Brand-new IBF Light Middleweight Champion “King” Carlos Molina says when he heard the ring announcer say the words “and the NEW”, he could finally relax a bit.

“I knew I had reached one of the goals I set on the day I started boxing,” said the happy champion, now home in his beloved Chicago.

Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) won a split (116-112 and 117-111 over-ruling a card of 112-116) decision over now former champ Ishe Smith on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, on the undercard of the 12-round Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez fight.

But like every elite competitor, reaching one goal just means moving onto the next one.

“Now that I’m home, I want to start defending my belt right away, before the end of the year if possible.” Molina continued. I want (Saul) Canelo Alvarez or (Miguel) Cotto next. Beating either of those guys is the fastest way to Floyd Mayweather, so that’s who I want to fight.”

Truly an inspiration, the habitual underdog Molina says he is grateful to his whole team for believing in him during his difficult climb: his promoter, Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing and Advisor, Luis DeCubas, as well as his training team, Trainer Victor Mateo, co-trainer Lou Askenette, cornerman Harrison “Hammer” Funmaker, and Strength and Conditioning Coach Freddy Cuevas, as well as all the local fighters who helped prepare him for the big fight at Oakley Fight Club in Chicago.

Having been the victim of boxing politics and been ripped off and robbed in several other high-profile fights, Molina also wants to thank a certain sanctioning body: “My sincere thanks to the IBF. If they hadn’t made me the mandatory, there’s no way I would have had this opportunity.”

Molina’s Promoter, Leon Margules, says Molina deserves every bit of the credit he has earned.

“First let me say congratulations to a fighter who works hard every day and didn’t let anything get him down for years. Carlos truly deserves this belt and I am every bit as happy for him as he is. What a great story his climb up the rankings has been.”

Advisor Luis DeCubas says Molina’s victory was one of his proudest moments in a long career in boxing.

“Saturday was one of the most satisfying victories I’ve been a part of in 30 years in the boxing business. I am so proud to be part of Team Molina and so happy for Carlos. I will always tell young fighters about Carlos’s dedication and how badly he wanted it, no matter what they tried to do to him. That’s how you become a champion. He’s a true inspiration.”

Margules says he and DeCubas are going back to work quickly, looking to make a big fight for Molina.

“Carlos is the only world champion in the 154-lb division right now who is not named Floyd Mayweather. If a Canelo or a Cotto want to leverage a world championship into another Floyd fight, they have to go through Carlos… only our guy has something for either one of them if they try it. Carlos will use them to get himself to the front of the line for Floyd.”

Molina says he wasn’t surprised by anything Smith brought to the table on Saturday.

“We had a game plan for him to out-work him and that’s what we did. My team is so strong. We knew exactly what we had to do. It wasn’t easy, but we did it. No fights are easy. But now, looking forward, we’ve also got a plan against Canelo or Cotto. Looking forward to using it on either of them next.”
ABOUT WARRIORS BOXING

Launched in 2003, Warriors Boxing operates under a simple philosophy-bring the best boxers in the world to fight fans, match them in competitive bouts, and in doing so help re-establish the sport of boxing for a new generation.

With a series of successful Pay-Per-View shows and packed houses to it’s credit, the Warriors business model is working wonders in a sport that was sorely in need of the innovation and energy that the company brings to the table.

When it comes down to it though, a promotional company is only as good as the fighters and fights it promotes. Warriors Boxing has delivered on all fronts, with outstanding bouts such as Lara-Molina, Cayo-Peterson, Abraham-Miranda I and II, Miranda-Pavlik, Miranda-Green, Ibragimov-Briggs, Ibragimov-Klitschko, Urango-Hatton, Urango-Bailey, Cayo-Maidana and Ibragimov-Holyfield.

For more information on Warriors Boxing, visit their website at www.WarriorsBoxing.com.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 14, 2013) – Floyd Mayweather truly is “THE ONE.”

The undisputed, pound-for-pound champion put on a clinic against Mexican sensation Canelo Alvarez, handing the 23-year-old superstar his first loss in the toughest test of his career Saturday on SHOWTIME PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) fought with everything he had, but couldn’t solve the puzzle of Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather showcased his signature speed and elusiveness in front of a largely pro-Canelo crowd of 16,746 fans en route to a majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 117-111).

For the night’s work, Mayweather collected a guaranteed $41.5 million and Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight Championships.

“It’s all about skills,” Mayweather said. “I came out tonight and showed my skills. But a true champion like Canelo can take a loss and bounce back.

“My dad had a brilliant game plan. I executed that game plan. I could have pressed it and got the late stoppage, but tonight experience played a major key. Tonight was just my night.”

After the fight, a seemingly frustrated Canelo admitted that Mayweather’s skills and style of fighting were too much to overcome.

“He’s very elusive, he’s a great fighter and that’s why I couldn’t catch him,” Canelo said. “I didn’t know how to get him. It’s as simple as that. He’s very elusive. He’s a great fighter.

“The frustration was getting in there. But simply he’s a great fighter. I didn’t want to lose. I didn’t want to leave here with a loss. But it happens and it hurts.”

After calling Mayweather’s dominating performance SHOWTIME PPV play-by-play announcer Al Bernstein had an insightful observation about young superstar, “Canelo may be the fighter of tomorrow, but he’s not quite yet the fighter of today.”

In the highly anticipated co-main event of the evening, Danny Garcia retained the unified super lightweight world title with an impressive performance against the favored Lucas Matthysse.Utilizing solid combinations and body shots, Garcia executed a solid game plan en route to a unanimous decision (115-111, 114-112, twice).

Matthysse (34-3, 32 KO’s) entered the fight having knocked out five of his last six opponents and a reputation as one of the most feared punchers on the planet. But the Argentinean knockout artist’s power wasn’t as apparent against the aggressive Garcia (27-0, 16 KO’s), who silenced his doubters and defended his WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Titles.

Seemingly down on points, Matthysse came out with a vengeance in the eleventh to kick off the championship rounds, knocking Garcia’s mouthpiece out with a powerful straight right. But, after a brief pause to recover the mouthpiece, Garcia bounced back and floored Matthysse for the first time in his career.

“I’m the champion of the world,” said the proud Philadelphia native. “The champion of the world isn’t scared of anyone. If you can make it out Philly you can make it out of anywhere.

“The only way to slow him down was to go down to the body and throw combinations upstairs. I just let my hands go.”

Garcia landed a straight jab to Garcia’s right eye in the seventh round that completely closed the eye within 45 seconds. Garcia continued, but did so with a comprised depth perception.

“I only had one eye for half of the fight but, it’s no excuse,” Matthysse said. “He fought a great fight. He’s a great champion and we knew he wasn’t intimidated by my punching.”

In the first of three world championship bouts on the telecast, Carlos Molina dethroned defending champion Ishe Smith, capturing the IBF Junior Middleweight World Championship with a split decision victory (112-116, 116-112, 111-117).

In the opening bout of the PPV telecast, Pablo Caesar Cano (27-3-1, 20 KO’s) scored a split-decision victory (97-93, 98-92 Cano, 96-94 Theophane) over Ashley Theophane (33-6-1, 10 KO’s).

The Mayweather-Canelo and Garcia-Matthysse bouts will air in the delayed broadcast on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. ET / PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Brian Kenny served as host of the SHOWTIME PPV telecast with Mauro Ranallo calling the action, Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi serving as expert analysts with Jim Gray and Heidi Androl reporting. The telecast was produced by David Dinkins, Jr., with Bob Dunphy directing.

ABOUT “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO”:
“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship took place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and was promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse squared off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina squared off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which was promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV featured a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event was produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event was telecasted in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. did the expected. One judge didn’t.

It was brilliant. It was bizarre. It was boxing all over again.

Mayweather didn’t have to explain himself for fulfilling the promises he made in dancing around and all over Canelo Alvarez Saturday night at the MGM Grand. It was called The One. For once, the promoters got it right. Two great fighters didn’t show up. Only Mayweather did in a one sided-display of brilliance that further embellished his undisputed claim on being the best of his generation.

Canelo never had a chance. Not one.

Still, a judge gave him one. C.J. Ross scored it 114-114. Maybe, nobody should be surprised. Ross was also one of two judges who scored it for Timothy Bradley in the controversial split-decision over Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 8.

When Ross’ score was announced, there were gasps from a capacity crowd that was dominated by Canelo fans from Mexico. They also had seen what everybody other than Ross had witnessed.

Two other scorecards ensured that Mayweather had a victory by majority decision. On judge Craig Metcalfe’s card, it was 117-111. Dave Moretti scored it 116-112. On the 15 Rounds card, Mayweather scored a shutout. Outgunned and out-classed, Canelo didn’t win a round on this card.

“I can’t control the judges,’’ Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) said after moving in and out while landing punches with sniper-like speed and accuracy.

It was the right answer from Mayweather, who collected a record-setting guarantee of $41.5 million. Still, it didn’t explain Ross’ score. There had been plenty of talk before opening bell about a rematch. A buzz for the junior-middleweight fight was in the air for days. Money was being made. A pay-per-view record for the Showtime telecast was a real possibility. At the MGM Grand’s sports book, one of the popular bets was a draw. Odds on a draw were 10-1 on Thursday and Friday. Early Saturday, they had dropped to 8-1.

Mayweather’s dominance of the fight might have eliminated any appetite for a rematch, despite what Ross’ score might say.

Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KOs) entered the ring 13 pounds heavier than the 152 pounds he recorded at Friday’s weigh-in. He was bigger and looked it, especially in the upper body. The 165-pound Canelo out-weighed Mayweather by about 15 pounds. But that was no advantage for the young Mexican. It only meant he was a bigger target for Mayweather. A stationary one, too.

“I couldn’t connect,’’ said Canelo, who could wind up with a career-high $12 million once he gets his undisclosed share of the television money. “He was just too elusive, too smart and too experienced.’’

Canelo did not dispute the loss. He said he knew he had been beaten.

It’s strange that C.J Ross didn’t.

Danny Garcia said it was his job to take away Lucas Matthysse’s power.

Mission accomplished.

Garcia (27-0, 16 KOs) employed patience and smarts to nullify that proven power for a unanimous decision over Matthysse (34-3, 32 KOs).

Matthysse was the early aggressor. The junior-welterweight dictated the pace as he stalked Garcia, who retained the 140-pound title.

In moving forward, however, Matthysse stepped into a trap set brilliantly by Garcia. First, Matthysse walked into body shots. Then, there were repeated right hands. Not long after a head butt in the fifth round, an ugly mouse appeared below Matthysse’s right eye. It wasn’t clear whether the butt caused the bruise. From the seventh through the 11th rounds, swelling began to close the eye as he continued forward and straight into Garcia’s right.

In the 11th, Matthysse knocked out Garcia’s mouth piece with a right hand. But Garcia still took the round, knocking down Matthysse with a sucession of puches along the ropes.In the 12th, Garcia was penalized a point for a low blow,

By then, however, it wasn’t enough to take the victory away from the Philadelphia fighter.

There was only one way to score the Ishe Smith-Carlos Molina fight: Dull and duller. Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) won it, scoring a split decision and taking the International Boxing Federation’s version of the junior-middleweight title from Smith (25-6, 11 KOs). But there weren’t many cheers or boos about the scoring. There were only yawns for zero action in a fight that went to Molina, who prevailed with some aggression in the early rounds.

Mexican welterweight Pablo Cesar Cano (27-3-1, 20 KOs) bloodied Ashley Theopane’s nose, rocked him with a left in the third, nearly knocked him down with a right in the fifth and backed him up for eight of the 10 rounds, yet had to wait and wonder whether he won the first televised fight. Cano did, scoring a split decision. But he didn’t do enough to convince judge Richard Ocasio, whose score was the first announced on a curious card that favored Theopane (33-6-1, 10 KOs), a Mayweather-promoted fighter.

Luis Arias (7-0, 3 KOs), a super-middleweight from Milwaukee, wore Packer green-and-gold into the ring. Then, he made James Winchester (16-9, 6 KOs) of Reidsville, N.C., look like the Jacksonville Jaguars. Arias scored a shutout, winning every round in a six-round unanimous decision in the final bout before the pay-per-view telecast began. Arias was the fourth Mayweather fighter to win.

Ronald Gavril (7-0, 5 KOs) , a super-middleweight from Romania, made it 3-0 through the card’s first three fights for Mayweather Promotions with a unanimous decision over Shujaa El Amin (12-5, 6 KOs) of Flint, Mich. Gavril suffered a bloody nose early in the bout, but he was the busier fighter throughout the eight-round bout.

Chris Pearson, a Mayweather-promoted middleweight from Dayton, followed Bellows’ first-round TKO with an even quicker stoppage. In the opening seconds, Pearson (12-0, 9 KOs) threw a jab that landed like a baseball bat, leaving Joshua Williams (9-6, 5 KOs) of Westerly, R.I. with a badly bloodied nose. About a minute later, it was over. Referee Russell Mora ended it at 1:14 of the opening round.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s promotional company got things started with a victory.

