This is truly set to be a fan?s dream and it seems like the brass in charge finally listened to the desires and wishes of the public?
Tonight in Arlington, Texas, Mexican boxing superstar Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez will enter the ring to square off for what many will see as pound-for-pound supremacy against knockout chieftain, Gennady ?GGG? Golovkin. Fans of the sweet science across the globe are breathing a collective sigh of delightful relief at the thought of a superfight which materialized without as much as a hitch. There was no back and forth banter between rival promoters and camps, just as there were no accusations of the use of PEDs or ethnic slurs got on cellphone video. This is truly set to be a fan?s dream and it seems like the brass in charge finally listened to the desires and wishes of the public. Upon reading such a fabricated passage, there?s no need to pinch yourself. Go ahead and take a cold shower and say it ain?t so because well, it ain?t.
A tad short of three months ago, we learned that while the monstrous AT&T Stadium was indeed available during Mexican Independence Day weekend, a showdown such as Alvarez versus Golovkin would not be the event taking place there. At times, it seems that long gone are the coveted days where high profile, championship bouts were held in a stadium which could accommodate tens of thousands of crazed boxing fans. It?s been a good while, for the most part since we got a true, bona fide center of attention style contest in a place other than an arena in New York or the gluttonous, hedonistic playground in south Nevada. Since Alvarez will instead fight Liam ?Beefy? Smith, then it?s more than likely, should history be any reliable indication that whenever or if ever he faces Golovkin, there won?t be any tickets starting at $40 as they are for Saturday?s fight in north Texas.
In some ways, it?s unfair to put Canelo to a boxing litmus test against Mexico?s most legendary fighter, Julio Cesar Chavez. His last fight was over ten years ago and that was as much more a testimonial farewell fight than anything else. When he was flying his highest in the late 1980?s and early 90?s, many of his contests (such as his unforgettable first meeting with Meldrick Taylor) were on cable networks such as HBO as opposed to pay-per-view. At the same time, he could fill the largest of stadiums to the top row because he fought the best when he was called upon to do so. Many profess that he didn?t sidestep many challenges, unlike what many fans and media members have thrown in the direction of a certain redhead from Guadalajara. Things would have been a little different had Canelo not declared that he doesn?t ?(expletive) around? when it comes to fighting the sport?s top names after he knocked out Amir Khan last May in Las Vegas. Not long thereafter, he let his case rest upon the assertion that he wouldn?t be told what to do and who to fight. Instead, he vacated his WBC World middleweight title.
Are the fans who are paying to see this fight live in Arlington suckers or ardent supporters of Canelo Alvarez? Granted, one can buy (provided available) a seat in AT&T Stadium for a few Andrew Jacksons, but the least expensive seat as of Friday afternoon is $65. That?s not a bad deal at all and if you?ve never been to a high profile boxing event in person, then one day you should. The doors open early in the afternoon and fans can see upwards to ten total bouts or more leading up to the main event. However, sports fans in general are usually drawn to the marquee scrap of the night, especially during a weekend when college football is offering must see matchups such as Louisville against Florida State and Ohio State versus Oklahoma. Is Canelo looking to clean out the junior middleweight division or your pocket?
The pay-per-view telecast is priced at $64.95 in the United States, so is this a case of buyer?s remorse well before the ?buy? button is clicked? Weren?t we recently liberated from having to pay more than $60 to see a fight which was touted as surefire hit when in all actuality it was nothing more than a breeze of a night as well as payday for the ?A? side? Upon the initial announcement of the contest, the almost customary boycott crowd surfaced and declared the bout to be a complete farce. A money grab. Here?s a tidbit of information. Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KO?s) is only twenty-six years old. As he enters the ring for the fiftieth time as a professional, he?ll of course find WBO junior middleweight champion Liam ?Beefy? Smith (23-0-1, 13 KO?s) of Liverpool, Merseyside, U.K. staring at him and not anyone else. The undercard has been hailed as interesting by some, yet the main event is what counts.
Canelo?s promoter, the legendary Oscar De La Hoya said in a recent interview that more than ten thousand fans will come from Mexico for the fight. That?s pretty good, even if it?s blind obedience. Alvarez?s loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. a few years ago was excusable. He wasn?t ready and his stock didn?t fall much afterwards, especially since he didn?t crawl under a rock, turn to drugs or any other vice. Instead, Saul fought Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara, respectively the following year. That really got our hopes up, didn?t it? ?Wow,? we thought. This guy shook off the woodshed schooling he got from Floyd and got right back at it. He knocked out James Kirkland and Amir Khan and sandwiched in a thorough victory over Miguel Cotto in between. Our hopes were high. Don?t tell people that you don?t (bleep) around just to do an about-face and do the (bleep)in? instead. That?s not cool. All we needed was for someone in charge to tell us what many of us may already think.
Canelo Alvarez is the Golden Boy?s well?.Golden Boy. As previously stated, the loss to Mayweather was no biggie. Should he get his pair handed to him by a boxing outlaw such as Gennady Golovkin, then even square one wouldn?t be a good place to restart. It?s a drag for sure. Let?s hope Santa was watching.
