CHICAGO ? No thanks to a cavalcade of hugs and clinches, the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather mega bout last May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was only a blockbuster in terms of financial success. Despite Pacquiao?s best efforts to put on a show worthy of its $99 on pay-per-view tag, the fight was a boring spectacle as Mayweather adamantly refused to engage, opting instead to slip and slide and backpedal his way to a unanimous decision win.
There will be no such disappointment this November 21 when Miguel Cotto defends his WBC middleweight title against Canelo Alvarez at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the boxing capital of the word. Two of the hardest hitting fighters of this generation, Cotto and Alvarez, who will brawl at a catch weight of 155 pounds, is sure to fuel the fire of the time-honored rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Nearing the twilight of a Hall-of-Fame career, Cotto, the pride of Puerto Rico, remains a murderous puncher at age 34 and has a sterling record of 40 wins and only four defeats with 33 KOs.
After losing a close split decision to Austin Trout in 2012, the 5-foot-7 Cotto hooked up with legendary trainer Freddie Roach and is on the crest of three consecutive knockout wins. Alvarez, a 5-foot-9 redhead from Guadalajara, Jalisco in Mexico, had nothing but violent intentions after turning professional in 2005. Since then, the 25-year old Alvarez has compiled a 45-1-1 record including 32 KOs. His lone blemish was a 12-round decision loss to Floyd Mayweather in September 2013. But in his last outing, Alvarez showed the vicious might that has catapulted him to super stardom, knocking out James Kirkland inside of three brutal rounds. In an age where crass commercialism and conflicts among promoters have prevented big fights from happening, the Alvarez-Cotto showdown is a breath of fresh air. ?This is the fight of the year that the boxing fans have been waiting for between two of the biggest stars in the sport today,? Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN. Biggest fight of the year?