“Easy Money,’’ was the chant from one of the few fans seated Saturday in a chilly, empty Grand Garden Arena two-and-a-half hours before Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast was scheduled to begin for the card featuring Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez at the MGM Grand.

Lanell Bellows (6-0-1, 5 KOs), a Mayweather-promoted super-middleweight, made it easy with a first-round TKO of Jordan Moore (3-1) of Logan, W.V.

Bellows put Moore onto his knees with a paralyzing body shot, a right-handed hook, 2:30 after opening bell.

LAS VEGAS – It was more of a scene than a weigh-in. More about the crowd than the scale.

The often mundane ritual of fighters in underwear stepping onto a scale was transformed Friday into a rock-and-roll like event that began about five hours before Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Alvarez even arrived at the MGM Grand.

Fans wearing red wigs in honor of Canelo’s hair and caps with Mayweather’s TMT logo stood in a line that snaked through the hallway leading into the Grand Garden Arena and between the slot machines on the casino floor. About 90 minutes before the fighters were scheduled to weigh in, the place was jammed. A crowd of 12,200 was waiting. Fans who had hoped to see them were turned away.

It was called the biggest weigh-in crowd in boxing history. There are no numbers to prove it or disprove it. But it’s fair to say that it was unprecedented and a huge sign that the Showtime telecast of the Mayweather-Canelo card Saturday night has a real chance at breaking the pay-per-view record of about 2.5 million, set in Mayweather’s 2007 decision over Oscar De La Hoya.

Only the buzz for Mayweather-Canelo was off-the-scale.

At 150 1/2 pounds, Mayweather was a pound-and-half lighter than the mandated 152 for the junior-middleweight bout. The catch weight was the source of some controversy. It was supposed to have put Canelo at a disadvantage. At least, the Mayweather camp thought so. But if Canelo had any trouble making weight, it wasn’t evident. He coolly tipped the scale at 152 pounds. Not a fraction of an ounce more. If in fact he did struggle and was weakened in the process, it might become evident midway through Saturday night’s fight, scheduled for 12 rounds. On the scale, however, Canelo looked comfortable.

“I was born ready,’’ Canelo said, abandoning his usual Spanish for English in his final words before leaving the stage to chants from a predominantly Mexican crowd.

Experience is supposed to be one of Mayweather’s biggest advantages over the 23-year-old Canelo, who is stepping onto boxing biggest stage for the first time. But as opening bell gets close, Canelo has remained relaxed and confident. Nothing appears to intimidate him, not even Mayweather, who tried.
The 36-year-old Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) chewed gum and talked at Canelo (42-0-1. 30 KOs) as the two posed, face-to-face, after stepping off the scale. Mayweather held the World Boxing Council’’s specially-made version of the 154 pound belt, which includes seven pounds of gold. At current gold prices, it’s worth about $150,000.
Mayweather, nicknamed Money, grabbed Canelo’s right arm and shoved the belt toward the Mexican challenger. Mayweather wanted him to hold it. Canelo slapped Mayweather’ hand away and walked off.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said Canelo turned to him and said he doesn’t take orders from Mayweather.

“He told me: ‘I’m not going to do what the guy tells me to,’ ’’ Schaefer said.

The fiercely-independent Bernard Hopkins, who was on stage in his role as a Golden Boy partner, was impressed by Canelo’s move.

“Bernard told me: ‘That’s a veteran move,’ ‘’ Schaefer said.

It’s clear Canelo wants no handouts. If he is going to win gold, he intends earn it. Now, the real question is whether he has enough speed in his feet and hands to do so.

“You know how these kids are,’’ said the favored Mayweather, who continued to be about 5-2 pick Friday afternoon at the MGM Grand’s sports book.

In another much-anticipated fight, Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs) and Danny Garcia (26-0. 16 KOs) made weight, 140 pounds each, for their junior-welterweight bout. Garcia had to step onto the scale for a second time. In his first trip to the scale, he was half-pound too heavy, because the scale was rocking.

So was that crowd.

NOTES: Unbeaten super-middleweight Andre Ward, a pound-for-pound contender, was on the weigh-in stage among fighters promoted by Golden Boy and Mayweather. Ward’s presence created a lot of speculation about whether is he still trying to break away from promoter Dan Goossen. Ward went to court in an apparent attempt to break with Goossen. And arbiter ruled in Goossen’s favor. “It’s nothing,’’ Goossen said. “He has a signing in town (Las Vegas) tomorrow (Saturday). So he went to the weigh-in. Andre happens to be a boxing fan. He went there and was brought up on stage. He knows these guys, grew up with them. These are good things, not bad.’

It’s the biggest fight night in recent memory as Floyd “Money” Mayweather puts his 44-0 record on the line against WBC and WBA Super World Light-Middleweight Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Before this superfight, Danny Garcia is out to silence his critics and defend his WBC and WBA Super World Light-Welterweight titles against the powerhouse Argentine Lucas Matthysse, while Ishe Smith defends his IBF World Light-Middleweight title against Carlos Molina. Londoner Ashley Theophane provides the British interest as he faces Pablo Cesar Cano over 10 rounds on a thrilling night of live action on BoxNation!

Join us late on Saturday night (1.30am Sunday) for a truly huge night of boxing LIVE from the MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas.

WATCH THE WEIGH-IN LIVE ON BOXNATION.COM

Website to stream weigh-in free from 10pm to midnight tonight

Tonight at 10pm on the www.boxnation.com website, we’re streaming the weigh-in LIVE as 44-0 Floyd Mayweather and 42-0 Saul “Canelo” Alvarez face off for one final time before the talking stops and the fight of the year begins!

Join us from 10pm tonight to catch the weigh-in before the main event on Saturday night!

WATCH THE OFFICIAL BOXNATION FIGHT PROMO NOW

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 12, 2013) – Unified WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and current WBC Inter-Continental Light Welterweight Champion Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse proved that there is more than one main event scheduled at MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday night. The bout headlines one of the strongest undercards in boxing history and precedes the highly anticipated matchup between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.
Also featured on the undercard are Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina in a 12-Round battle for the IBF Junior Middleweight Title, and Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Ashley Theophane in a 10-Round Welterweight battle.

Here’s what the fighters, promoters and trainers had to say during the today’s press conference:

DANNY GARCIA, Unified Super Lightweight World Champion
“I had a great camp. I trained very hard. I’m prepared for this fight. Come Saturday night I’m going to put on another epic performance.

“I’m starting to feel like a young veteran.

“I’ve been counted out a lot of times, but always find a way to win.”

LUCAS MATTHYSSE, WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion
“Yes, I do believe I should be the favorite. I’ve been coming and getting those very important wins. Come Saturday I know I’m going to come out with the victory.

“I am very well prepared and I want to thank everybody. We are ready to go.”

ISHE SMITH, IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion
“Pray for Oscar De La Hoya and that he gets through this and comes back healthy. Oscar was a great champion and has done a lot for this sport, so please pray for him.

“Carlos is a good fighter and I’m just happy to represent Las Vegas on this big stage and put together a good fight and go out here and execute the game plan.

“To be here today, sometimes I have to step outside my body. I’m just happy to be living life and sharing my testimony with people. I’m excited about this fight.”

CARLOS MOLINA, Top Junior Middleweight Contender
“I’m ready to go. I just want to fight, I wish the fight was right now. I’m in top shape. I want to go out there and prove that I’m the best 154-pounder in the world, no matter who it is. I’m ready.

“Let’s bring up Lucas with a big applause, this Saturday he will become the next World Champion.”

PABLO CESAR CANO, Top Welterweight Contender
“I don’t like to talk, like my opponent. I like to talk with my fists. Saturday night, I’m going to talk with my fists. We’re going to put Mexico in the No. 1 spot, from top to bottom.”

ASHLEY THEOPHANE, Former British Junior Welterweight
“I want to thank the whole Mayweather staff, Floyd and Leonard for giving me this big opportunity. Working with Mayweather Promotions has been amazing. I’m from London, so I’m representing the U.K. in this big event.

“I’ve got Cano here and he’s a very good fighter. But when you look at his record and you look at mine, who has he beaten? He hasn’t beaten anybody. I can guarantee that a lot of the boxing experts and writers here don’t know the guys he’s knocked out. It’s all good to have 20 knockouts and 26 wins, but if you’re knocking out nobodies then it doesn’t mean anything.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions
“As it relates to live-gate, we have a new gate record. The official number now is $20,300,150. So we broke the $20 million mark.

“This is an event within the event. Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse is a main event anywhere, it could be its own PPV. Clearly one of the most anticipated fights in the sport of boxing. I want to give a big thank you to Floyd Mayweather for giving his ‘OK’ to have this amazing showdown on this card. This is without any question the best one-two punch in boxing PPV.

“This is not just a co-main event; it really is top-to-bottom an absolutely fantastic card.

“We are hitting this one out of the park. This PPV is tracking and it’s tracking well, very well. We couldn’t have done it without SHOWTIME PPV, they really have stepped up. What they have done with the SHOWTIME and CBS platforms is unheard of.”

LEONARD ELLERBE, CEO of Mayweather Promotions
“This card, from top to bottom, is the best card that I’ve personally seen in a number of years. The co-main event with Garcia and Matthysse, that’s a main event within itself. It’s going to be a tremendous fight.

“Ashley did it the old-fashioned way. He paid his way to Las Vegas and said he was going to make a name for himself, make his way into Mayweather Promotions.

“He came to our gym and had been training in our gym for about a month or two. Then Ashley asked to box Floyd. From there, the rest is history. He’s 33-5 with 10 knockouts.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, EVP SHOWTIME Sports
“This year has been the strongest programming lineup, the best and biggest fights, and the strongest year for SHOWTIME Sports in a long, long time. It’s been a perfect lead up for this event. For boxing fans, this is Christmas in September, there’s no other way to look at this. And I can’t wait to open the presents at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday.

“This is not an undercard. Regardless of what you’ve heard or seen, this is not an undercard. Danny Garcia has headlined two SHOWTIME cards, Lucas Matthysse has headlined three SHOWTIME cards, Ishe Smith headlined a card for us in February and Pablo Cesar Cano was the co-feature last October in Barclays.

“The bottom line is this event has four main event fights. This is an event where everyone should be in their seats or in front of their TVs by 6 p.m., because all four fights will promise fireworks.”

KEITH KEISER, Nevada State Athletic Commissioner
“We are very happy to be here on Mexican Independence Day weekend at the MGM for this huge fight card on Saturday night.

“We’re very pleased to have this many great athletes up on the stage and in the ring at one time is quite impressive; more impressive than I even thought possible.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, President of Golden Boy East
“I’ve been involved in a lot of big fights, but this is huge. To see an undercard that could just as well be a main event anywhere in the world, it just makes it even better. You get a chance to see boxing at its best.

“Enjoy, because you never know when you might see great fights like this. They only come around every so many years. Thanks for representing that boxing is still alive.”

ANGEL GARCIA, Danny Garcia’s father and trainer
“People still underestimate the champ of the world.

“People still don’t give the Americans props.

“Danny had to earn his, he had to fight for his. I told him that since he was a young kid, nobody will ever give you anything.

“Danny knows how to win. Saturday night, I swear to you, I will not be back-washing my words. If I am, I will cut my head off. I’ll cut my head off, because blood is thicker than anything.”

ABOUT “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO”:
“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale in June, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 11, 2013) – Former world champions, current fighters and members of the boxing press have weighed in on who they believe will win “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” this Saturday, Sept. 14 live on SHOWTIME PPV® from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

So who is going to triumph? Most experts expect a tough, close fight while giving Mayweather the edge, but it is safe to say that when it comes to these two boxing superstars, anything can happen in that ring on Saturday night.

Here’s how the media and boxers, past and current see “The ONE”:

FIGHTERS

Mike Tyson, Former World Heavyweight Champion (Mayweather): “I’ve only seen Canelo fight twice — against [Josesito] Lopez and [Austin] Trout. Trout gave him some trouble and he isn’t as experienced and as technically skilled as Floyd is. Floyd stays in tip-top shape and is a very relaxed fighter. He is at his peak. It’s going to be hard for anybody to beat Floyd now unless he doesn’t train. Floyd has transcended the game so much that the best fighters out there now try to emulate his style. Floyd wins by a decision.”

Lennox Lewis, Former World Heavyweight Champion, (Mayweather): “Mayweather will win because of his speed and experience. He’s been at this level before so that will also be an advantage. He’s the best until proven otherwise. Canelo is talented, young, strong and dangerous … makes it all the more exciting.”

Bernard Hopkins, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion: “This fight is 50/50. It can go either way. Floyd has speed and wisdom. Canelo is strong and big. This is a massive fight and the outcome will impact both of their careers in a major way.”

Paulie Malignaggi, Former World Welterweight Champion, (Mayweather): “You can’t count Canelo out because he’s a natural junior middleweight so he has a chance. But at the end of the day it’s Mayweather winning on points.”

