T-Mobile Arena on Saturday will "be unveiled for sporting purposes" when Canelo Alvarez fights Amir Khan, and the new Las Vegas venue "seems to be ideally situated" to be boxing’s Mecca moving forwards, according to Martin Rogers of USA TODAY. That is a status it "will claim from of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, owned by the same casino, but which has seen better days and will be eased into a lesser profile while T-Mobile and its strong supply of corporate boxes rakes in the cash." That boxing may "have a new spiritual home is not lost on Alvarez," who is "aiming to further establish himself as the fight game’s primary draw." Alvarez: "It is important to me to headline the first event here. This is an arena that down the years will provide us with tremendous fights." Rogers noted the presence of Alvarez at the top of the bill on Cinco de Mayo weekend, the "most cherished timeslot on the boxing calendar, marks the return to boxing promotion’s upper ranks of Oscar De La Hoya," who heads Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya said, "This fight worries me a bit because the last guy who opened up or inaugurated an arena was myself when I fought ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley." De La Hoya was referring to the fight in June '00 to open Staples Center in which he "surrendered his WBC welterweight title" (USA TODAY, 5/5). In Las Vegas, Matthew Crowley notes the opening of T-Mobile Arena "was a highlight of MGM Resorts’ busy year so far." MGM Resorts Chair & CEO Jim Murren in a conference call Thursday said that the venue, which opened with a concert on April 6, "did more business in its first three weeks than the MGM Grand Garden did all of last year" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/6).
WHERE'S THE BUZZ? In Las Vegas, Matt Youmans writes while Alvarez-Khan "could be a competitive fight, it’s not capturing the imagination of the mainstream media or the public." The buzz is "barely audible." William Hill Sports Book Dir Nick Bogdanovich said, "Boxing is a great sport, and when you get a really good matchup, the vibe you get from it is off the charts. This is one of the bigger fights of the year, but nowadays that’s not saying a whole lot. We’ve had a lot of business on this fight, shockingly so to me." Showtime analyst Al Bernstein said, "We talk about the megafights and how they fit into the business scheme of boxing. In boxing, the pay-per-view market is depressed right now. This fight will be an intriguing one. It’s going to tell us how big a star Canelo is." The HBO PPV numbers for this weekend's fight are "projected to be far less than half of the record-shattering 4.4 million buys HBO and Showtime drew for Mayweather-Pacquiao" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/6).
RADAR LOVE? ESPN's Mike Greenberg said of the Alvarez-Khan fight, "Boxing, I think (is) fighting to retain its relevance in an increasingly MMA world." He added, "This is pretty much the best thing they've got going right now and this pales in comparison as far as the attention that is received to what will happen when Ronda Rousey gets back or when Conor McGregor goes back. Even at UFC 200 without McGregor is going to be a much bigger deal than this, so that I think goes to show where this sport has fallen." ESPN's Mike Golic said, "You're looking for that big fight again. ... We know it was Pacquiao and Mayweather, but what a dud that was. So you're looking for that great hook" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN, 5/6).
FACE OF THE FUTURE: In Boston, Ron Borges writes Alvarez' PPV numbers have "given him strength in the marketplace few others can boast." This weekend's fight will earn him $10M "plus an upside" of the HBO PPV telecast (BOSTON HERALD, 5/6). USA TODAY's Bob Velin writes Alvarez "has the ideal resume to be the new face of boxing." De La Hoya said, "We haven’t had a fighter with crossover appeal since, probably myself. Manny Pacquiao brought in the masses on a global scale, [Floyd] Mayweather brought in all those fans who wanted to see him lose, and the many fans that supported him. But with Canelo, you have the die-hard boxing fans, you have the casual fans who are curious, but one important element is the women fans." Velin writes if there is "one negative to Canelo being the 'face of boxing,' it’s his inability or unwillingness to speak English." He does "all his interviews in Spanish." De La Hoya "knows his star needs to learn the language if he is going to be as big in the U.S. as he is in Mexico." De La Hoya: "Believe me, I’ve bought about nine Rosetta Stones for him." He added, "He’s clean-cut, he says the right things, he has a good head on his shoulders and he’s never in trouble. Offseason he doesn’t drink or smoke, he’s a perfect candidate to be a great representative for many years to come" (USATODAY.com, 5/5). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Gordon Marino writes Alvarez to be a legend will "eventually have to step in the ring and beat a fighter many consider to be the pound-for-pound best: Gennady Golovkin." De La Hoya "thinks a showdown between Alvarez and Golovkin is inevitable but that the hype for the mega-bout needs more time to 'marinate'" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/6).
GOLDEN SLUMBERS: USA TODAY's Steve Springer reports De La Hoya "considered giving up his company when an offer was made to buy it while he was still in rehab." He said, "I was tempted to sell because I thought to myself, ‘Golden Boy Promotions takes a lot of my time. It’s a lot of hard work. Let me focus on myself. Let me focus on my family. Let me drift off into the sunset and just play golf.’ But when the cloud in my head started to fade, I realized that my boxing business is everything to me. I started this company from the ground up and I’m not going to let it go just because I made a couple of wrong decisions in my life. So when I was finally awake, I decided to keep the company." DeLa Hoya "wasn’t pleased with the way it had been running" under then-CEO Richard Schaefer when he "returned from rehab." De La Hoya: "I had not been aware of what was going on because I was dealing with my personal issues. But when I lifted myself back off the canvas, I saw exactly what was going on and it wasn’t the direction I wanted my company to go. So I took back control" (USA TODAY, 5/6).
