Alvarez-Chavez PPV Buys Reportedly Exceed 900,000; Portends Well For Sept. 16 Fight

The Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. boxing match last Saturday "exceeded 900,000" PPV buys and "has a chance to reach or exceed 1 million by the time all the numbers are in," according to sources cited by Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. It is an "extraordinary number," considering that Alvarez' fights last year with Amir Khan and Liam Smith "combined didn't reach that number." It generally takes "several months, and sometimes over a year, for the final sales from cable companies to come in." Alvarez has "long been one of the big draws in the sport." It is also a "good harbinger" for the Sept. 16 fight between Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. While Alvarez has been a "big draw," Golovkin "hasn't been a hit" on PPV. He sold 150,000 for his '15 fight with David Lemieux and "only 170,000" for his March 18 win over Daniel Jacobs. But Alvarez-Golovkin is "arguably the best fight in boxing that could be made, and expectations are that the fight will generate significant revenue" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/11).