Carlos Molina [who is challenging Ishe Smith] (Mayweather): “At first it looks like Mayweather’s experience and speed will be too much for Canelo. But then you think about it and Canelo is young and strong. This is boxing. You just never know. I would say at this point it is 60-40 Mayweather.”
Chris Arreola, Heavyweight Contender (Mayweather): “He’s got the experience and he’s been in a lot of big fights before. That is not to say Canelo hasn’t, but Mayweather has been in more and knows what to do in a fight of this magnitude. I think Canelo took this fight two fights too soon. Mayweather by decision.”

Zab Judah, Former World Champion (Mayweather): “Mayweather is too fast and has great timing. I just don’t see Canelo hitting him. I don’t see Canelo being able to do anything to Floyd.”

Seth Mitchell, Heavyweight Contender (Mayweather), “Floyd’s boxing IQ is just too great. His offense, defense is just too good.”

Rafael Marquez, Former Two-Division World Champion, (Canelo): “The winner of this fight is the boxer with the most intelligence and power … and I hope it is going to be Canelo.”

Gary Russell, Jr., Undefeated World-Ranked Featherweight: (Mayweather): “In order for Floyd to beat Canelo, he has to keep Canelo on the outside and outbox him and pot shot him. Floyd needs to make it clear that he’s landing the cleaner and more effective punches. For Canelo to win, he needs to make the fight ugly and finish his combinations with a hook. He has to make it ugly and rough for Floyd. If Canelo makes it close, he will win.”

Rau’shee Warren, Three-time U.S. Olympian and Bantamweight Prospect, (Mayweather):”Floyd’s a chameleon; he can adapt to any type of style in the ring. Canelo is a one-dimensional fighter; he wants to bang it out and brawl. He thinks that hitting Floyd in the arms will wear him down, and I think he needs a better strategy than that. It’s going be a good fight though. Canelo is young and hungry, he’s going to come to fight, but he’s going to see that Floyd’s a teacher in there. I have to go with Floyd, but I’m ready to see what Canelo brings to the table.”

Marcus Browne, 2012 U.S. Olympian and Light Heavyweight Prospect, (Mayweather): “I think Floyd wins the fight in 10 rounds because he has a huge edge in experience and he’s a better all-around fighter than Canelo.”

Daniel Jacobs, Middleweight Contender,”I think the fans will be the real winners on this whole card. I don’t really like making predictions but I know that in a card of this magnitude, the fans will come out on top. All of the fighters have to be at 100 percent because if at any given second a mistake is made that might be the deciding factor in both fights.”

Lucas Matthysse, Interim WBC Super Lightweight Champion, “If the fight goes the distance then Floyd Mayweather will win but if Canelo Alvarez fights intelligently he could win the fight.

Adrien Broner, Floyd Mayweather will win by KO in the late rounds.

MEDIA MEMBERS

Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press, (Mayweather): “Floyd will benefit from the short layoff between fights. I think he will be sharper and stronger. Canelo will have trouble getting to 152 pounds, then have trouble catching Floyd all night. I see an easy unanimous decision and, of course, a huge payday for Floyd.”
Steve Carp, Las Vegas Review-Journal (Mayweather): “Mayweather is too experienced and too sharp for Canelo. If they fought two years from now Canelo would probably win, but right now Mayweather is the superior boxer. Mayweather by unanimous decision.”
Bob Velin, USA Today, (Mayweather): “Experience will be the difference. Mayweather is used to being on the world’s biggest stage; Canelo is not. And, of course, Mayweather is by far the superior boxer. And this will be a boxing match, not a slugfest. Mayweather wins a unanimous decision.”
Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times, (Mayweather): “Mayweather Jr. is very well facing the strongest fighter he’s ever gone against in Mexico’s ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. But to know Mayweather is to understand he reasons with perhaps the most astute boxing mind in the world. Whether it be Alvarez’s youth, his recent stamina issues or the fact that Mayweather’s sharpness is enhanced in taking his shortest layoff in more than a decade, believe he knows he’ll win this one, too, likely by decision, and improve the number next to his cherished zero in the loss column to 45.”
George Willis, New York Post, (Mayweather): “Mayweather wins by decision based on his experience in the big moment. He’s the master of adjustments which he’ll likely need to do against the young and hungry Alvarez. Alvarez has got to get to Mayweather’s body to have a chance. If he does, Floyd will have to protect his ribs, which could expose his chin.”

Kevin Iole, Yahoo, (Mayweather): “Mayweather will see all of Canelo’s punches and Floyd rarely gets hit by punches he sees. As long as he doesn’t get caught, I think Floyd easily outboxes Canelo and wins a big (unanimous) decision.”

Dan Rafael, ESPN, (Mayweather): “Mayweather will be super-sharp, having just fought in May, and that’s bad news for Alvarez. Mayweather wins a convincing decision after a few tough early moments.”

Gordon Marino, Wall Street Journal, (Mayweather): “I don’t think Alvarez will be able to cut the ring off on Mayweather. I also think Canelo will be an easy target for righthand counters. Mayweather wins by decision.”

Mark Whicker, Orange County Register, (Mayweather): “Mayweather by decision, because it’s hard to see Canelo doing something no one else has ever done.”

Matt Breen, The Philadelphia Inquirer, (Mayweather): “Nope, Canelo is not the one. Until Floyd begins to show signs of slowing down, it’s tough to pick against him. He’ll outwit Canelo and force him into his fight, avoid his power and drag him to a decision. Floyd wins unanimously.”

Jose Luis Camarillo, Esto Newspaper, Mexico (Canelo): “In a very close fight,Canelo will win a split decision and Oscar will announce a rematch immediately. Canelo is fast and strong and will impose his strength on Mayweather by connecting with good shots to the body and to the head.”

Rene Umanzor, Record Newspaper, Mexico: “I think the fight will be a draw. Canelo has enough boxing skills to confuse and complicate matters for Mayweather. Youth and power are also on his side, However, Mayweather has all the experience, a very difficult style and a great, almost perfect defense. But I don’t think he’s going to have an easy night.”

Robert Morales, Los Angeles News Group, (Mayweather): “I’m going with Mayweather via decision because I believe he remains the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and I’m not convinced Alvarez will be the one to hand him his first loss. The combination of Mayweather’s right cross and his sterling defense will get the job done.”

Oswaldo Príncipe, La Nacion, Argentina, (Mayweather): “Mayweather is getting old but he’s very smart and still has his strength. Canelo is very young and hasn’t incorporated a lot of new techniques to his style. Mayweather wins on points.”

Diego Martínez, Reforma Newspaper, México: “This is a fight where Canelo can surprise the whole world of boxing. I can see Canelo knocking Mayweather down and finishing him by knockout, but I can also see a controversial decision if the fight goes 12 rounds, probably a split decision for Floyd.”

Lem Satterfield, Ring Online, (Mayweather): “In what I believe will be his most difficult fight since the early rounds of Ricky Hatton, the entire Oscar De La Hoya fight and the first two rounds of Shane Mosley, I see Mayweather pocketing enough rounds to win a close but unanimous decision over Canelo Alvarez.”

Matthew Aguilar, El Paso Times, (Mayweather): “Look for Canelo to come out fast and try and hurt Mayweather early. He’ll press the action, attempt to pin Mayweather on the ropes and attack to the body — with moderate success. Mayweather will get caught a few times, but will otherwise escape unscathed. By round three, Mayweather will have found holes in Canelo’s defense, and by round five, he will be landing clean, hard shots. He will win most of the remaining seven rounds with crisp counterpunching, speed and boxing skills, while exposing Canelo’s inexperience. Mayweather takes a unanimous decision.”

Alberto Henriquez, Producer, CNN Latino, (Mayweather): “In my opinion, Floyd Mayweather will win the fight. Floyd has demonstrated that he is a master in the art of ‘reading’ his opponent and adapting to his style while being virtually untouchable. I don’t think Canelo, although very good, has what is necessary to beat Maayweather. ‘Money’ will win the fight.”

Bernard Fernandez, The Ring/SweetScience.com, (Mayweather): “Mayweather Jr. might be the Lion in Winter — OK, make that the Lion in autumn; he’s still a kid compared to, say, Bernard Hopkins — but at 36 he’s a cagey, smart king of ring beasts. Canelo Alvarez has youth, size and strength on his side, but his relative lack of experience in bouts of this magnitude will prove the difference. ‘Money’ takes another victory to the bank, via unanimous decision.”
Damian Calhoun, Orange County Register, (Mayweather): “Mayweather is facing a bigger, younger fighter, who could have his moments in the ring. I don’t expect this to be an easy night for Mayweather, but I do expect him to win by unanimous decision, by utilizing his speed and defense.”
Ron Lewis, The Times Of London, (Mayweather): “Alvarez has the size and strength to cause Floyd some problems, but Mayweather is smart enough to get through any awkward moments and pull clear in the second half of the fight to win a decision.”

Mike Rosenthal, Ring Online, (Mayweather): “The biggest fight of the year is also one of the easiest to predict. Canelo Alvarez is young, strong and improving, which should work in his favor when he fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, the Mexican has neither the skills (natural or learned) nor experience to beat a fighter of Mayweather’s ilk. Alvarez will fight hard but leave the ring frustrated and the loser of a one-sided, unanimous decision.”

Carlos Gonzalez, Primera Hora, Puerto Rico, (Mayweather): “This is going to be a great, great fight for the fans from the opening rounds. Canelo can and will pressure Mayweather, but Mayweather will impose his speed and experience and win a unanimous decision”

Alfredo Berrios, ESPN Deportes, (Canelo): “The power and physique of the Mexican fighter will be among his keys to victory. Even though Mayweather has the experience and finesse advantage, Canelo will not allow him him to do his hit and run routine, and Canelo’s youth will let him complete what Miguel Cotto couldn’t in 2012.”

Kieran Mulvaney, ESPN.com, (Mayweather): “Mayweather is too fast, too skilled, too good. As usual, he may take a few rounds to size up Alvarez, but he’ll be moving while he does it, not giving Alvarez a chance to land any telling blows. Once he starts to time him, don’t be surprised to see Mayweather fire a few combinations from the pocket as he dominates the second half. Mayweather wins a unanimous decision.”

Lyle Fitzsimmons, CBSSports.com, (Mayweather): “Canelo is a big, strong kid who can punch and sell tickets. And I’m sure Oscar would like nothing better than to see him beat Mayweather into a fine dust. But I just don’t see it. The kid barely got past Austin Trout (I had Trout winning by a point) and he’ll find out fairly quickly that Mayweather is by no means Austin Trout. Mayweather by TKO 10.”

Doug Fischer, THE RING magazine, (Canelo): “Mayweather is hands down the best welterweight on the planet but on Sept. 14 he will fight a middleweight at a 152-pound catchweight. I don’t think having to sweat off the extra two pounds will drain or slow down the 23-year-old junior middleweight champion, who has a higher ring IQ than he’s given credit for. I think Alvarez will land the harder, more effective punches in a tit-for-tat boxing match. He might even score a knockdown. Alvarez takes a close unanimous decision.”

Claudia Trejos, ESPN Reporter, (Mayweather): “No easy fight and anything can happen. I do remember nobody gave credit to the young Oscar de la Hoya against the seasoned Julio Cesar Chavez in 1996. Everything is possible in boxing.”
Keith Idec, The Record, Woodland Park, NJ)/BoxingScene.com, (Mayweather): “Facing a younger, legitimate junior middleweight, Mayweather must stay off the ropes, keep a much slower Alvarez moving and use his legs the way he did to dominate Robert Guerrero. If he does those things, Mayweather is just too smart, too skilled and too effective defensively to lose this fight. Mayweather by unanimous decision.”
Leighton Ginn, Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.: (Mayweather): “As good as Canelo is, and despite the major improvements he’s made, it’s a quantum leap when you face Mayweather. Experience counts, and Floyd is the best on the big stage. He wins a unanimous decision.”

Jake Donovan, BoxingScene.com, (Mayweather): “I’m going way against the grain on this pick, and will expect a version of Floyd similar to the one that faced and drilled Ricky Hatton into Bolivian. I don’t see Alvarez being competitive for very long, with Floyd picking him apart in the second half before finishing him via attrition and/or cuts. Mayweather wins by TKO 11.”

Jose Luis Sánchez Pando, HOY Newspaper, Chicago (Mayweather): Mayweather will win a decision.”

Alejandro Rodríguez de la Cruz, El Universal Newspaper, Mexico: “I’ve got a split decision or a draw. Canelo Alvarez is looking better and better in every fight, and he’s fighting in his own division. I know ‘Money’ Mayweather possesses speed and savvy even though he is 36 years old. But to go up to 152 pounds is going to be tough for him.”

