going to fight on September 7…I hope Russell takes the fight, I already accepted it. Golden Boy wants the fight.”
Chavez Jr. wants Golovkin at 168; thinks he can KO him
Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1, 32 KO’s) says he wants to face WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (27-0, 24 KO’s) at 168 lbs, and he thinks he’s can KO him if the fight gets made, according to The Record. Chavez Jr. might be open to fighting Golovkin at 160, but he prefers 168 so that he’ll be full strength.
Chavez Jr. said to The Record “It could also be at middleweight [in facing Golovkin], but it would be better in between or at 168 because I struggle with the weight and I’m stronger when I go up. I think I can knock him out.”
Mayweather-Canelo reasonably priced at $65 to $75 on PPV
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Golden Boy Promotions has decided to price the upcoming September 14th fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and their fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at $65 for standard definition and $75 for high definition pay per view. This is good news. Golden Boy could have gotten really greedy and priced the fight into the $70s for standard definition and boxing fans likely would have purchased the fight in just as high numbers as they will for the $65 fight card.
The recent tour by Mayweather and Canelo will no doubt make the Mayweather-Canelo fight a lot bigger, as will the All Access episodes that will be televised by Showtime. Whether the fight will break the all-time PPV buys record set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 is another matter altogether.
Schaefer: Canelo’s win over Trout took him to a new level
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer thinks WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s 12 round unanimous decision win over former WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout last April established the 22-year-old Canelo as a fighter that is for a real.
Schaefer thinks the popularity that the red-haired Mexican fighter now has will possibly catapult him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. into breaking the 6-year pay per view record of 2.4 million buys set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.
Canelo will have to neutralize Mayweather’s speed to win
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) If the inexperienced WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo’ Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) is to have any chance of winning on September 14th in his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s), Canelo is going to have to find a way to neutralize Mayweather’s huge speed advantage over him. Without doing that, Canelo doesn’t have prayer in this fight.
Mayweather is a lot faster than Canelo’s last opponent Austin Trout, and Canelo had problems with Trout’s speed and defense. That fight was very, very close and you ignore the judging for that fight, because those scores didn’t reflect what happened in the ring.
De La Hoya: Canelo is on his way to becoming great
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Without a knockdown and some very generous scoring for his last fight, WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) would have ended up losing his last fight to Austin Trout last April in San Antonio, Texas in their open scoring fight. As it was, Canelo won a fight that looked to be more of a draw than a victory in the minds of a lot boxing fans.
Don’t tell that to Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya, because he feels Canelo is on his way to achieving greatness in his career.
De La Hoya said to the press today “With the help of the people surrounding him, Canelo is on his way to becoming great.”