Canelo Álvarez
Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán (American Spanish: [saˈul ˈalβaɾes]; born July 18, 1990), commonly known as Saúl Álvarez, or by his nickname "Canelo" Álvarez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the Ring magazine middleweight title since 2015. Previously he had two reigns as light middleweight world champion, holding the WBA (Unified), WBC, and Ring titles between 2011 and 2013, and the WBO title from 2016 to 2017. At middleweight he also held the WBC and lineal titles between 2015 and 2017.
As of May 2017, Álvarez is ranked as the world's best boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec;[2] and eighth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) and The Ring.[3] He is also ranked as the world's best light middleweight by the TBRB[4] and BoxRec,[5] as well as ranked the best middleweight by The Ring and second by the TBRB.
"Canelo" in Spanish is the masculine word for cinnamon, which is a common nickname for people with red hair.[10]
Álvarez' third official bout of his career was a win over future IBF Lightweight Champion, Miguel Vázquez on January 20, 2006, at his home town of Guadalajara, Jalisco. On June 28, 2008, Álvarez defeated Miguel Vázquez again in a rematch. He also made world history in that fight card when all of his six brothers fought on the same night, Canelo being the youngest.[14][15][16] The only downside was that three of them failed to win their pro debuts. The other four more experienced brothers won.[17] On March 6, 2010, he got a crushing third-round knockout over Brian Camechis in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.[18] Álvarez defeated Jose Miguel Cotto on May 1, 2010, on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley undercard in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on HBO PPV to retain his NABF Welterweight title.[19]
He next fought against the former WBC Welterweight Champion Carlos Baldomir at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on the Shane Mosley vs. Sergio Mora undercard.[22] Baldomir stated in a pre-fight interview that he wants the winner of Mora vs. Mosley, as he said "after I knock out El Canelo."[23] Baldomir weighed in at 153.4 pounds for the bout, that was contracted for 151 pounds. In California, if a fighter is overweight he is penalized 20 percent of his purse and that percent is given to the other fighter. However Álvarez declined to take the extra $12,000 from Baldomir.[24] In the 6th round Álvarez landed a crushing blow that knocked Baldomir out cold. Álvarez is the only one to knock Baldomir out and is only the second boxer ever to stop Carlos Baldomir.[25] Álvarez successfully defended his Light Middleweight title unanimously versus former world champion Lovemore N'dou in Veracruz.[26] It was a competitive fight despite the wide margins on the official scorecards of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109.
Álvarez successfully defended his newly awarded WBC Light Middleweight title against the Ring #4 ranked Super Welterweight[29] and current EBU Light Middleweight Champion, Ryan Rhodes.[30][31] Álvarez defeated Rhodes by a technical knockout victory in the twelfth round on June 18, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco.[31][32]
On 17 September 2011, Álvarez successfully defended his title with a TKO in Round 6 over The Contender competitor Alfonso Gomez at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, winning by technical knockout victory in the sixth round. Álvarez got a knockdown in Round 1, but there were a couple cautious rounds that left Gomez win the majority of the first five rounds. Álvarez was looking for one shot and got it in the sixth round. He backed up Gomez with a right hand and followed up with a flurry to get the referee to jump in and stop the fight.[33]
Álvarez was scheduled to defend his title against former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz in the main event of a Showtime PPV card dubbed "Knockout Kings" from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. However, Ortiz was unable to defeat underdog Josesito Lopez in what was supposed to be a "tune-up" fight on June 23 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, losing due to referee stoppage (broken jaw) and cancelling his bout with Álvarez as a result.
Due to this upset, Lopez was instead penciled in to face Canelo at the MGM Grand on the September 15th date, to challenge for Saul's WBC Light Middleweight title. Álvarez won the fight via fifth-round technical knockout after dominating Lopez from start to finish to stay undefeated and increase his record of 41-0.