Armando Alvarez, Telemundo Network, (Mayweather) — “THE ONE is one of the most highly anticipated fights in a long time. When non-boxing fans are asking me about this bout, it speaks volumes as to the magnitude of this event. Canelo’ is young, strong and determined. He has underrated boxing skills and will give Mayweather trouble early. Floyd’s superb defense and speed should be the difference, but what if this is the night where his skills diminish just enough to give Canelo the opportunity of a lifetime? That’s one of the elements that makes this fight so intriguing. Still, the pick is Mayweather by decision, but it won’t be easy.”

Constantino Viloria, El Diario, (Canelo): “Canelo is a great fighter, and has appeal. Mayweather has more experience. This is a very interesting – and even — fight. Canelo can win if he can keep his speed and energy up to par.”

Otniel Batista, La Makina Deportiva, (Canelo): “Mayweather has shown he is the best pound for pound. This is Canelo’s fight to make himself a millionaire. He’s going to have to study Mayweather and his every detail, but I think Canelo can do it and will win. I think there will not only be 1 more, but 2 or 3 more fights between them.”
Eduard Cauich, HOY Los Angeles (Mayweather) – “Mayweather will win by decision over Canelo, a 23-year old who has the potential for a huge upset, but it is unlikely to happen due to his lack of experience in a big scenario like the one. Mayweather will win a close fight but Alvarez will show that he can beat Mayweather in a couple of years as he gets better and Mayweather’s career comes to an end.”

Jorge Ebro, El Nuevo Herald (Mayweather) — “I think Floyd is going to win — not by KO, but by the volume of his combinations. Floyd hits more frequently and precisely than Canelo. Also, Alvarez’s defense has too many holes and he will pay for this mistakes. I don’t think that ‘Money’ has the power to erase Alvarez’s anatomy, but the Mexican is not in the same class as Mayweather.”

Alan Massengale, RINGTV.COM columnist/blow by blow announcer, (Mayweather): “I would love to predict a Canelo victory, which always makes a pundit look like a genius when it happens. But until I see a drop off in Mayweather’s ethereal speed and quickness, which hasn’t happened yet, he wins by unanimous decision.”

Felipe Valenzuela, CBS Sports Radio Houston, (Mayweather): “Canelo is more mature. He is focused and looks ready to be the best of the best. We have the biggest matchup in boxing in recent memory, two fighters with a combined record of 86-0-1. It would be marvelous for Mexican boxing if Canelo wins, but I think it will be difficult, ‘Money’ is a warrior and a great fighter. We just have to wait and witness this amazing fight on Sept. 14.”

Norm Frauenheim, The Ring/www.15rounds.com, (Mayweather): “Canelo Alvarez will keep it close with a body assault that figures to target Mayweather’s shoulder roll. But Mayweather’s speed will turn him into a moving target never seen by Canelo and his punches will land with precision that the young Mexican lacks in a narrow win via decision that sets up a rematch.”

Mike Coppinger, USA Today, (Mayweather): “I’ve never picked against Mayweather and I won’t until I see some — any — decline. Mayweather looked marvelous Robert Guerrero in May, and his combinations and footwork were as crisp as ever. I expect Canelo Alvarez to press the fight and work the body, winning a few rounds, but Mayweather will come out on top once again, winning a comfortable but close unanimous decision.”

Ken Miller, Los Angeles Sentinel, (Mayweather): “I believe that Floyd will out-counter Canelo for the early part of the fight and bust him to the body frequently, setting up the stage for a stoppage in the latter part of the fight. The weight will be huge, those two pounds and the courage of the Mexican will do him in. Floyd takes it by TKO 9.”

Miguel Maravilla, Fightnews.com, (Mayweather): “I see this being another tough fight for Mayweather with Canelo being the bigger man jabbing and boxing very patiently. At times he backs Floyd to the ropes and corners him with the jab and follows up landing big punches. My heart is with Canelo; however Mayweather’s ability to adapt to a style and his experience is a plus which is what will make the difference en route to a tight split decision victory for Floyd.”

Grant Gordon, Glendale News-Press/Los Angeles Times Community News, (Mayweather): “Though Alvarez has improved with seemingly every fight and has proved he belongs on this stage, Mayweather is still Mayweather. ‘Money’s’ defense and ring generalship will dictate the tempo and win the rounds and he’ll survive a potential scare or two to win a clear unanimous decision.”
Karl Freitag, Fightnews.com, (Mayweather): “Mayweather wins by comfortable unanimous decision. Canelo had his hands full with Austin Trout. Floyd is at a whole other level”.
Miguel Angel Cebreros, ESPN Radio Spanish, (Mayweather): “My heart is with Canelo but my money is with Mayweather. There’s only one fighter than can defeat Canelo in his weight class and that’s Mayweather, who will win a decision.”

Ralph Gonzalez, The Sweet Science, (Mayweather): “Mayweather will be too fast, too crafty and too elusive for Canelo Alvarez and will win via unanimous decision.”

John DiSanto, PhillyBoxingHistory.com, (Mayweather): “Size and age advantages won’t be enough for Canelo. He’s good enough to put up a fight and may even give Mayweather a scare early on, but if Floyd is still Floyd, he will make the necessary adjustments and win a comfortable decision.”

Benny Henderson Jr. , Boxingtalk.com , (Mayweather): “Like him, love him or just plain look at him as an egotistical maniac, you cannot deny Mayweather’s skills in the ring. Canelo is young and hungry, very aggressive and many would love to see him win. But, unless time has caught up with Floyd, I believe Mayweather will be too crafty, too fast and too experienced for the young lion. Mayweather wins a unanimous decision.”

Geno McGahee, RingsideReport.com, (Canelo): “The youth, strength and body work will be a test for the older Mayweather and I’m not sure that he can deal with it. Canelo, unless he gets completely frustrated, will wear down Floyd and find the mark late in the fight to win by TKO 10.”

Ramon Aranda, 3MoreRounds.com, (Mayweather): “While Alvarez is bigger, younger and stronger, Mayweather has yet to show signs of slowing down and continues to show why he is the best fighter in the world. I expect Alvarez to put immense pressure on Floyd early on until Mayweather establishes a rhythm and an appropriate distance. While a difficult fight, I see Mayweather pulling away in the last third of the fight en route to a hard-fought, unanimous decision win.”

Barbara Pinnella, Leaveitinthering, (Mayweather): “Canelo doesn’t have the ring smarts that Floyd has developed over the years. This is just too soon for Alvarez.”

Jerry Hoffman, ESPN Radio Central Coast, (Mayweather): “Floyd will control the pace, avoid big shots that will become flailing as the fight wears on and frustrate Canelo into making mistakes. Floyd will take advantage late and stop Canelo in 8. The bout will begin much like it did against Guerrero, but Mayweather will make Alvarez become brave and he will pay for it.”

Phil D. Jay, Worldboxingnews.net, (Mayweather): “I can see yet another virtuoso performance from Mayweather. Canelo may just be a little too raw at 23 and Mayweather should be far too experienced at the highest level for the young Mexican at this stage. Mayweather takes a wide decision — with Alvarez reaching greater heights in the future.”

William Trillo, www.Pound4Pound.com , (Mayweather): “Coming off his dominant performance over Guerrero in May, Floyd will be a finely tuned machine. Although Canelo did show signs of improved defense against Trout he will have too big of a challenge. Look for Mayweather to triumph by late round stoppage.”.

Giancarlo Oquendo, Puerto Rico Sports News, (Mayweather): “Canelo will earn the respect from the fans and the media and may even embarrass Floyd on two or three occasions, but Mayweather should otherwise dominate and win a unanimous decision.”

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale on June 25, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Alvarez arrived late and stayed late Wednesday at a news conference in a venue that figured to be an appropriate setting. Cirque Du Soleil usually plays at the MGM Grand’s KA Theatre. But boxing’s traditional version of the circus was surprisingly understated.

Mayweather coolly played the CEO role with comments that seemed to say he thinks Alvarez is the junior-partner in a junior-middleweight, pay-per-view fight Saturday night that figures to do some record-setting business.

The 23-year-old Canelo has 42 victories on a 43-fight ledger that includes no losses and one draw. It looks impressive. But Mayweather questioned the quality of opposition. Mayweather made it sound as if the Alvarez record was full of more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. Alvarez beat Matthew Hatton, Ricky’s brother, whom Mayweather beat. Alvarez beat Jose Cotto, Miguel’s brother, whom Mayweather also beat.

“You fight Miguel Cotto’s brother, but you don’t fight Miguel Cotto,’’ Mayweather said in comments after the formal portion of a news conference for pound-for-pound king’s second fight in a Showtime deal worth a potential $250 million. “You fight Ricky Hatton’s brother, but you don’t fight Ricky Hatton.’’

It was a follow-up to Mayweather’s comments at the podium during the formal part of a news conference that started about 40 minutes late.

“If he had faced 42 Mayweathers, he’d be 0-and-42,’’ he said.

Alvarez, who has been as unflappable as he is inexperienced on boxing’s biggest stage, sounded as if he isn’t listening to Mayweather. There were familiar questions about how the 23-year-old redhead will deal with Mayweather’s speed and elusiveness.

“I’m the same,’’ Canelo said. “I’ve got the same qualities.’’

What he won’t have, however, is the same paycheck. Mayweather is guaranteed $41.5 million, a record for one fight, according to several media reports. But there was some dispute Wednesday about Canelo’s purse. Mayweather said Canelo will collect $8 million.

“With no upside,’’ Mayweather said as if he had hired the popular Mexican.

Not true, according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who said Canelo’s upside is “significant.’’ During the news conference, Schaefer said he talked to Televisa, which will televise the bout in Mexico. He said was told that the network expects the Mexican audience to be between 70 and 80 million.

According to a contract filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Canelo is guaranteed $5 million. But that doesn’t include international revenue. According to various sources and news reports, however, Canelo can expect to earn at least $12 million.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 11, 2013) – Eight-time, five-division World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Super Welterweight World Champion and Mexican Superstar Canelo Alvarez were all business during Wednesday’s final press conference at KA Theatre at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, just three days before Saturday’s historic “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER vs. CANELO.”

Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship will be at stake on SHOWTIME PPV in the most significant boxing showdown in recent memory.

Here’s what the fighters, promoters and trainers had to say during the event:

FLOYD MAYWEATHER:

“Its fight time, what else can I say? If the game plan is to keep pressure, I can handle it. If the game plan is to out box me, nobody can out box me. You have to be able to out match me mentally, and I’m the strongest mental fighter in the sport of boxing.

“I’ve been here before so I know what it takes. He’s 42-0, but he hasn’t faced 42 Floyd Mayweathers because he’d be 0-42. I’m at the pinnacle. I’m the face of boxing and I’m dedicated to my craft.

“I’m Floyd Mayweather; I can turn any fighter into a star. I don’t worry about running out of opponents. I’ve got guys under my banner I can turn into stars and fight.”

“September 14 is just another stepping stone, another opponent to me. But he knows he’s facing Floyd Mayweather; I’m facing just another opponent.

“Career-wise, I’m OK, no matter what the outcome is. I never worry about the outcome. When I go into any fight, I’m not focused on the money or anything. I’m focused on going out there, performing well, and giving the fans what they want to see – excitement. That’s what it’s all about; it’s about the fans winning. He’s still got a lot of weight to get off. My weight is made, I woke up this morning 150 (pounds).

“I guess other fighters look at it as you win some, you lose some. Me, I look at it as I want to win them all. I’m a winner. I don’t lose.

On how he knows Canelo still has to cut weight:
“I know it, because it’s my job to know it. My job as a fighter to know everything about any opponent I’m facing.”

On his most important advantage:
“Being able to just make changes and adjust instantly. It’s no different from you seeing Shane (Mosley) hit me with a good shot. I say it’s not a problem, because Shane isn’t going to cut me on my face, I’m not going for that. But Shane is a future Hall of Famer; I can’t take anything away from Shane. And someday Canelo will go down in the Hall of Fame, as one of the opponents I beat.”

CANELO ALVAREZ:

“I don’t care about his record. I’m not coming to make a good fight, I’m coming to win.

“When you fight Floyd you have to be ready for every aspect of a fight. You have to be able to adjust mentally as well as physically. I have to be very, very smart and ready to change my plan at any time.

“You’ll see how I do it. You’ll see how I beat him. I’m calm and I’m just ready to fight.

“We’ve prepared like never before. Floyd is a fighter who throws like five punchers a round and he lands them – that’s why he wins rounds. But we’re prepared for that; we’re prepared for everything.

“I’m ready for the best Floyd possible. He can change his game plan and I will be ready.

“I’ve studied him. I know his style and I know what he’s going to do. “I’m confident I will win because I know everything about him. I’ve prepared for everything.

“It’s important from the opening bell to fight smart and not fall into his game plan. I need to stick to my plan, not fall into his.

“He’s a very good counterpuncher but I’m ready for that. I have to be smart with his counterpunching but I’m confident we can handle it.

“It’s important to throw combinations. You have to know how to apply them and you have to hit the head and the body. That will be key.

It truly is a pleasure to be part of this. I appreciate all of the support for this fight. I want to thank my team for working hard with me. On Saturday night, I will be victorious.”

