Canelo Alvarez emerges as the biggest winner from Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s predictable and perhaps necessary victory over Robert Guerrero. Argue you all you want about the merits of Mayweather’s dominance. Get over it. Doesn’t matter. Besides, what did anyone really expect?

If dollars are the most reliable path in boxing or any other business, it was no surprise. Follow the purses. According to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Mayweather’s guarantee was $32.5 million. Guerrero’s was $3 million.
Mayweather’s compensation was 10.83 times more than Guerrero’s paycheck. That’s a long way from the widening gap that separates CEO from employee in today’s America. According to various sources, that number is bigger by 350 to 354 times, or more canyon than gap.

No matter how it’s calculated, here’s the bottom line: Guerrero did what he was hired to do. He was virtually Mayweather’s employee. He might as well have come into the ring on May 4 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand wearing one of those caps that say TMT, the Mayweather logo that stands for The Money Team.

Guerrero clocked in at opening bell and clocked out after 12 rounds of work. He allowed Mayweather to shake off some rust and re-establish a working relationship with his dad, Floyd Sr., who is back as his trainer. Above all, Guerrero was a vehicle for Mayweather to test his readiness for a Showtime contract worth $250 million if he fights five more times over the next 30 months. So far, so good.

But the tune-up Mayweather needed left a potential problem. Guerrero is everything that Alvarez is not. Alvarez continues to emerge as a Mayweather equal at the box office with proven drawing power absent on May 4. As of Thursday, pay-per-view numbers had yet to be released. If – as rumored – they fall short of expectations, Alvarez’ importance to Showtime’s deal with Mayweather grows.

Even if the numbers are better than speculated, Alvarez-Mayweather is the fight Showtime must have if the deal is to succeed. Alvarez, of Guadalajara, is the red-head Pied Piper for Mexican fans. He brings the Mexican audience. No demographic is more important in boxing. Mayweather seemed to forget that on May 4 when he tried to appropriate the popular Cinco de Mayo holiday for himself. On fight posters, the celebratory weekend was called May Day.

In 2007, Mayweather wore a sombrero and Mexican colors into the ring before a split-decision on May 5 over Oscar de la Hoya. That might have been a little over the top, but it worked because it acknowledged an audience that has helped him make all that Money. His tip of the sombrero was noticed then. Six years later, I can’t help but think there’s annoyance at suddenly seeing his signature on the same weekend that is Mexican history.

In a savvy move, Alvarez displayed business smarts usually associated with Mayweather when he decided not to fight on the May 4 card, because he couldn’t be guaranteed a Mayweather fight on September 14. Instead, he moved into the main event in a victory on April 20 over Austin Trout in San Antonio. A crowd of nearly 40,000 showed up at the Alamodome. Ticket prices were cheaper than they were in Vegas for Mayweather-Guerrero. But would 40,000 have shown up for Mayweather-Guerrero in San Antonio?

It’s impossible to say what the pay-per-view audience would have been on May 4 if Alvarez had been on the card. But it’s fair to assume they would have been better than whatever the official tally winds up being. Talks for Alvarez-Mayweather reportedly are already underway. At this point, the proposed financial split is anybody’s guess. But here’s a good one: Alvarez won’t fight for $3 million. Multiply Guerrero’s guarantee five times, add a substantial percentage of the Mexican television revenue to Alvarez’ purse and you might get a deal.

We say might, because it’s hard to know how Mayweather will react. He has a history of dictating terms, a factor in the abortive talks for a fight with Manny Pacquiao. If Home Box Office had signed a Showtime-like deal with Mayweather, HBO might still be counting its losses. An HBO deal with Mayweather would have needed Pacquiao then as much as Showtime needs Alvarez now.

Time could be pushing Mayweather to an Alvarez fight sooner than anyone might have expected. At 36, Mayweather is probably a step or two beyond his prime. He said after beating Guerrero that he is five fights from retirement. His best chance might be now instead of later against the 22-year-old Alvarez, who is still approaching his prime.
Meanwhile, the ambitious Alvarez might pay for some youthful impatience. He continues to lobby for Mayweather. Alvarez fights at 154 pounds. Mayweather, comfortable at welterweight, could demand a fight at 147, forcing him into a diet and regimen that could weaken him. There are warnings that Alvarez is getting ahead of himself. Friends and associates are telling him to fight Miguel Cotto first. They are asking him to wait.

But time, money, Mexican fans, Canelo’s ambitions and his emerging role as a make-or-break component in Showtime’s deal with Mayweather are creating momentum hard to stop.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, talks are underway for a possible Fall showdown between world champions Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez

“I am working on the fight,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “I’m crunching the numbers. You should see my calculator — it’s red-hot. I am working on a lot of fights, but this is my No. 1 priority.”