During the first rounds, Trout seemed to have a good game plan. However, Álvarez's power took over after the third round, eventually scoring a knockdown in the seventh round to give Trout the first knockdown of his career. Álvarez set up the knockdown with a pawing left jab, followed by the straight right hand. The fight was closer than expected, but Álvarez still managed to dominate Trout throughout the fight with impressive head movement and shocking power. All three judges scorecards were in favor of Álvarez with a fair margin (115-112, 116-111 and 118-109).[37][Video 1] Although the last score card (118-109) created controversy, the majority of sport analysts had Álvarez winning by at least 2 points. Immediately after the bout, Trout stated that he hadn't underestimated Álvarez but that he trained to fight a completely different fighter.[citation needed]
Mayweather held a world title at welterweight (147 pounds), but he also still owned a junior middleweight title (154), which he won by outpointing Miguel Cotto in May 2012. And was moving back up in weight to face Álvarez with their belts on the line, although the fight was contested at a catchweight of 152 pounds. The titles disputed for the bout were Álvarez's WBC, WBA "regular" & The Ring Light Middleweight titles, and Mayweather's WBA "super" Light Middleweight title.[38][39]
Mayweather defeated Álvarez by majority twelve-round decision. In a fight that many thought was going to be Floyd Mayweather's toughest, he outclassed the younger Álvarez. Many observers at ringside thought Mayweather won all twelve rounds.[40][41]
According to HBO, the fight generated 900,000 buys on PPV, which equated to around $58 million in domestic revenue. This was the first time since 2002, that a PPV gnereated 900,000 which didn't include Mayweather, Pacquiao or De La Hoya. That bout was a heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.[51]
In front of a record breaking crowd of 51,240, Álvarez regained a world title at light-middleweight following a devastating left hook to the body in round 9. Smith was also knocked down once in round 7 and once in round 8, in a fight where Álvarez was in control from the opening bell. Álvarez landed 157 punches from 422 thrown with a connect rate of 37%, compared to Smith landing 115 from 403 thrown, a connect rate of 29%. The fight drew an estimate of 300,000 PPV buys.[61][62][63]
Golden Boy president Eric Gomez spoke to The Ring Magazine in December and stated that Álvarez had no immediate plans to vacate the WBO title and may fight in the first quarter of 2017, at 154, defending his world title. He also stated that there was still plans for Álvarez to fight Golovkin later in the year.[64]
On December 22, the WBO made Álvarez the mandatory challenger to the world middleweight title, skipping the previous number 1, Avtandil Khurtsidze, which was considered controversial, due to Álvarez currently not fighting at middleweight. Khurtsidze, who had ten days to appeal decision, decided not to.[72][73] On December 24, Álvarez and his team gave Chávez a week to accept the terms, which included a purse of $7m, or he would consider other options.[74] On January 12, 2017 De La Hoya and Álvarez called for the contract to be signed, which was supposedly sent to Al Haymon, who advises Chávez Jr. and urged him to sign it.[75] A day later, Chávez Jr. claimed he had agreed all the demands set by Álvarez and was said that he would sign the contract. According to Chávez Jr. the new demands included a weight limit set at 164.5 pounds and a $6 million base purse plus PPV revenue percentages.[76]
On January 13, Álvarez officially confirmed the fight to take place on May 6, 2017. A rematch clause was also put in place if Chávez Jr. wins the fight and another clause for every pound Chávez Jr. weighs over the limit, he would be fined $1 million.[77][78][79] On February 4, Golden Boy Promotions announced that the fight would take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.[80] On February 22, Álvarez announced that he planned on vacating his WBO light middleweight title following the Chávez Jr. fight and fighting at middleweight.[81] The fight was announced a sell out on March 3 with 20,000 tickets being sold after they initially went on sale to the public on February 20.[82] Álvarez spoke to boxing reporters on April 11, in a teleconference, he said that he would fight as a 160-pound middleweight after the Chávez Jr. fight.[83]
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it was reported that Álvarez would earn $5 million and Chávez would earn $3 million before any shares of PPV. The figures would increase based on PPV sales.[84][85]
In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,510, Álvarez won the fight by a shutout unanimous decision in dominating fashion. All three judges scored it 120-108 for Álvarez. Chávez was very cautious throughout the fight. At times, he came forward and also had Álvarez against the ropes, but failed to throw any punches. This led to jeers from the crowd in the later rounds due to lack of action. Álvarez spoke to HBO's Max Kellerman in the post fight interview, speaking of his fighting style, "Tonight, I showed I could move, I could box, I showed as a fighter I can do all things. I thought I was going to showcase myself as a fighter that could throw punches, but he just wouldn't do it. I've shown I can do lots of things in the ring, anything a fighter brings, I've shown I can showcase myself." CompuBox Stats showed that Álvarez landed 228 of 604 his punches thrown (38%) and Chávez landed 71 of 302 (24%). By the end of round 5, Álvarez landed 102 punches compared to Chávez's 25 landed.[86][87][88] Early figures revealed that the fight generated at least 1 million buys.[89] A replay was shown on regular HBO a week later and drew an average of 769,000 viewers.[90] This was the first boxing match to generate over 1 million PPV buys that didn't include Mayweather, Pacquiao or De La Hoya since 2002, which saw Lennox Lewis retain his heavyweight world titles against Mike Tyson. Later sources confirmed the fight did close to 1.2 million buys, which means it would have generated around $80 million.[91]