On having all of Mexico rooting for him:
“There’s no pressure whatsoever. It’s motivating to have all of Mexico rooting for me.”

On why Floyd hasn’t talked much trash leading into this fight:
“I think it’s because his other opponents want to talk trash. I respect everyone except when we get in the ring.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“The WBC has produced a very special belt for this occasion. It’s a first time that they have melted a big gold bar into the belt. This is a belt made of pure gold.

“Our sponsors put over $40 million of activation behind this promotion. Corona is our lead sponsor and they spent 50 percent of their conventional ad buy on our promotion.

“Boxing is the highest rated television programming in Mexico. Mexico’s government and the tourism board have put their promotional efforts in the sport of boxing. They have become a great partner and ambassador of this promotion and Golden Boy Promotions.

“In addition, we have sponsorships and partnerships with Fathom, Nature Nutrition, Fred Loya Insurance, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T and Valvoline.

“Fathom is going to be showing this promotion live on 550 screens. This is our sixth fight with Fathom. We’ve already sold out many theaters already. There are more than 26,000 seats for closed circuit at the MGM Mirage Resort properties as well as many bars and restaurants across the country.

“In Australia, the pay per view has already broken all-time records with three days before fight night.

“This fight has been off the charts. This fight is something special. Celebrities are calling us to purchase tickets.

“We hope to set the all-time pay-per-view record come Saturday night.”

LEONARD ELLERBE, CEO of Mayweather Promotions
“Floyd is the face of boxing, the highest paid athlete in sports. He’s accomplished everything, broke all the records. Come Saturday night, you guys will see the same old Floyd Mayweather, the one that always wins.

“This has been a wonderful promotion so far and the fans will be the real winners.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, EVP SHOWTIME Sports
“Thank you to the MGM for its hospitality and Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy Promotions.

“This is the biggest and best event—THE ONE. We have the biggest live gate. We have a great line-up of sponsors. We are live streaming all of our events leading up to the fight. CBS has had 150 radio stations across the United States promoting the fight.

“None of this happens without Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez. This event doesn’t happen without their commitment

“For those of you who are college football fans, I urge you all to tune in to the start of this Saturday’s college football game on CBS at 12:30 PT/3:30 ET. Be sure not to be late because there will be a surprise for boxing fans at the top of that broadcast.”

JOSE “CHEPO” REYNOSO, Trainer of Canelo Alvarez
“This is a historic fight, but the time for talking is over. On Saturday night Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will make history and he will be victorious.

EDDIE REYNOSO, Co-trainer of Canelo Alvarez
“It’s a great pleasure to be a part of this historic event. Obviously, as a Mexican, we always come out to demonstrate that we win can and on Saturday it will be no different. We will prove that we can.”

ABOUT “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO”:
“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale in June, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 11) – On Saturday, Sept. 14, boxing superstars Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez will meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to determine who is “THE ONE” live on SHOWTIME PPV® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Fittingly, the World Boxing Council has created a one of a kind solid gold belt to present to the winner of the biggest boxing event of 2013.

Shown to the media by WBC President Jose Sulaiman for the first time last Tuesday, the green and gold belt, which was designed by a Mexican artisan, measures 1.28 meters in length by 30 centimeters in height and is made of pure gold and Italian leather. It also includes the Mexico Tourism logo, which will mark the winner as an ambassador of Mexico, not only in Mexico, but throughout the world.

In attendance for the unveiling in Mexico City were some of Mexico’s biggest boxing names, including Ultiminio Ramos, Pipino Cuevas, Isaac Bustos, Rafael Limón, Ana María Torres, Daniel Estrada, Yesica Chávez and Adrián Hernández.

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale in June, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Video streaming by Ustream

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 10, 2013) — Eight-Time, Five-Division World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Unified Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez are primed and ready for the biggest fight of 2013 on Saturday, September 14. Bbefore these two mega stars step into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO” on SHOWTIME PPV®, boxing’s next generation of stars will take to the sport’s biggest and brightest stage to show the world what they are made.

Competing in non-televised bouts will be Las Vegas talents, Luis “Cuba” Arias, Ronald “The Thrill” Gavril, Lanell Bellows and Andrew “Beast” Tabiti, as well as Ohio standout Chris “Sweet” Pearson.

“The fighters we have on this card are some of the most exciting and talented in the sport today,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “Before Floyd and Canelo get into the ring, these up and comers are going to fight their hearts out and show why we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the coming years.”

“Saturday night’s fight card is going to be electric from start to finish,” said Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Giving these young fighters the opportunity to showcase their talent on this monstrous card is what being a promoter is all about – giving the future of the sport a chance to become stars.”

Owner of a 140-25 amateur record, Luis Arias (6-0, 3 KO’s) is making his name known in the super middleweight division and he is doing so in an impressive style. Coming off of victories over DonYil Livingston and Latif Mundy, the 23-year-old Milwaukee native will meet an opponent to be announced in a six-round bout.

Romania native Ronald Gavril (6-0, 5 KO’s) has made a positive impression on fight fans since relocating to Las Vegas in May of 2012, winning four straight bouts to improve to 6-0 as a professional. In August, the 27-year-old knocked out Dave Courchaine in two rounds. On September 14, he will take on Flint, Michigan’s Shujaa El Amin (12-4, 6 KO’s), who was formerly known as Dion Savage, in an eight-round super middleweight bout.

Dayton, Ohio’s Chris Pearson (11-0, 8 KO’s) is back in the ring to face Westerly, Rhode Island’s Joshua Williams (9-5, 5 KO’s) in an eight-round middleweight matchup. It will be the first fight for Pearson since his sixth-round technical knockout of Arturo Crespin on July 19 that kept him unbeaten and continued building his reputation as a fighter to watch at 160 pounds.

Opening evening will be two four-round matchups featuring super middleweight Lanell Bellows (5-0-1, 4 KO’s) against Logan, West Virginia’s Jordan Moore (3-0) and cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti (1-0, 1 KO) against Nskayumn, New York’s Edward Smith (1-0).

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and the first fight begins at 3:00 p.m. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale in June, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

New York, NY (9/11/13) – While most of the boxing world will be focused on the mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez this Saturday in Las Vegas, DiBella Entertainment’s Danny “Bhoy” O’Connor (22-1, 7KO’s) and Ivan Redkach (14-0, 12KO’s) will also be seeing action in separate bouts.

O’Connor is scheduled to take on the always-tough Raul Tovar (11-7-1, 4KO’s) in an eight-round welterweight matchup in the feature bout of the 12th annual “Fight to Educate” charity card on Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Center, in Manchester, NH. The night before, at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI, Redkach will square off against Antonio Sanchez (5-1-2, 3KO’s) in a six-round junior welterweight matchup.

It will be the fifth time that O’Connor, the 2008 National Golden Gloves and 2008 United States amateur champion, has participated in this charity event, with O’Connor going a perfect 4-0 in his previous outings.

The lone blemish on O’Connor’s overall record came at the hands of WBC #14-rated junior welterweight contender Gabriel Bracero in April 2011, televised on SHOWTIME’s ShoBox: The New Generation. After the loss to Bracero, O’Connor began training under the tutelage of highly regarded trainer Ronnie Shields and brought in Ken Casey, the lead singer of the popular band Dropkick Murphys, as his manager. O’Connor has since earned eight consecutive victories, with four coming inside the distance, and has grown into one of the most popular fighters throughout the entire New England region. O’Connor, who is coming off a victory just a few weeks ago on August 24, is hoping to crack into the welterweight world ratings in 2014, but he must first take care of Tovar. Tovar began his career a perfect 5-0, and holds victories over two previously undefeated fighters during his six-plus-year professional career. Last year, Tovar lost a close eight-round unanimous decision to undefeated prospect Chris Algieri.

The WBC #14-rated Redkach, went a perfect 4-0, 3KO’s, in 2012, with all three stoppages coming in the very first round. After witnessing one of his bouts in 2012, esteemed reporter Doug Fischer, of Ringtv.com, stated, “Ivan Redkach is a stud; best lightweight prospect with less than 20 bouts. I think he can beat most prospects with 20+ bouts.” After his one-round destruction of Tebor Brosch at Roseland Ballroom on October 24, the highly regarded Mike Woods, who covers boxing for TheSweetScience.com and ESPN.com, proclaimed, “This kid scared me. He put bad thoughts into my head.” After being featured on Dan Rafael’s 2012 “Prospects to Watch” list, Redkach began 2013 right where he left off the previous year, scoring a devastating first-round stoppage over Sergio Rivera in February. After the bout against Rivera, Redkach was forced to sit on the sidelines while he sorted out some issues with his team. With everything now settled, including hiring a new manager in Larry Army, Redkach is looking to make the transition from top prospect to legitimate world title contender in 2014.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 10, 2013) – The Shawn Porter vs. Julio Diaz II fight card on Thursday, Sept. 12 at MGM Grand Las Vegas’ Premier Ballroom just keeps getting bigger and better as Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions have added hot super welterweight prospect Jermall Charlo, 2012 United States Olympian Errol Spence and Oscar De La Hoya’s cousin Diego de la Hoya to the card. The action-packed event will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2/FOX Deportes.

Also in action will be promising lightweight Robert Easter Jr. and two other members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team Terrell Gausha and Dominic Breazeale.

“This is going to be a spectacular card and a great lead in to Saturday night’s fight,” said CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe. “This is the biggest week in recent boxing history and this fight makes it even more impressive.”

“This is going to be a tremendous night of boxing,” said CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer. “For as little as 25 dollars, boxing fans can watch four U.S. Olympians fighting live here at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.”

In the main event, it’s the rematch fight fans demanded as unbeaten Shawn “Showtime” Porter (21-0-1, 14 KO’s) faces former World Champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz (40-8-1, 29 KO’s) in a 10-round bout for the NABO & USBA welterweight titles. The co-featured bout showcases Las Vegas up-and-comer Badou Jack (15-0, 10 KO’s) as he takes on Mexico’s Marco Antonio Periban (20-1, 13 KO’s) in a 10-round NABF Super Middlweight fight. Additionally, two of boxing’s top prospects return to the ring as Julian “J-Rock” Williams (13-0-1, 10 KO’s) faces Hugo “The Boss” Centeno Jr. (19-0, 10 KO’s) in a 10-round clash for the WBC International Super Welterweight title.
Porter vs. Diaz II will take place on Thursday, Sept.12 at MGM Grand Las Vegas’ Premier Ballroom located in the MGM Grand Conference Center on the third level. The event is presented by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Invisible Text. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. PT and the first bell rings at 5:15 p.m. PT. The FOX Sports 2/FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets priced at $100, $75, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available for purchase a www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Additionally, with the purchase of a ticket, fans will be given a reserved seat for the “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO” Official Weigh-In taking place Friday, Sept.13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Fans will also receive a 10 percent discount on tickets for closed circuit viewing of the Mayweather vs. Canelo mega-event on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Fighting under the radar for a few years, Houston’s Jermall Charlo (15-0, 11 KO’s) burst onto the scene in 2013, already winning five bouts, with each victory coming by way of knockout. Fresh from a trio of stoppages over world-class foes Orlando Lora, Luis Hernandez and Antwone Smith, the 23-year-old Charlo will face fellow Houstonite Rogelio De La Torre (10-3, 6 KO’s) in an eight-round super welterweight bout.

Unbeaten in seven professional bouts following his appearance in the 2012 London Olympic Games, Dallas’ Errol Spence (7-0, 6 KO’s) has not let his last three opponents escape the first round, showing off the power and punching accuracy that is becoming his trademark. On Sept. 12, the 23-year-old southpaw makes his third Las Vegas appearance in an eight-round welterweight fight against Mexico City’s Jesus Tavera (5-3, 1 KO).

Opening the televised portion of the card will be Mexicali super bantamweight Diego de la Hoya. Making his professional debut in a four-round bout against a fighter to-be-named, the 19-year-old “Golden Kid” is a former member of the Mexican National Team with over 250 amateur bouts to his name, not to mention champion bloodlines as the cousin of Oscar De La Hoya.

Fans on site in Las Vegas will get a three-punch combination of quality bouts to open up the night, as Akron’s Robert Easter Jr. (6-0, 6 KO’s) puts his perfect record on the line against Muscatine, Iowa’s Lance Williams (6-1, KO’s) in an eight-round lightweight match. 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (5-0, 3 KO’s) of Cleveland meets Wheeling, West Virginia’s Bruce Runkle (4-2-1)in a six-round middleweight matchup and Gausha’s Olympic teammate, heavyweight banger Dominic Breazeale (6-0, 6 KO’s) of Los Angeles, takes on West Virginia’s John Hill (6-2, 5 KO’s) in an eight-round contest.

To kick off the week, a press conference was held today in Las Vegas at MGM Grand with the aforementioned fighters featured on the FOX Sports 2/FOX Deportes telecast.

