You shouldn?t need too many compelling reasons to watch Canelo Alvarez take on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., on Saturday night. Alvarez is one of the best boxers in the sport ? he also happens to hold the No. 1 spot on the Forbes Pound-For-Pound Moneymakers list ? and he?ll battle Chavez in a grudge match between two proud Mexicans who want to impress their countrymen on Cinco De Mayo weekend.
Alvarez is a -600 favorite, and if you ask for predictions from most boxers and experts, they?ll likely lean toward the recognized middleweight champion. But a victory for Alvarez ((48-1-1, 34 KOs) isn?t 100 percent certain. Chavez (50-2-1, 32 KOs) certainly has the chance to pull off the upset.
There are plenty of reasons to watch the main event of the HBO PPV broadcast (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Here are but three of them.
1) How will the two of them handle the weight disparity? Surprisingly, Chavez weighed in less than the 164.5 catchweight limit, standing on the scale at 164 pounds and forcing those who doubt his work ethic and attitude to think a little harder about the potential outcomes in this fight. Alvarez also weighed 164 pounds, but some boxing observers predict Chavez will still outweigh Alvarez by at least 10 pounds after they both hydrate themselves before the fight actually begins. Either way, Alvarez had positive things to say about Chavez?s results on the scale. ?I’m very happy he made his weight,? Alvarez said after the weigh-in. ?That’s proof that he worked hard and trained hard.?
2) Will Chavez?s trainer have an impact?: For this fight, Chavez enlisted the services of legendary trainer Nacho Beristain ? who formerly coached Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricardo Lopez ? and apparently, the training camp went well. It?s hard to imagine Beristain transforming Chavez completely in their first fight together, but perhaps Beristain?s motivation can make a difference. ?When I have done things with heart, I have done them well. When I haven?t done them well, the results have shown,? Chavez said, via Inside HBO Boxing. ?? Nacho doesn?t tell me what I want to hear. If I do something wrong, he tells me. That?s what I like about him.?
3) These guys really seem not to like each other: If you haven?t yet seen HBO?s Face Off between Chavez and Alvarez, it?s worth checking out, especially when host Max Kellerman asks if they respect each other. Look at the intensity with which Alvarez answers the question.
Yeah, they really seem not to like each other.