On May 9, Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions told the LA Times that Álvarez had an immediate rematch clause in place on his contract, whereas Golovkin, if he loses, won't be guaranteed a rematch.[93] De La Hoya later also revealed in an interview with ESPN the fight would take place at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds with no re-hydration clauses, meaning Golovkin and Álvarez would be able to gain unlimited amount of weight following the weigh in.[94] On June 5, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue of the fight, and would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in the state of Nevada. The AT&T Stadium, Madison Square Garden and Dodgers Stadium missed out on hosting the fight.[95]
Beginnings[edit]
In an interview, Álvarez explained that he was born in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, but his family was at the time living in San Agustín de Tlajomulco de Zúñiga. At the age of five, his family moved to their current home of Juanacatlán, Jalisco.[6] Growing up on his family's farm, he learned horseback riding, which he continues today.[7][8] Álvarez is the youngest of eight children, seven of them boys; all of his brothers also became professional boxers.[9] Among his brothers are welterweight boxers Ramón Álvarez, Ricardo Álvarez and former Interim WBA World Champion, Rigoberto Álvarez."Canelo" in Spanish is the masculine word for cinnamon, which is a common nickname for people with red hair.[10]
Amateur career[edit]
Álvarez started boxing at 13 years old, after watching his older brother Rigoberto Álvarez's debut as a professional boxer.[11] In 2004 he won the silver medal at the Junior Mexican National championships, held in Sinaloa. He became the 2005 Junior Mexican National Boxing Champion in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, at the age of 15. Canelo has an amateur record of 44-2.[12]Professional career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Álvarez turned professional at 15, shortly after his championship at the Junior Nationals, because his trainers at the time, father-and-son team Chepo and Eddy Reynoso, were unable to find suitable junior opponents for him. In his first 19 months as a professional, he knocked out 11 of his 13 documented opponents, all of whom were significantly older. However, the elder Reynoso stated in 2013 that Álvarez had fought 10 more times in that span, winning all 10 by knockout, but that these fights (all in small venues in the Mexican state of Nayarit) were so poorly documented that it was not worth the trouble to seek to have the record corrected.[9] His weight fluctuated in his three years as a professional including two documented fights within the Light welterweight limit of 140 lbs before he settled in the Welterweight division at 147 lbs.[13]Álvarez' third official bout of his career was a win over future IBF Lightweight Champion, Miguel Vázquez on January 20, 2006, at his home town of Guadalajara, Jalisco. On June 28, 2008, Álvarez defeated Miguel Vázquez again in a rematch. He also made world history in that fight card when all of his six brothers fought on the same night, Canelo being the youngest.[14][15][16] The only downside was that three of them failed to win their pro debuts. The other four more experienced brothers won.[17] On March 6, 2010, he got a crushing third-round knockout over Brian Camechis in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.[18] Álvarez defeated Jose Miguel Cotto on May 1, 2010, on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley undercard in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on HBO PPV to retain his NABF Welterweight title.[19]
Light middleweight[edit]
His sixth-round TKO win over Luciano Leonel Cuello for the WBC Silver Light Middleweight bout was held in the Vicente Fernández Arena.[20] During the post fight interview Mexican singer Vicente Fernández gave Álvarez a horse. He was also given a horse by the mayor of Tepic, where Álvarez sometimes trains.[21]He next fought against the former WBC Welterweight Champion Carlos Baldomir at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on the Shane Mosley vs. Sergio Mora undercard.[22] Baldomir stated in a pre-fight interview that he wants the winner of Mora vs. Mosley, as he said "after I knock out El Canelo."[23] Baldomir weighed in at 153.4 pounds for the bout, that was contracted for 151 pounds. In California, if a fighter is overweight he is penalized 20 percent of his purse and that percent is given to the other fighter. However Álvarez declined to take the extra $12,000 from Baldomir.[24] In the 6th round Álvarez landed a crushing blow that knocked Baldomir out cold. Álvarez is the only one to knock Baldomir out and is only the second boxer ever to stop Carlos Baldomir.[25] Álvarez successfully defended his Light Middleweight title unanimously versus former world champion Lovemore N'dou in Veracruz.[26] It was a competitive fight despite the wide margins on the official scorecards of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109.