“It’s show time!” said Shawn Porter. “This is a big week for me. I’m very excited. This is my first time fighting here in Vegas, the main event on the card. It doesn’t get any better than that. I had a great camp. Can’t wait to bust his joker up again, take care of business, and set the record straight.”

“This is a great weekend for boxing. I feel blessed and I’m excited,” said Julio Diaz. “A couple of years ago, the boxing world retired me, supposedly I was done, but here I am still headlining shows. I never gave up and I kept on working hard and I’m still here. The first time around, we had a good fight. I was coming back, gaining my confidence. Right now I think I’m where I need to be. I’m very excited and I’m coming with everything. This fight, we will not need judges. Anyway it goes, it’s not going to a decision. I guarantee you that.”

“[Periban] is a good fighter, but Thursday night I will be victorious,” said Badou Jack. “I had a great camp and I’m in great shape. Bring it.”

“I have trained very well,” said Marco Antonio Periban. “I am very well prepared and come Thursday we are going to come out with a victory for all of Mexico. We are ready for this fight. We are closer to the title. That title escaped my hands. Obviously it was a little slip but the judges really affected me in the fight with Sakio Bika. But we gained experience and we’re very motivated. I want to remind you, this is not the first time I fought a Mayweather fighter. When I fought Shujaa EL AMIN [Formerly Dion Savage] he lasted 15 seconds.”

“I’m a very exciting fighter,” said Julian Williams. “I trained extremely hard for this fight and I’m fighting a decent fighter in Hugo Centeno, but I come to win. I’m the best prospect at 154 pounds. Thursday night will be no different. I plan on putting on a spectacular performance and getting a win.”

“I’ve been training extremely hard for this fight and I come to win,” said Hugo Centeno. “When I get in the ring, I’m here to take this victory.”

# # #

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale on June 25, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also will be available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for closed circuit viewing at MGM Grand, ARIA, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York are now on sale.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 10, 2013) – Eight-time, five-division World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Super Welterweight World Champion and Mexican Superstar Canelo Alvarez kicked off fight week for “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER vs. CANELO” as the two superstars arrived in grand fashion in front of approximately 2,000 screaming fans on Tuesday at the MGM Grand Hotel Lobby.

Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship will be at stake this Saturday on SHOWTIME PPV in the most significant boxing showdown in recent memory.

Mayweather and Canelo briefly met with the media following Tuesday’s formal arrival, where the subject quickly turned to the controversy surrounding the 152-pound catchweight and statements from The Money Team that Team Canelo made a mistake in agreeing to fight at 152 pounds.

“I’m the bigger guy, why would I give up weight?” Canelo asked the media. “You want to know what happened? They wanted to fight at welterweight. I told them, ‘No way, those days are over for me.’ Then they said let’s do the fight at 150. I said I couldn’t do that. Then 151. Then we finally agreed on 152.

“I would come down two pounds to make the important fight. They told us not to disclose anything and we were fine with that. The reason why we are talking about the weight today is because they called us idiots and they are lying.”

Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, had a firm response to Canelo’s comments.

“We took advantage of a situation,” Ellerbe said. “The kid suggested it himself a long time ago. He put himself out there like that and we’re going to hold his feet to the fire.”

Mayweather, who didn’t acknowledge questions surrounding the catch-weight, insisted he’ll still be boxing’s No. 1 draw after Saturday’s showdown.

“He’s not the future,” Mayweather said. “But he’s still going to be a star after he loses on Saturday. When I’m in a fight like this I’m not losing.

“You don’t think I could go to the Alamodome and sell it out? I give Canelo credit for showing up on Sept. 14 and that’s it.”

“I take my hat off to Richard Schaefer; he works very, very hard, him and Leonard [Ellerbe],” said Mayweather when asked about the massive size of the Sept. 14 promotion. “This is not just a fight, this is what we call an event These people play a major key to my success. This is the Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions show, and we now run boxing.”

ABOUT “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO”:
“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale in June, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Video streaming by Ustream

Los Angeles (September 10) – Canelo Alvarez and I have big fights coming up this weekend. His is the ring and mine in treatment.

I will not be at the fight this Saturday to cheer Canelo to victory since I have voluntarily admitted myself into a treatment facility.

I explained this to Canelo and he understood that my health and longterm recovery from my disease must come first.

Thank you for your understanding. I ask for your support and privacy during this difficult time for me and my family.

ESPN will present multi-platform pre- and post-fight coverage of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez unification fight for the WBC and WBA Junior Middleweight titles scheduled for Saturday, September 14, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN Deportes and SportsCenter will be on site to provide daily news and information.

Mayweather-Alvarez Coverage Across ESPN Platforms

Television
· SportsCenter

o Analysis and interviews throughout the week led by host Robert Flores and boxing experts Dan Rafael, Teddy Atlas, and bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna.

o Fighter arrivals (Tuesday, 5:50 p.m. ET).

o “Atlas Fight Plan” in which analyst Atlas will illustrate what each fighter needs to do to win.

o Press conference coverage and fighter interviews (Wednesday, 4 p.m.).

o Thursday interviews with Alvarez (4:20 p.m.) and Mayweather (6:20 p.m.).

o Interview with Oscar De La Hoya (Thursday, during 5 p.m. hour).

o Set presence at the MGM Garden Arena: live weigh-in coverage (Friday, during 5:30 p.m. hour) and pre- and post-fight coverage.

· ESPN Deportes’ Semana de Campeones (Week of Champions)

o A Los Golpes: ESPN Deportes will air three special A Los Golpes shows — one providing in depth analysis and discussion of the fight (Monday, 5:30 p.m. from Los Angeles), one to cover fighter arrivals (Wednesday, 12 a.m. from Las Vegas) and one to cover the main event press conference (Wednesday, 7 p.m. from Las Vegas). Commentators: David Faitelson, Osuna, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., hall of fame referee Joe Cortez, Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, Claudia Trejos and Kary Correa.

o Golpe a Golpe: ESPN Deportes will air four special Golpe a Golpe shows — one to cover the undercard press conference, (Thursday, 7p.m.), one to cover the weigh-in live, (Friday, 5:30 p.m.), one before the fights (Saturday, 8 p.m.) and another show with live post-fight coverage (Saturday (2 a.m.). Coverage will be led by Faitelson, Osuna, Chavez Sr., Cortez, Sanchez, Trejos and Correa. Legendary Mexican boxing champion Juan Manuel Marquez will provide analysis via satellite Friday and Saturday.

o SportsCenter, Capitanes, Radio Formula, #Redes, Cronometro, and Nacion will have daily segments previewing the fight. SportsCenter will have live post-fight coverage immediately after the fights.

Digital

· ESPN3 coverage of press conference and weigh-in live: ESPN3 will carry Wednesday’s press conference (4p.m.) and Friday’s weigh-in (5:30 p.m.) live on computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox and Apple TV to fans who receive their Internet or video subscription from an affiliated provider.

· ESPN.com

o Comprehensive coverage from Las Vegas includes stories from Rafael, Kieran Mulvaney, Nigel Collins, Brian Campbell and Brett Okamoto and content integration with ESPN Deportes.

o Live blog featuring ESPN.com’s on-site staff and ESPN The Magazine writers Tim Keown and Pablo Torre beginning Wednesday at 3 p.m. and running through the fights on Sept. 14.

o “Fight Credential,” ESPN.com’s home page for all Mayweather-Alvarez coverage, updated with features, video, photos and social media from all platforms throughout the week and through the fight.

o A live edition of ESPN.com’s original boxing show, Making the Rounds, will run immediately after the weigh-in ends on Friday.

Print/Digital

· ESPN The Magzine’s “The Fight Issue”: Currently on newsstands, “The Fight Issue” includes:

o Features by Torre (http://es.pn/14gmfXE) and Keown (http://es.pn/17Cxs1N).

o Photo galleries: Alvarez (http://es.pn/14YpEsM) Mayweather (http://es.pn/19dAomv).

o Videos on ESPN.com (http://es.pn/15Bn9Iy) (http://es.pn/14gmfXE).

o Both fighters are also featured on covers of the issue:

New Picture (1)New Picture (2)

Social
· #TeamMayweather and #TeamCanelo (@ESPN Twitter and ESPN Facebook; Fight week): ESPN will ask its followers to predict who they think will win the fight using #TeamMayweather and #TeamCanelo.

LOS ANGELES, September 9 – It’s fight week for “THE ONE: MAYWEATHER vs. CANELO” and FOX Deportes will continue its unprecedented run of pre-event coverage from Monday all the way up until the opening bell of the September 14 Pay-Per-View broadcast in Las Vegas.

Kicking off with episode two of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT, Monday, September 9’s coverage will continue with the 2011 bout between co-headliner Danny “Swift” Garcia and Nate Campbell at 2 p.m. ET/PT and a 4 p.m. ET/PT airing of the acclaimed documentary “Canelo Corazon de Campeon.”

More than 10 hours of “THE ONE” content will take over the channel on Tuesday, September 10, featuring two airings of the Countdown: Mayweather vs. Canelo special, Garcia’s 2012 knockout of British star Amir Khan, Alvarez’ 2008 win over Larry Mosley, the record-setting Mayweather vs. Oscar de la Hoya bout from 2007, and back-to-back airings of the first two episodes of ALL ACCESS.

Starting at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT on Wednesday, September 11, the action heats up even more, as ALL ACCESS episode one is followed by back-to-back airings of co-headliner Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse’s bout with Zab Judah, Matthysse’s 2012 win over Olusegun Ajose, Garcia vs. Khan, Mayweather’s 2007 knockout of Ricky Hatton, and Alvarez’ 2011 win over Matthew Hatton.

On Thursday, September 12, ALL ACCESS episode two will start the day off right at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT, with Garcia’s title-winning effort over Mexican legend Erik Morales airing at 2 p.m. ET/PT. And in the evening, FOX Deportes returns to the ring from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET/PT with Countdown: Mayweather vs. Canelo, ALL ACCESS episode two, Mayweather’s 2011 win over Victor Ortiz, and Alvarez’ victory over Jose Cotto.

Weigh in day, Friday, September 13, will be headlined by the live Mayweather vs. Canelo weigh in at 6 p.m. ET/PT, but before and after the fighters get on the scale, fans can watch Countdown: Mayweather vs. Canelo (11:30 a.m. ET/PT), ALL ACCESS episode one (2 p.m. ET/PT), ALL ACCESS episode two (4 p.m. ET/PT), and then see “Canelo Corazon de Campeon,” Alvarez vs. Shane Mosley, Mayweather vs. Mosley, and Mayweather vs. Marquez from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT.

But the countdown to “THE ONE” wouldn’t be complete without fight day coverage, and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET/PT, Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto, ALL ACCESS episode one, Alvarez vs. Shane Mosley, and ALL ACCESS episode four will lead fans right into “THE ONE.”

For more information visit: www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.FOXDeportes.com and follow on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing andwww.twitter.com/FOXDeportes and visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, and www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes.

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale in June, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

NEW YORK (Sept. 6, 2013)-SHOWTIME Sports has scheduled diverse boxing and documentary programs across cable and premium television and digital portals in advance of the upcoming SHOWTIME PPV presentation of “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo.” The mega-event is headlined by No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Super Welterweight World Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The marathon of digital content and live programming leading up to the event will be available on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, CBS Sports Network,
Sports.SHO.com, the SHOWTIME Sports® YouTube channel, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and on mobile devices via SHOWTIME ANYTIME®.

On Friday, Sept. 13 and on Saturday, Sept. 14, SHOWTIME will air two mini-marathons of programming which includes Mayweather’s most recent victory over Robert Guerrero, Canelo’s victory over Josesito Lopez and all four episodes of “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo.” Friday’s block will air from 6 – 10 p.m. ET immediately following SHOWTIME’s live coverage of the official weigh-in. Saturday’s block will begin at 4 p.m. ET and continue up to COUNTDOWN LIVE, the live pre-PPV program airing on SHOWTIME at 8 pm. ET/PT.

ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo FULL EPISODES
The SHOWTIME Sports original series returns with ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo, taking fans behind the scenes as both fighters prepare for boxing’s biggest event in years. Episode 1 & 2 are available now online and on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and SHOWTIME ANYTIME, with a full schedule of replays on SHOWTIME and CBS Sports Network.

The remaining episodes of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo premiere on SHOWTIME with each full episode available online, at SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and on mobile devices via SHOWTIME ANYTIME the following day.
Episode 3: Premieres Saturday, Sept. 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Episode 4: Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT

All four episodes are also being produced in Spanish, and the Spanish-language version of each episode will premiere on Univision Deportes Network. For more information regarding the Univision Deportes schedule for ALL ACCESS please visit www.UnivisionDeportes.com.

LIVE STREAMING:
SHOWTIME Sports will offer seven live streaming events in the build up to the event:
On Aug. 27 and 28, SHOWTIME Sports offered live streaming of the Open Workouts from Canelo and Mayweather’s respective camps. Click here to view the replay of Canelo’s media workout, and here to view the replay of Mayweather’s.

