Golden Boy Promotions President & co-Founder Oscar De La Hoya said that he is "in the process of securing the Cinco De Mayo and Mexican Independence Day weekend dates in May and September" in Las Vegas so Canelo Alvarez can fight on those days following Alvarez' 12-round defeat of Miguel Cotto on Saturday night, according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Alvarez would presumably fight "at the new MGM-AEG arena" and on HBO PPV. His future "clearly is about" a fight against Gennady Golovkin, though De La Hoya "wouldn't say when or where" such a fight would take place. De La Hoya, who reps both Alvarez and Golovkin, said, "Is he going to fight Triple-G? Of course. Canelo is going to fight the best and the fans deserve the best" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/23). YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote the wheels are "finally in motion to put together" the Alvarez-Golovkin fight that "so many want to see" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/22). In L.A., Bill Dwyre wrote Alvarez-Golovkin will probably "become one of those big-deal boxing matches that you will hear hyped from now until your head aches" (L.A. TIMES, 11/22).
CATCH A SHOOTING STAR: Carp reported Alvarez on Saturday night "showed a champion's spirit" in beating Cotto before a sellout crowd of 11,274 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Cotto made $15M for the fight compared to $5M for Alvarez (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/22). In Las Vegas, Case Keefer wrote chants of "Mexico" and raucous applause "filled the arena as Alvarez stood victorious with the WBC championship belt strapped around his chest, and The Ring title resting over his shoulder." The 25-year-old Alvarez "confirmed his spot as boxing’s new ruler by outmuscling" Cotto, one of the "most storied champions of the past decade." Alvarez is the "assumed successor to the pay-per-view crown recently left open by Floyd Mayweather’s retirement and Manny Pacquiao’s insistence of fighting only once more" (LASVEGASSUN.com, 11/21). The AP's Tim Dahlberg wrote Alvarez "made a case for himself as boxing's next star Saturday night." The bout was "the latest in the boxing rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico." Alvarez "was the clear favorite of the crowd at the Mandalay Bay casino," but Cotto "was competitive and a lot of the early rounds were close" (AP, 11/22). ESPN.com's Dan Rafael wrote Alvarez and Cotto "delivered an entertaining fight that had the crowd cheering throughout." The victory will "go down as one of the best for Mexico in its rich and legendary boxing rivalry with Puerto Rico" and should launch Alvarez "to even greater stardom" (ESPN.com, 11/21).
BIG NIGHT FOR THE SPORT: USA TODAY's Martin Rogers wrote Saturday was a night "where boxing was the winner." De La Hoya, said, "People were eager to see an exciting fight after the disappointment with Mayweather and Pacquiao and its lack of action. This is a new era is our sport. Get used to this, exciting fights, what fans want to see." Rogers noted De La Hoya "could scarcely disguise his glee at the end of a crucial night for his company," which "has Alvarez as clearly its standout, frontline star." Yet the "more important issue was the realization, without any doubt, that boxing’s path to renewed relevance comes not by relying on chit-chat and boorish comments and crass behavior and unfounded hype, but in producing genuinely tough matchups between combatants that want to both win and entertain" (USATODAY.com, 11/22). In Las Vegas, Ed Graney wrote under the header, "Competitive Bout Boon For Boxing." Six months after millions of people "who opened their wallets only to feel cheated by the spectacle that was Floyd Mayweather Jr. against Manny Pacquiao, boxing on Saturday night just might have won back a few of those disenchanted souls." Boxing "continues to wander aimlessly through a forest of different sanctioning bodies and multiple champions in weight classes, having not figured out yet that all the paying public wants is good fights." Graney: "This one qualified" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/22).