WBC light middleweight champion[edit]
On March 5, 2011, Álvarez defeated EBU Welterweight Champion Matthew Hatton by unanimous decision, for the vacant WBC Light Middleweight belt. The bout was televised on HBO and took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.[27] Álvarez was docked a point in the seventh round for hitting after the break. All three ringside judges scored the bout at 119-108 in favor of Álvarez.[28] He lost 1 point for an illegal punch in the seventh round, which was uniformly scored 9-9. Álvarez landed 47% of his 626 punches, including 53% of his power shots, while Hatton connected with just 25% of his 546 total blows.Álvarez successfully defended his newly awarded WBC Light Middleweight title against the Ring #4 ranked Super Welterweight[29] and current EBU Light Middleweight Champion, Ryan Rhodes.[30][31] Álvarez defeated Rhodes by a technical knockout victory in the twelfth round on June 18, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco.[31][32]
On 17 September 2011, Álvarez successfully defended his title with a TKO in Round 6 over The Contender competitor Alfonso Gomez at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, winning by technical knockout victory in the sixth round. Álvarez got a knockdown in Round 1, but there were a couple cautious rounds that left Gomez win the majority of the first five rounds. Álvarez was looking for one shot and got it in the sixth round. He backed up Gomez with a right hand and followed up with a flurry to get the referee to jump in and stop the fight.[33]
Álvarez vs. Cintron[edit]
Álvarez defeated Kermit Cintron in the 5th round by TKO. Álvarez spent the first three rounds feeling out Cintron, a former Welterweight Champion, before punishing the Puerto Rican with body shots and straight right hands in the fourth round. He knocked Cintron down once and had him in trouble at the end of the round, but Cintron was saved by the bell. In the fifth round, Cintron came out and caught Álvarez with some combinations, but Álvarez eventually overpowered him with several powerful straight right hands, and the referee stepped in and stopped it.[34]Álvarez vs. Mosley[edit]
Richard Schaefer announced that Álvarez's next bout on May 5, 2012, on the undercard of Miguel Cotto's clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and co- featured, on Cinco De Mayo. On February 11, Shane Mosley was announced as Álvarez's next opponent on May for his WBC Light Middleweight title. Álvarez defeated Mosley after 12 rounds via unanimous decision.[35][36]Álvarez vs. Lopez[edit]
Álvarez was originally set to fight Ring Top 10 Super Welterweight, and former Welterweight Champion, Paul Williams on September 15, 2012. However, on May 27, 2012, a motorcycle accident in the U.S. state of Georgia paralyzed Williams from the waist down, ending his boxing career. Álvarez's possible opponents for his September bout were James Kirkland, Austin Trout, Delvin Rodriguez and most notably, Victor Ortiz.Álvarez was scheduled to defend his title against former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz in the main event of a Showtime PPV card dubbed "Knockout Kings" from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. However, Ortiz was unable to defeat underdog Josesito Lopez in what was supposed to be a "tune-up" fight on June 23 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, losing due to referee stoppage (broken jaw) and cancelling his bout with Álvarez as a result.
Due to this upset, Lopez was instead penciled in to face Canelo at the MGM Grand on the September 15th date, to challenge for Saul's WBC Light Middleweight title. Álvarez won the fight via fifth-round technical knockout after dominating Lopez from start to finish to stay undefeated and increase his record of 41-0.