Fight Week Las Vegas
All Fight Week events will stream live via Sports.SHO.com, the SHOWTIME Sports® YouTube channel, and via USTREAM.TV embeddable player.
Tuesday, Sept. 10 (5 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. PT): Grand Arrivals
Wednesday, Sept. 11 (4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. PT): Main Event Press Conference with Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez airing live on CBS Sports Network.
Thursday, Sept. 12 (4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. PT): Undercard Press Conference with Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse airing live on CBS Sports Network.
Friday, Sept. 13 (6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT): “Weigh-In Live” airing live on SHOWTIME and CBS Sports Network.
Saturday, Sept.14 (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT): “Countdown Live” with interviews and special pre-fight features airing live on SHOWTIME.

CLASSIC FIGHTS
Encore presentations of classic bouts featuring Floyd Mayweather, Canelo Alvarez, Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse will air on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME EXTREME and CBS SPORTS NETWORK. Classic Floyd Mayweather fights include the most watched pay-per-view event in history, Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya, and Mayweather’s most recent victory, Mayweather vs. Guerrero. Classic Canelo fights include Canelo vs. Trout, where Canelo legitimized his massive hype; and Canelo’s fight against Mosley, the fighter who gave Mayweather one of his toughest challenges in recent years.

For the full schedule of all classic fights, visit http://sports.sho.com/schedule/mayweather.

CBS SPORTS NETWORK
CBS Sports Network is showcasing more than 10 hours of coverage surrounding “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” on Saturday, Sept. 14. Programming is highlighted by live coverage of the Main Event Press Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. ET and the Official Weigh-In on Friday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. ET. Following the Sept. 14 pay-per-view event, CBS Sports Network will provide complete analysis of the action with commentator Barry Tompkins and analyst Steve Farhood, as well as live coverage of the post-fight press conference.

CBS Sports Network is the 24-hour home of CBS Sports and is available across the country through local cable, video and telecom providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, and to access the CBS Sports Network channel finder, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com

AMERICAN FORCES NETWORK
SHOWTIME Sports is proud to offer “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” live on September 14 over the American Forces Network free to nearly one million American service men and women, Department of Defense civilians and their families overseas. SHOWTIME Sports offers every SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast to the American Forces Network, which broadcasts to military bases in 175 countries, as well as 140 U.S. Navy ships at sea. There are 600+ military installations in 63 countries and 268 U.S. embassies and consulates serviced by the network. All of them will be able to view “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” live.

# # #

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale on June 25, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

For more information, visit www.theonefight.com, www.floydmayweather.com, www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com
and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @FloydMayweather, , @CaneloOficial, @Canochampion, @AshleyTheophane, @MayweatherPromo, @DannySwift, @IsheSugarShay, @GoldenBoyBoxing, @mgmgrand and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #TheOne and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

Kelly Swanson
Okay, thank you, operator. Thank you, everybody, for joining us today on this conference call with eight-time, five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather and Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. Before I introduce Leonard, who will introduce Floyd, I wanted to do make a couple comments. First of all, Floyd Mayweather is the face of boxing and his face is actually on the cover of this week’s ESPN The Magazine. That magazine is a special fight issue with half the magazine dedicated to The One, and that magazine will be on newsstands this Friday and throughout fight week. Congratulations, Floyd.

I would just like to take this opportunity to tell Floyd Mayweather that he has many times acknowledged my role in his career and I want to tell him at this time that I appreciate him for affording me the opportunity to be part of his career and the Mayweather experience since 2005. His hard work and dedication to his craft and his perfectionism as an athlete and an individual always challenges me to stay positive and do the best job possible for him and the Money Team. Thank you very much, Floyd.

And now, without further ado, I’m going to go ahead and turn this over to Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions to make the formal introduction. Leonard?

Leonard Ellerbe
Thank you, Kelly. The One. I’d like to thank everyone for joining us in on the call
today. Mayweather versus Canelo, The One. Everyone knows this is the most anticipated fight in the history of the sport and we have every indicator that this is going to be the biggest fight in the history of the sport. It started out with the fight going on sale, the fight selling
out in the first day, breaking Floyd’s old record against De La Hoya, $19.5 million at the gate.

Next, when you look at the closed circuit we opened up with 12,000 seats. We sold them out as well. We opened up 13,000 more and we’re about to sell out of them. When you look at the closed circuit as it relates to the restaurants and bars, right now, currently, we’re at 50% higher than we were at Floyd and De La Hoya in ’07.

As it relates to the movie theaters, tracking very well right now. Several of the movie theaters
are sold out right now. The fight will be shown in over 542 theaters nationwide and every indication we have thus far, we’re going to do a big, big number there.

When it comes to sponsor activation, this is the most activated event in the history of the sport. Corona, AT&T, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Valvoline, Mexican Tourism board, Insurance, Nature and Nutrition, and Bacardi Spirits. Tremendous support from our sponsors.

As it relates to the fan participation, the ticket demand is unbelievable at this point when it comes to the interest as it relates to the advertising. We have the biggest advertising plan ever, a record number as it relates to the cable and satellite business. It’s at an all-time high. Showtime, CBS support has been phenomenal thus far. They rolled out every one of their assets from the NFL on CBS to the college football on CBS, and you’ll see that over the next week-and-a-half, the promotion. It’ll be everywhere.

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce the eight-time world champion in five different
weight classes, the face of the sport, the highest paid athlete in the sport and the guy who makes this whole thing go, none other than Money Mayweather himself.

Floyd Mayweather
Hey, how are you all doing today? Thanks for having me. Thank you, Kelly, for the kind words. Thank you, Leonard, for doing a tremendous job. You guys have worked day in and day out for me to be in the best position. Mayweather Promotions is going to continue to bring you guys the biggest and the best fights. I just want to thank everybody because without you guys and without the support and without the media outlets I don’t know where my career would be. So I want to thank everybody. That’s on my mind today.

Q
Obviously, your goal is to retire undefeated and have a Hall of Fame career. You’ve also talked about the mark you want to make as a promoter and that you are making as a promoter. When you think about your career being done and your children and your legacy, what do you want to look back on and say you accomplished not only as an undefeated fighter but the mark you left? What kind of things do you want to say?

Also, what do you look forward to in retirement – spending time with your kids, those types of things? Can you just kind of share that with us?

Mayweather
Well, as far as my children, the most important thing and the great thing about my career was I was able to put them in a comfortable environment. They were able to get a great education that
I wasn’t able to get. My family has been in a comfortable position for 17 years, so that’s a great thing. The mark in the sport of boxing was that I brought that … to the smaller guys … the sport as far as just making smart moves like getting the best so you can receive the best, leaving my mark in sport as far as cleaning up the sport. It’s all about just giving the fans excitement but, like I said, on an even playing field as far as random blood and urine tests. That’s not just in the sport of boxing, but in all sports when you’re competing at the highest level.

Mayweather Promotions, we don’t want to stack our company with a ton of fighters. Every fighter that’s under our banner, we cannot promise them that they will be world champions. I think about that and I talk to fighters about that all the time. The only thing we can do is keep our fingers crossed. The only thing Leonard can do is do his job, and I’ll play a major part. The key is working hand-in-hand with the future fighters. That’s what it’s about, the fighters, the present fighters and the future fighters. The key is working with them, trying to show them a way that I can hand my torch to them so they can take it to the next level. That’s what it’s about. It’s about helping these young fighters grow and taking things to the next level.

Q
When you look around at your team as it is right now with your father in your
corner, Roger’s still there and much of the turmoil with the jail sentence and all that behind you, and as you head into this fight how would you compare your level of contentment and happiness with how things are around you right now heading into this fight?

Mayweather
I’m only human. Some days are better than others. Some days I have good days, some days I
have bad days. You know, that’s life. … What I try to do is I constantly tell myself this: just like you smile on sunny days, you have to smile on rainy days. That’s what I constantly tell myself. I’m happy to be working back with my father. Of course, he’s a perfectionist. I’m a perfectionist. No one is perfect, but we strive to be the best that we can be. The only thing I can do is try to become a better person each and every day. Each and every day I try to become a better person.

Q
I know you came up the hard way, particularly when it came to the guys in the top positions being willing to give you the opportunity to face them. Ever since you’ve been at the top, though, you’ve been giving a lot of these younger guys that opportunity that wasn’t afforded to you back in the day. I was just wondering, do you think it’s easier today for these younger fighters to get that type of opportunity to fight the best, to get a shot at that top spot compared to when you were younger and coming up?

F. Mayweather
Of course, it’s a lot easier now to fight … boxing is tainted, is watered down. I feel like there are too many belts, it’s too many champions. It’s like I said before – I don’t think I told you this – but it’s so crazy how I beat Miguel Cotto for the WBA Junior Middle Weight Champion, right? So how did Austin Trout beat Cotta for the WBA championship and how is Canelo the WBA champ?

Like I said before, these are things I just don’t understand what’s going on with the sport. I think we should have one belt and that’s it. Like I said before, I think the sport is real, real tainted now. It’s not like it was before where you got guys that had to work their way from the bottom to the top. When I was fighting I wanted to fight Oscar De La Hoya way back when. I couldn’t get the fight. I couldn’t get the fight until I was on my own, until I got my own company. I wanted to fight Miguel Cotto when he was undefeated. I couldn’t get the fight.

Sometimes they say, “Well, Floyd Mayweather’s opponents was handpicked.” That’s a good thing. I want to come in and think they put me in a position to where if I did have an easy career and I made a lot of money, then I feel like my team has done their job.

I commend my team. Leonard, you’ve done a tremendous job because when I sit back and I think about my career, I say you know what? I had a cool career. I didn’t take any punishment. If they say these guys were handpicked, they was handpicked to make $40 and $50 and $60 million, then you know what? Leonard, you’ve done your job. You’ve done a tremendous job. If you’ve done that, keep doing the same thing. Keep handpicking them. If they’re going to keep paying, keep handpicking them.

Q
One last question on that note, Floyd. As far as these younger guys getting that opportunity to fight you, do you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing when they get that opportunity so
quickly as far as when it comes to their hunger and things of that nature?

Mayweather
It’s so crazy. I didn’t fight him when he was 40 (Canelo fighting Shane Mosley). So what’s so crazy is I didn’t fight Shane Mosley when he was 40; I fought him when he came off one of his biggest victory. People seem to forget that. I never fought nobody for a vacant belt. Everybody I fought, I fought a champion, a guy that was a champion.

These are the things that I did in the sport. Like I said before, it’s not my fault. It’s about timing and it’s about having the right team. That’s what I got. I got the right team.

Q
One of the things I want to ask you about was is now that you’ve been through most of your
training camp for this fight and it is your quickest turnaround between the May fight and now the September fight I wondered, did you feel like you thought you would feel? As you talked about during the course of this promotion, you’re a little bit older now, perhaps a little bit wiser. Was it okay physically for you to go through that which you have not done for quite some time, having fights back-to-back with just four months in between?

F. Mayweather
I thought I was going to be kind of upset because I didn’t get a chance to take a vacation, but
actually, this camp went great. I was able to get right back into the groove, get right back in
there. Actually, it was a good turnaround because I was still sharp. I was able to be sharp. This camp has been tremendous. I’ve been getting good work, good solid work. The young guys have been pushing me. After this fight I look to fight in May and then fight in September again.

Q
So you feel like from a physical point of view these turnarounds, after pretty much like a decade of not fighting this quickly between fights, it’s okay? You feel like … up against Canelo you’ll be maybe even sharper than when you fought Guerrero?

Mayweather
Well, thank you, but I wasn’t impressed with my fight against Robert. It’s probably because I
took over a year off, but I think I’ll be a lot sharper this fight because I got right back into the
groove of things. Like I said, we got a lot of young and up-and-coming talent in our boxing club that pushes me to the limit and keeping me sharp. I’m trying to outdo the young guys, so
everybody that’s … boxing club is competing against each other to be the best. The only thing that can do is make me better.

Q
Leonard addressed it a bit in his opening remarks talking about the amount of closed circuit tickets that have already been sold, the fact that their gate record has already been broken of all time that you did with Oscar in ’07 and the fact that most people believe that this fight is going to be one of the top selling pay-per-views in the history of the sport, and some people think maybe it breaks the record you set in 2007.

What I’m curious to hear from your point of view is we know when Floyd Mayweather fights it’s a big fight, whoever it is. I’m wondering from your point of view, what do you think has made this one in particular even that much bigger than all of the other ones except perhaps the fight you had with Oscar. Why has this one resonated the way that it seems to have?

Mayweather
He’s young and I’ve seen guys 22 and there’s a guy 25 and … 30 and 0, a guy 26-0, but you’ve never seen a guy 44-0 versus a guy 42 and 0. Like I said before, in Mexico he’s a young rock star and everybody that they put in front of him he was able to go out there and do his job. He done it in a tremendous fashion. He’s a good, strong, solid boxer and I mean, it’s a very intriguing match up. Me not even being a boxing fan, I would want to see two undefeated fighters at the top competition against one another.