“This is something I am pursuing and I am having conversations with both sides,” Schaefer said. “Canelo wants the fight and Floyd has never turned down an opponent.”

“We’re going to be back in September,” Mayweather said.

SAN ANTONIO – Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is a better fighter than he appears on television, which is an ironical development given how desperately two television broadcasters, one in the U.S., one in Mexico, now crave his success. He is also better with fans and interviewers, more comfortable, more himself, if no better looking, than many stoic Mexican champions are. These are fine, important things, since Saturday at Alamodome ensured he is our sport’s future, being, as he is, the best young representative from boxing’s most reliable fanbase.

One didn’t need to be a Canelo partisan to see him win a close, clear victory over New Mexico’s Austin Trout in their junior middleweight title-unification match, Saturday, a victory judges unanimously saw Alvarez’s way: 115-112, 116-111 and 118-109. My scorecard concurred, 115-114, marking rounds 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12 for Trout, rounds 1 and 4 even, and rounds 2, 3, 7, 9 and 11 for Alvarez – with round 7 going 10-8 in his favor. Additionally, I marked with an asterisk rounds 2, 3, 5, 11 and 12, as those close enough to engender goodfaith debate.

All calculus aside, my sense of the fight at ringside was that Alvarez was its winner, the man who most successfully manifested what the verb “to fight” both connotes and denotes. What is not adequately transmitted about Alvarez by television – why, once more, attending fights bests watching them through self-interested and -deluding filters – is the ferocity of his attack. He has none of the workaday commitment his countrymen typically apply to their punches, blows that hurt for being efficiently leveraged by professional fighters whose bodyweights are properly balanced over feet that are flat.

Alvarez punches to hurt his opponent in a personal way; he wants every blow to tell with a wince or whimper or welt from or on its recipient – and Alvarez flies his body at another’s in a flash of violence quickly as he returns it to a more observant mien. He sells-out with his right hand; from the opening of Saturday’s fight, long before he had Trout’s measure or any expectation he’d not be countered and then imperiled by Trout’s counter, Alvarez threw righthands recklessly, whether as straight crosses or looping hybrid hooks, while Trout threw a fleeing jab, one meant as a tasting, sampling thing, something from which he could hurriedly extract himself when it did not land – and it did not land, not fractionally often as anyone, especially Trout, thought it would.

If Alvarez’s ferocity was the evening’s best surprise, his elusiveness was runner-up. It was striking how few of Trout’s strikes got closer than near him. In the kaleidoscope of lights and colors and angles and commentary that is a televised prizefight, much of what appears a clean punch verily is not. From my ringside notes, about a round scored for Trout: “Round 5: Trout is being outclassed by Canelo. In that round Canelo didn’t land enough to win, but Trout didn’t land hardly anything either. Trout cannot seem to find Canelo.”

Thursday night Austin Trout visited San Fernando Gymnasium, downtown, for a light workout. He was very good at what he did but not great. He did mitts work at a pedestrian rate, not hitting particularly hard, not committing particularly full, not catching the center of the mitt with more than two-thirds his punches. Were he a baseball pitcher, Trout would barely miss corners, get behind in counts, and then serve a juicy fastball over the plate.

He was gracious, of course, gracious as the reputation that preceded him: After 40 minutes of shadowboxing, mitts and skipping rope, his handlers had the San Fernando faithful – mostly local boxers and their families (the workout was not public or announced) – line up at the base of the steps, make their ways to the ring, and have their pictures taken with the champ. Trout had a smile or hug or softly said pleasantry for each, even if not one bore a resemblance to him, even if every one planned to cheer Alvarez’s passionate pursuit of his unconsciousness in 48 hours.

Trout is not special as Alvarez, and that would be so even if Trout had somehow finagled a decision Saturday. When I glanced at the tally of my scorecard, I was glad to see Alvarez was the victor, because that is how the fight felt from ringside. Alvarez made the consequential choices in the fight, whether the choices that preceded his hurled righthands, or the choice to retreat to the ropes and audition for a Mayweather fight unlikely to materialize.

Or perhaps it was not an audition at all but evidence of his fatigue; it is a sapping strategy Alvarez applied Saturday, harder than pressure fighting, for its backward steps, harder than defensive boxing, for the contractions that happen an instant before throwing righthands and the exertion of stopping them when they miss. Alvarez relaxes much as possible for his style of combat, one wishing to inflict pain with every blow, he throws three punches – jab, cross and right uppercut – more efficiently than his peers, but still he gets visibly fatigued at regular intervals of a 36-minute fight, giving an opponent at least six of them through inactivity.