Álvarez vs. Trout[edit]
His next fight took place on April 20, 2013 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas against Austin Trout. The fight was supposed to take place during Cinco de Mayo weekend as the co-main event of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout against Robert Guerrero; however, due to a contract disagreement between Álvarez and Mayweather regarding their potential fight on September 14, 2013, Álvarez opted to headline his own card. Álvarez successfully defended his WBC Light Middleweight title and won the WBA & the vacant The Ring Magazine Light Middleweight title.During the first rounds, Trout seemed to have a good game plan. However, Álvarez's power took over after the third round, eventually scoring a knockdown in the seventh round to give Trout the first knockdown of his career. Álvarez set up the knockdown with a pawing left jab, followed by the straight right hand. The fight was closer than expected, but Álvarez still managed to dominate Trout throughout the fight with impressive head movement and shocking power. All three judges scorecards were in favor of Álvarez with a fair margin (115-112, 116-111 and 118-109).[37][Video 1] Although the last score card (118-109) created controversy, the majority of sport analysts had Álvarez winning by at least 2 points. Immediately after the bout, Trout stated that he hadn't underestimated Álvarez but that he trained to fight a completely different fighter.[citation needed]
Álvarez vs. Mayweather[edit]
Álvarez, The Ring Magazine's no. 1 rated Light Middleweight and unified WBC/WBA "regular" Light Middleweight Champion, fought against The Ring Magazine's no. 1 pound for pound fighter, WBA super welterweight champion and WBC/The Ring Magazine Welterweight Champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr., on September 14, 2013.[38]Mayweather held a world title at welterweight (147 pounds), but he also still owned a junior middleweight title (154), which he won by outpointing Miguel Cotto in May 2012. And was moving back up in weight to face Álvarez with their belts on the line, although the fight was contested at a catchweight of 152 pounds. The titles disputed for the bout were Álvarez's WBC, WBA "regular" & The Ring Light Middleweight titles, and Mayweather's WBA "super" Light Middleweight title.[38][39]
Mayweather defeated Álvarez by majority twelve-round decision. In a fight that many thought was going to be Floyd Mayweather's toughest, he outclassed the younger Álvarez. Many observers at ringside thought Mayweather won all twelve rounds.[40][41]
Catchweight fights at 155 lbs[edit]
Álvarez vs. Angulo[edit]
Álvarez fought Alfredo Angulo on March 8, 2014.[42] Álvarez came out strong, throwing combinations. In a fairly lopsided beating, Álvarez scored a tenth round stoppage over Angulo punctuated by a lead left uppercut.[43]Álvarez vs. Lara[edit]
Álvarez fought Erislandy Lara on July 12, 2014, at the MGM Grand in a non-title match. Lara's WBA light middleweight title was not on the line as the fight took place at a 155-pound catchweight, and both fighters weighed in at precisely 155 pounds. Álvarez rehydrated to 171 pounds while Lara came into the ring at 166 pounds. In a very close and competitive fight that went to a split decision, Álvarez came out on top with the two judges scoring 115–113 in favor of each fighter and the final judge scoring 117–111 in favor of Álvarez.[44] The final scorecard was controversial as many observers considered it far too wide. According to CompuBox, Lara landed 55 jabs to nine from Álvarez, who landed the jab at a five percent connect rate. Álvarez managed to land 88 power punches while Lara landed 53 power punches. Lara's clean punching alis defense and movement were weighed against Álvarez's effective aggressiveness.[45] Lara came out in dominant fashion, utilizing a stick-and-move style and capturing the early rounds. Álvarez was later able to hammer away to the body when he had Lara on the ropes but never adjusted to Lara's one-two combinations. Lara's lead hand played a huge role in this combination's effectiveness, but his output dropped in the middle rounds. Álvarez was able to cut Lara with a lead left uppercut in the seventh round.[46] Although the decision remains controversial, any talk of a rematch in the future was dismissed by Oscar De La Hoya who went on to say, "No one wants a rematch."[47]Álvarez vs. Kirkland[edit]
On May 9, 2015, Álvarez defeated James Kirkland in a non-title super welterweight bout at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas via third-round knockout.[48] Kirkland came out aggressively, but Álvarez wobbled him and scored a knockdown via straight right hand in round one. In the third round, a counter right uppercut sent Kirkland to the canvas. Álvarez ended the fight with a jab to the body quickly followed by the right hand, creating the knockout.[49]Álvarez vs. Cotto[edit]
