Salvador Sanchez. Ricardo “Finito” Lopez. Julio Cesar Chavez.
All three were great Mexican fighters, winning dozens of world championships and proving their worth by being enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is one of the top fighters in boxing today. Could he join the lexicon of legendary Mexican fighters?
That question could be answered Saturday night when Alvarez faces Miguel Cotto at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The 12-round bout will top an HBO Pay Per View telecast, beginning at 6 p.m.
In his last bout on May 9, the 25-year-old Alvarez, who made his pro debut at the age of 15, knocked out James Kirkland in the third round before more than 31,500 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
The fight between Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) and Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) has created a lot of buzz over the last several weeks, since it is expected to be another battle in the long rivalry between boxers from Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) has become the face of Mexican boxing over the last year. Cotto, who represented Puerto Rico in the 2000 Olympic Games, has won world title belts in four different weight classes.
Both Alvarez and Cotto have won their last three bouts. Alvarez’s only career loss was by majority decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013.
Alvarez’s has displayed a stellar offensive skill set, where his punching power has come into play. But Cotto and his experience in significant fights could be too much for Alvarez, or Alvarez’s youth and strength could be too much for Cotto.
“It’s going to be a great fight,” said Alvarez during a recent teleconference. “The styles will accommodate the fighters to engage in a great fight. I prepared for different things in the ring. If the knockout comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, I’m prepared for whatever happens in the ring.”
The Cotto-Alvarez fight has not come without controversy. Earlier in the week the World Boxing Council (WBC) stripped Cotto of the middleweight world title belt, saying Cotto did not want to pay the $300,000 sanctioning fee and another $800,000 to unbeaten Gennady Golovkin as step-aside money.
Golovkin is the interim WBC middleweight champion and the winner of the Cotto-Alvarez fight was obligated to fight Golovkin. Only Alvarez can win the title.
FRIDAY BOUTS
Ventura County will be well-represented in Las Vegas this weekend.
On Friday night, Saul Rodriguez will fight Ivan Najera (16-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-round bout inside the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan. Rodriguez (18-0-1, 13 KOs) has trained in Oxnard and is co-trained by Eduardo and Robert Garcia. The bout will precede the 10-round super middleweight bout between Gilberto Ramirez (32-0, 24 KOs) and Gevorg Khatchikian (23-1, 12 KOs). Both will be televised live on truTV, beginning at 7 p.m.
Across town, inside The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Erik Ruiz (14-4, 6 KOs) of Oxnard will fight unbeaten Roy Tapia (11-0-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout. Ruiz is a 2010 Oxnard High graduate. The fight is on a Golden Boy Promotions card, but is not scheduled to air on Estrella TV, which will televise other fights on the card beginning at 6 p.m.