Q
You think it’s in the sport there’s been this major pent-up demand for a true super-fight. You’ve had lots of big fights, but maybe not a true super-fight since you’ve fought against Oscar. Is that part of the reason that people have decided, for whatever reason, that Canelo was a guy that they think might have a chance to take that zero from you, and for that reason this is that big time fight?

Mayweather
I think that if me and Cotto had the same vehicle behind us when we faced each other, that night
would have been a lot bigger than it was. Like I said before, this is a very great big fight. I’m
pushing myself to the limit right now. Anything can happen. Any given Saturday, anything can happen. So I’m prepared for anything.

Q
Is it just my imagination or have you gotten a little bit more mellow as the years have gone by? And I mean that as a compliment, man. I just don’t think you talk as much trash as you did a few years ago. Are you mellowing with age?

Mayweather
The thing is this: everything was a business plan. My business plan was to be very, very
entertaining, be very wild, turn it on when it’s time to turn it on, turn it off when it’s time to turn it off, and that’s what I did. I built my fan base. I became a mega-star. I became a household name. That was the ultimate goal. It was just a business plan that I had, you know what I’m saying? There’s nothing fake, but you got to know when to turn it on and when to turn it off. That’s what I was talking about at my gym, actually with Adrian Broner, you have to know when to turn it on and when to turn it off. It’s just business. It’s about being entertaining. I feel like if I didn’t step up to the plate and speak my mind or be flashy and flamboyant then I probably wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in right now. I think it’s a gift. It can be a curse because when you in this position and you at the top, it’s not just luck on my side. It’s been a gift, my career.

Q
Being that you do hold so many records and what not, I’m curious. This fight most of us think at least has the chance to approach the 2.5 million pay per view buys you did with De La Hoya. How important is it to you, Floyd – let me ask you a different way. How much would it mean to you to break that particular record? Are those things important to you as well?

Mayweather
It all depends. We still can break the record and we don’t have to do 2.5 because you have to
realize this: right now we’re talking about financially. This is the reason why: I think
when I was fighting Oscar, I can’t remember what it cost exactly at that because
that was ’07, so that was six years ago. Of course, the price of everything has gone up, so the
price of pay per view is higher now. So we don’t have to do exactly 2.5 to break the record
from a financial standpoint.

Ellerbe
To touch on what he’s saying, obviously we’re speaking in terms of the gross amounts. In ’07 most homes were just standard definition and now, when you look at the cable satellite systems, about 80% of the homes are in HD now. Obviously, with charging $64.95 for the fight, those … make a difference.

Q
I wanted to ask you, how much does it mean to your legacy that your insistence on Olympic style drug testing for fights has led to a different mindset in that area for a lot of fighters? Is that a big part of your legacy?

Mayweather
What’s so crazy is at first it was like everybody was saying, “Floyd, he’s a chicken. He’s
scared” and I felt like I’m not being a chicken or I’m scared. All I’m saying is this is the
only even playing field. I feel like if I step up the plate and I’m the best and I’m saying that I
want to be tested, I feel like every athlete should say it. Not just every boxer. Every athlete
that’s competing at the highest level should want to be tested if you’re a real professional.

Q
Do you feel that you’re the guy who changed the sport a little bit?

Mayweather
Absolutely. I feel I was the first one to take an important stand on cleaning up the sport. Now you hear every fighter, even with Timothy Bradley versusMarquez, now Timothy Bradley is saying that he don’t want to fight unless Marquez tests. So you’re constantly hearing that. Now everybody, or at least the guys that understand how important it is, are now is saying, “I want my opponent to test. The guy that I’m competing against, I want him to take a test.” Like I said before, I started it all and now, like I said before, it’s done everywhere.

Q
Considering the magnitude of this fight card do you think the stage might be too big for a 23
year-old kid who’s never been on one this size?

Mayweather
We’ll just have to see. I think it’s a little different from fighting on Floyd Mayweather’s under
Card to fighting Floyd Mayweather, so I think it’s a lot of pressure. Sometimes when it’s pressure a guy fights better, he competes better. We don’t really know. We have to see how the fight plays out. Hopefully the pressure and everything that’s surrounding the event makes them fight better. The only thing I want to do is give the fans a good fight, a very, very exciting fight. After this fight I have four fights left, so I’m not overlooking this guy, but like I said, I truly believe there’s a lot of pressure on Canelo at this particular time, yes.

Q
What are your thoughts on Kenny Bayless being named the referee?

Mayweather
I just found out about that today. I mean, Kenny Bayless, he’s a great referee. He’s fair.
I think he’s going to let us fight. A lot of times you’ve got refs that’s always trying to break up the action, and Kenny Bayless is one guy – he’s not for the bull (****). He likes to treat every fighter fair.

I’m comfortable with whoever. My job is just to go out there and compete. It doesn’t matter
who is the referee or the judges. I just want to be treated fair, of course. I feel like both fighters should be treated fair. I feel like they chose the right judges. I feel like they chose the right referee. Now it’s time for me and Canelo to go out there and give you guys excitement.

Q
I know you’re a big sports fan. I don’t know if you’ve watched the U.S. Open tennis tournament at all. What kind of tennis player do you think you would have been had you not been a boxer and is there a tennis player out there competing today that you think might make a pretty good boxer?

Mayweather
I don’t know. As far as tennis, I used to like John McEnroe. After
John McEnroe, Pete Sampras. But of course, Arthur Ashe was a legend. His name will always live on. As far as in Las Vegas, of course you have to take your hat off to Andre Agassi, Mr. Las Vegas along with Wayne Newton and myself. I got to, the Williams sisters, of course. Venus and Serena, man, unbelievable. … I used to like her (Serena) too. I remember how you she was and how good she was even then. She was a good player. So yes. What’s crazy right now is my Uncle Roger’s daughter is playing tennis. They are saying that in about in like six years she should be a professional.

Comments (following question) What I’ve been doing lately, I’ve been betting on college football. So if you guys tune into All Access, this week All Access will be the best. Last week, I thought that was the best, but this week you guys get a chance to meet the females from the Money team, so it’s going to be an exciting show. I want everybody to tune in to All Access this weekend. This is show number three of All Access, Mayweather versus Canelo. You guys cannot miss this.

Q
I just wanted to touch on the fact that a lot of English fans are coming out to see you in this fight, some even without tickets. What do you make of the fact that you’ve been taken to so well by the British public?

Ellerbe
I can answer that for him. His phone went dead. He takes great pride in his U.K. fans,
obviously, and it goes back to ’07 when Floyd fought Ricky Hatton. The environment in the arena was something that we had never experienced before. Even up until this date I think it was the rowdiest crowd. The British fans are just phenomenal. After the fight when the fight was over Floyd gave thanks to Ricky Hatton and talked about the tremendous fan support with the U.K. fans. I think from that point on there was a love affair and it started from there. I think with each and every fight that Floyd has fought his British fan base has grown even bigger and bigger. He really, really appreciates the fan support because they are die hard fans. Here it was that Ricky Hatton, with all due respect, he took a beat down and they were still cheering their guy on, singing the song. They’re just die hard fans and that was one of the reasons why we signed the guy … Because like I said, Floyd has great love for his U.K. fans and hopefully one day soon we might make that trip over the pond.

Q
I actually wanted to find out what it was … he said to us that he’d spoken to Floyd about Floyd thinking about moving over and looking at a place to live over here. I just kind of wanted to get his thoughts on our culture and what it was that he particularly liked about England itself.

Ellerbe
Well, he obviously has put some feelers out there with looking for a place, a vacation place, but one of the things from the business standpoint, we’re looking to take a big event over there, and maybe in the near future.

Q
I want to ask you about Mayweather Promotions being part of this fight which is going to do
huge on pay per view, break all these records. What is the status now? You’ve seen a lot of
other promotions. Where do you think Mayweather Promotions is compared to some of the
other major boxing promotions today?

L. Ellerbe
Well, I wouldn’t compare our promotional company to any other company because we’re not
competing with anyone. As Drake says in his song, we started from the bottom and now we’re here. Obviously, Mayweather Promotions has the biggest fighter in the sport. With Floyd being the face of the company we’re able to attract all different types of talent. We’ve been taking our time working very, very slowly, but we’re going to make a lot of noise here in the near future – a lot of noise. Currently right now I have ten fighters that signed to Mayweather Promotions and seven of them are fighting on the card. We have seven of the eight fights on 9/14. We have Badou Jack who’s fighting the co-feature on the Fox show. He’s fighting Periban. We have a lot of young, good talent that they’re on the rise. Obviously, we have Ishe Smith and … Ishe would be a world champion and … fighting also on the card opening up the pay per view portion. So we have a lot of good young talent and we’re taking our time with the right talent. It’s about the quality, not the quantity. We’re going to take our time and we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with when the time is right.

Q
Were you surprised at all, on this conference call there was very little discussion about what to expect in the ring itself between Floyd and Canelo. It was almost like there’s a foregone
conclusion that Floyd’s going to win one way or another. Did that surprise you; there wasn’t
more technique talk from questions about that?

Ellerbe
Well, we don’t get caught up in the aspect of what everyone else thinks. That’s up to the media and the fans. From a preparation standpoint I personally know that Floyd, he’s preparing the same that he normally does for any fight and he’s treating this fight accordingly. In everyone else’s eyes, they see that this is Floyd’s biggest challenge to date and come next Saturday the world will see. We know what Canelo is bringing to the table. We’ve done extensive homework on the young man. He’s a tremendous fighter. He’s fought some decent competition thus far, but fighting Floyd Mayweather is like night and day. Floyd, with all due respect, Austin Trout, in my eyes, he was the best fighter that he’s fought to date. Floyd Mayweather is head and shoulders above a guy like Austin Trout. I think come next Saturday night the young man, he will be in for a rude awakening.

END OF CALL

“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous puncher WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. Also, Ishe Smith vs. Carlos Molina square off in a 12-round battle for Smith’s IBF Junior Middleweight World Title which is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The opening bout on SHOWTIME PPV features a 10-round welterweight showdown between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale on June 25, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE ONE” will also be broadcast on nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

For more information, visit www.theonefight.com, www.floydmayweather.com, www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com,www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @FloydMayweather, , @CaneloOficial, @DannySwift, @IsheSugarShay, @Canochampion, @AshleyTheophane, @MayweatherPromo, @DannySwift, @IsheSugarShay, @GoldenBoyBoxing, @mgmgrand and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #TheOne and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

LONDON (6 Sept. 2013) – Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is adamant his super-fight against pound-for-pound king Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather will alter the course of boxing history, live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).

Mayweather has long been considered the best fighter of his generation, with 44 wins out of 44 fights, testimony to his superiority over his peers. The American superstar seems destined to enter the boxing Hall of Fame as one of the greatest of all time, with his current unblemished record intact.

However, rising light-middleweight world champion, Alvarez, who himself is undefeated, squares off against the majestic Mayweather on September 14, under the bright lights of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with a promise to rewrite the chapters of boxing folklore.

“This fight can change history, when I win this fight it will be a memorable win. This is what is motivating me,” said Alvarez.

“I’m not worried about the occasion. In my career I’ve always been able to focus very well despite being in some very tough fights. I’m a fighter who has always been very strong mentally and very cold in my thoughts.

“As a fighter you only want to face the best and at this moment in time Floyd Mayweather is considered the best. And the only way you become the best is by beating the best, so I’m looking forward to it.”

As the reigning WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine light-middleweight world champion, the cinnamon haired Mexican has not come up the easy way after turning professional at the tender age of just 15.

Despite enjoying cult-hero status in his native country, headlining the biggest fight card in nearly a decade offers Alvarez the chance to become a worldwide boxing icon and cement his legacy by silencing the often outspoken Mayweather.

“I think the way Mayweather is talking he is underestimating me but deep down I think he is very worried. He’s always been a talker, that’s the kind of person he is. But I don’t care what he’s saying or what he’s thinking, all I care about is what I’m saying and what I’m thinking and that I’m in control – that’s what matters to me,” Alvarez said.

“It’s good Mayweather is saying that this won’t be the toughest fight of his career, the day he gets up in the ring with me he’ll see whether it’s a tough fight or not,” he declared.

Alvarez is well aware of the significance of his impending battle and is prepared for an experienced Mayweather who is still at the very top of his game.

“I have a lot to lose, this is a fight that is super important to me,” he said.

“Floyd’s not a dirty fighter but he’s a very experienced fighter and sometimes he uses his elbows and forearms but it’s a tactic to take you of your game plan and then counter you. I’m going in there to follow my game plan and make my fight and not fight his fight.

“I still think Floyd is at his peak and he hasn’t lost anything despite getting older – he’s still Mayweather,” added Alvarez.

Mayweather vs Alvarez is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546) on Saturday 14th September. To subscribe visit www.boxnation.com.

-Ends-

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