On November 21, 2015, Álvarez won the WBC, lineal and The Ring middleweight titles with a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto in front of a sold-out crowd of 11,274 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The fight took place at a catchweight of 155 lbs. Although Cotto gave a tremendous effort, moving nicely throughout the fight, the judges clearly went for Álvarez's brute strength, with surprisingly wide scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111. ESPN.com had the fight much closer at 115-113 for Álvarez. According to CompuBox, Álvarez landed 155 of 484 punches (32 percent), and Cotto landed 129 of 629 (21 percent), with Álvarez landed the heavier blows and inflicting more damage.[50] Two months after the fight, the WBC awarded Álvarez the WBC Diamond middleweight title at their headquarters in Mexico.According to HBO, the fight generated 900,000 buys on PPV, which equated to around $58 million in domestic revenue. This was the first time since 2002, that a PPV gnereated 900,000 which didn't include Mayweather, Pacquiao or De La Hoya. That bout was a heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.[51]
Álvarez vs. Khan[edit]
In early 2016, it was announced that Khan was moving up two weight divisions to middleweight, to fight Álvarez for his lineal, Ring and WBC world middleweight championship titles. The fight took place on 7 May 2016, at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.[52][53] The bout was on HBO PPV.[54][55] Khan kept his distance in the first 5 rounds, using his speed to come in and step out which initially caused trouble for Canelo. In round 6, Canelo landed a devastating right hand that knocked out Khan.[56] The fight generated a live gate of $7,417,350, according to figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That total came from 13,072 tickets sold, far short of a sellout. The Álvarez-Khan gross places it 34th-best in Nevada history.[57] After the fight, Álvarez and his team invited Middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin into the ring to promote a future fight with Golovkin. During the post-fight interview with HBO's Max Kellerman, Álvarez stated, "Let's fight now." [58] On May 18, 2016 Álvarez vacated the WBC title he defended in fighting Amir Khan. The WBC immediately awarded the title to Gennady Golovkin.[59]Return to light middleweight[edit]
Álvarez vs. Smith[edit]
It was announced on June 24, Álvarez was to drop the extra pound to 154 and challenge 27 year old, WBO champion Liam Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) from England on September 17, 2016, in the main event on an HBO PPV card. Golden Boy Promotions announced on July 18, the bout would take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the other venue looking to host the fight was the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.[60] Canelo, who had fought his last 5 fights at his preferred 155 lbs catchweight, said, "I am very pleased to announce my next fight against Liam Smith, a tremendous fighter with real knockout power, and the WBO junior middleweight world title owner, I have no doubt that this fight will be give and take, which will fill the expectations of the fans, and I will work with all the enthusiasm as I always do to get the upper hand on Sept. 17."[60]In front of a record breaking crowd of 51,240, Álvarez regained a world title at light-middleweight following a devastating left hook to the body in round 9. Smith was also knocked down once in round 7 and once in round 8, in a fight where Álvarez was in control from the opening bell. Álvarez landed 157 punches from 422 thrown with a connect rate of 37%, compared to Smith landing 115 from 403 thrown, a connect rate of 29%. The fight drew an estimate of 300,000 PPV buys.[61][62][63]
Golden Boy president Eric Gomez spoke to The Ring Magazine in December and stated that Álvarez had no immediate plans to vacate the WBO title and may fight in the first quarter of 2017, at 154, defending his world title. He also stated that there was still plans for Álvarez to fight Golovkin later in the year.[64]
Return to catchweight[edit]
Álvarez vs. Chávez Jr.[edit]
Following Julio César Chávez Jr.'s comeback win against Dominik Britsch in December 2016, he claimed he was back and ready to fight Golovkin at 168 pounds and Álvarez at a 164 catchweight. Negotiations began soon after for a potential HBO PPV fight to take place in 2017 on the Cinco de Mayo weekend, as there was interest from both sides that a fight take place. De La Hoya said a fight with Golovkin would still be likely for September 2017. Golden Boy president Eric Gomez confirmed a catchweight of 165 lbs was agreed between both sides.[65][66][67] WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was on board and said it was a "very attractive fight." and would likely get his organisation involved in the fight.[68][69] Julio César Chávez Sr. spoke on December 18 about the ongoing negotiations saying Golden Boy were offering his son a small amount for the potential big PPV fight. He went on to claim his son was offered a $5m purse with no mention he would get a cut of the PPV revenue, a counter offer was submitted. A rematch clause was also discussed, which Chávez Jr. and his team had no problem with. Chávez Sr. went on to admit that he was fully aware Álvarez is the A-side in the fight, and would settle for no less than 30-35% of the full revenue.