Some boxing weekends just feel a little different than normal. This is one of those weekends. Golden Boy Promotions will be presenting what will be one of the biggest events this year as HBO PPV will be live from the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. In the main event, two Mexican stars will be on display as arguably the biggest draw in the sport, Saul Canelo Alvarez squares off against the son of one of the Mexican boxing legends, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The event will take place under a catch weight of 164.5 pounds.
Many consider Canelo Alvarez to be the biggest, current superstar in the sport. His events sell out in minutes and if they chose to have his fights in bigger venues, he would likely do 50k+ every fight. When it comes to the sport of boxing, he is the A-Side of negotiations against anyone and he calls the shots. Alvarez has taken over the spot of being the main fighter on Cinco de Mayo weekend. A spot previously held by Floyd Mayweather. The biggest weight limit Alvarez has fought at previously was 155. This will be a big step up in size in that he will be technically fighting at Super Middleweight
The only 26-year-old, Alvarez has been fighting as a pro since he was 15 and will be entering the ring with a record 48-1-1 with 34 by stoppage. His only loss was the Mayweather, but Canelo has an extensive resume including Miguel Cotto, Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, Shane Mosley, and Amir Khan. The last two years he has given boxing candidates for KO of the year with his KO of James Kirkland in 2015 and his destruction of Amir Khan in 2016. Now he hopes to stop who will be by far the biggest man he has ever had to face in the ring.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is one of the most popular fighters in the world. He was born into the sport as his father; Julio Cesar Chavez Sr was one of the all-time greats. Actually, he ended his career with a record of 107-6. Most in the business consider Chavez Jr lazy and almost seems disinterested in the sport at times. However, he seems very motivated in this Mexican vs Mexican battle. He would love to dethrone the man that some feel was gifted this platform and forced down the throat of some. His lethargic attitude has seemed to gain fans considering that he the man the “people” want to win in this match-up.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr has been fighting for 14 years now. The 31-year-old has a record of 50-2-1 with 32 KOs. He does not have near the resume that Canelo has. His only win of note was Andy Lee. However, it is not the wins that have defined his career it is his losses. Losing to Sergio Martinez is no stain on his career. Considering, he actually almost pulled it off with a furious last round barrage that would have skyrocketed his career. However, the lost to an underdog Andrzej Fonfara is what hurt him. In that fight, Chavez appeared to quit in the corner, something that is almost unforgivable to Mexican fans.
This is a fight that Canelo Alvarez is expected to win. In order to move on to fight later in the year against a better opponent. Nevertheless, this is one of those events where you just feel like something special is going to happen. The crowd may be like no other seen this year. This is one of the hardest tickets to get this year. In fact, you cannot even find too many tickets available by a third party. In the fight itself, I think Canelo stops Chavez Jr in the seventh or eighth. However, this atmosphere will more than make-up for what skill this fight might lack.
As for what happens after this fight, the rumors of Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin will continue. There is a chance that there could be a rematch if Julio Cesar Chavez Jr were to pull it off. However, we will be saving all that for twitter and other social media outlets after the fight. As for right now, this should be a spectacular weekend for a spectacular event. It may not reshape the sport, but it will give people a glimpse of how beautiful it can be. So, sit back relax, and enjoy the fight.