[70][71]On December 22, the WBO made Álvarez the mandatory challenger to the world middleweight title, skipping the previous number 1, Avtandil Khurtsidze, which was considered controversial, due to Álvarez currently not fighting at middleweight. Khurtsidze, who had ten days to appeal decision, decided not to.[72][73] On December 24, Álvarez and his team gave Chávez a week to accept the terms, which included a purse of $7m, or he would consider other options.[74] On January 12, 2017 De La Hoya and Álvarez called for the contract to be signed, which was supposedly sent to Al Haymon, who advises Chávez Jr. and urged him to sign it.[75] A day later, Chávez Jr. claimed he had agreed all the demands set by Álvarez and was said that he would sign the contract. According to Chávez Jr. the new demands included a weight limit set at 164.5 pounds and a $6 million base purse plus PPV revenue percentages.[76]
On January 13, Álvarez officially confirmed the fight to take place on May 6, 2017. A rematch clause was also put in place if Chávez Jr. wins the fight and another clause for every pound Chávez Jr. weighs over the limit, he would be fined $1 million.[77][78][79] On February 4, Golden Boy Promotions announced that the fight would take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.[80] On February 22, Álvarez announced that he planned on vacating his WBO light middleweight title following the Chávez Jr. fight and fighting at middleweight.[81] The fight was announced a sell out on March 3 with 20,000 tickets being sold after they initially went on sale to the public on February 20.[82] Álvarez spoke to boxing reporters on April 11, in a teleconference, he said that he would fight as a 160-pound middleweight after the Chávez Jr. fight.[83]
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it was reported that Álvarez would earn $5 million and Chávez would earn $3 million before any shares of PPV. The figures would increase based on PPV sales.[84][85]
In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,510, Álvarez won the fight by a shutout unanimous decision in dominating fashion. All three judges scored it 120-108 for Álvarez. Chávez was very cautious throughout the fight. At times, he came forward and also had Álvarez against the ropes, but failed to throw any punches. This led to jeers from the crowd in the later rounds due to lack of action. Álvarez spoke to HBO's Max Kellerman in the post fight interview, speaking of his fighting style, "Tonight, I showed I could move, I could box, I showed as a fighter I can do all things. I thought I was going to showcase myself as a fighter that could throw punches, but he just wouldn't do it. I've shown I can do lots of things in the ring, anything a fighter brings, I've shown I can showcase myself." CompuBox Stats showed that Álvarez landed 228 of 604 his punches thrown (38%) and Chávez landed 71 of 302 (24%). By the end of round 5, Álvarez landed 102 punches compared to Chávez's 25 landed.[86][87][88] Early figures revealed that the fight generated at least 1 million buys.[89] A replay was shown on regular HBO a week later and drew an average of 769,000 viewers.[90] This was the first boxing match to generate over 1 million PPV buys that didn't include Mayweather, Pacquiao or De La Hoya since 2002, which saw Lennox Lewis retain his heavyweight world titles against Mike Tyson. Later sources confirmed the fight did close to 1.2 million buys, which means it would have generated around $80 million.[91]
Middleweight[edit]
Álvarez vs. Golovkin[edit]
Immediately after the Chávez fight, Álvarez announced that he would next fight Gennady Golovkin on the weekend of September 16, 2017 at a location to be determined. Golovkin, who stated he would not attend the fight, was joined by his trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler.[92] Golovkin joined him in the ring during the announcement to help promote their upcoming bout. Speaking through a translator, Álvarez said, "Golovkin, you are next, my friend. The fight is done. I've never feared anyone, since I was 15 fighting as a professional. When I was born, fear was gone." When Golovkin arrived in the ring, he said, "I feel very excited. Right now is a different story. In September, it will be a different style -- a big drama show. I'm ready. Tonight, first congrats to Canelo and his team. Right now, I think everyone is excited for September. Canelo looked very good tonight, and 100 percent he is the biggest challenge of my career. Good luck to Canelo in September."[86]On May 9, Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions told the LA Times that Álvarez had an immediate rematch clause in place on his contract, whereas Golovkin, if he loses, won't be guaranteed a rematch.[93] De La Hoya later also revealed in an interview with ESPN the fight would take place at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds with no re-hydration clauses, meaning Golovkin and Álvarez would be able to gain unlimited amount of weight following the weigh in.[94] On June 5, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue of the fight, and would mark the first time Golovkin would fight in the state of Nevada. The AT&T Stadium, Madison Square Garden and Dodgers Stadium missed out on hosting the fight.[95]
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