I have now borne eyewitness to Canelo Mania, yes, but I still do not understand it; Alvarez feels more like a 20,000-seat prizefighter than the nearly 40,000 he filled at Alamodome. He is a more suspenseful fighter in person than he appears on television, though, and more than a novel complexion, much more, which assuages a fear serious people had about him. If he is our sport’s future, he is not a bad future to have.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

SAN ANTONIO – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was supposed to be a heavy-footed stalker who would either grind Austin “No Doubt” Trout in the canvas with a left hook, or never close space enough to make a challenge. That was what aficionados said before the fight. That was what Trout prepared for in training camp.

How wrong they were – all of us.

Saturday at Alamodome, before a partisan-Mexican crowd of nearly 40,000, Mexico’s Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) decisioned New Mexico’s Trout (26-1, 14 KOs) by unanimous scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 118-109 to become the unified junior middleweight champion of the world. The 15rounds.com ringside scorecard concurred with the official decision, though by a narrower margin: 115-114.

“Austin was a very difficult fighter, but I was smart,” Alvarez said afterward. “And as the fight went on, I figured out how to fight him.”

There was a ferocity to Alvarez’s punches, particularly the commitment with which he threw his right hand, that was too much for Trout’s counters. From the opening round onwards, Trout was unable to catch Alvarez with nearly as many or as much as he needed to.

“I connected with my right and my jab,” Alvarez said. “My jab was perfect.”

Alvarez, the heavy-handed Mexican, was actually more elusive than Trout, the slippery American.

“He shocked us tonight,” Trout conceded. “I was prepared for a totally different fighter.”

The quiet-spoken Trout, who made the fight close as it was with his persistence more than any other trait, appeared to have taken Alvarez more lightly than he should have. Trout’s prefight preparation assumed that so long as he did not needlessly engage Alvarez inside, he’d be able to catch the heavyfooted Mexican on the way in. That was not the case at all, as Alvarez often outjabbed Trout, and the jabs Alvarez landed were very much more than the flicking, swatting, sampling efforts Trout employed for most of the match.

“He boxed a lot better than I thought,” Trout said. “He moved a lot better than I thought.”

The fight’s opening five rounds featured nothing decisive and lots of close scoring. Alvarez’s punches, consistently, were the harder blows, but he was not nearly active as Trout, who often threw at triple Alvarez’s rate.

The sixth round marked what may have been Alvarez’s only tactical error, as he made the first of a number of choices to be elusive rather than aggressive, allowing Trout finally to measure him and land more successfully than he had to that point. Round 6, subsequently, was the first round Trout won cleanly.

“I learned a lot from this fight,” Alvarez said. “It was a great experience for me.”

The seventh round changed everything and ultimately supplied the Alvarez point that decided the match for the Mexican on the 15rounds.com scorecard. Showing a willingness to sell-out with the right hand in his 1-2 combination, Alvarez stepped forward and blasted Trout with a straight right that dropped him in the opening minute of round 7. That 10-8 round made the scoring difference.

Alvarez then rested as much as he fought in the rounds that followed, showing himself a fighter capable of 30 minutes of constant pressure in a 36-minute fight. He protected his lead properly, though, winning on all three cards.

“I take my loss like a man,” Trout said. “The better man won tonight.”

Asked afterwards if he wished to fight Floyd Mayweather, Alvarez was unequivocal.

“Obviously,” he said. “Of course I want Mayweather next.”

He will need to prepare himself for 36 fully concentrated minutes, if that fight ever comes to fruition.

OMAR FIGUEROA VS. ABNER COTTO
The co-main event was not the ticket-seller, and it’s a good thing too.

Local Texas favorite Omar Figueroa (21-0-1, 17 KOs), a lightweight titlist from Weslaco, a bordertown just east of McAllen, made startlingly quick work of outmatched Puerto Rican Abner Cotto (16-1, 7 KOs) in Saturday’s co-main event, stopping Cotto at 2:57 of round 1, with a lefthand to the body that dropped Cotto for the second time in as many minutes and caused him to remain on his knees.

“I could tell my body shots hurt him,” said Figueroa immediately afterward. “I was just waiting for my next opportunity.”

At Friday’s weighin, co-main event co-promoter Miguel Cotto arrived in a casual black getup and remained seated at the back of the stage, acknowledging almost no one. If he had an inkling how to sell his nascent promotional company to the public of South Texas, he didn’t show it. Saturday his namesake displayed the same capacity for prizefighting.

JERMALL CHARLO VS. ORLANDO LORA
Prognostications for Saturday’s penultimate match went: Houston super welterweight Jermall Charlo, who has class but not much pop, will outclass fully Mexican Orlando Lora, who is tough and applies pressure. Prognostications were ultimately wrong – Charlo stopped Lora fairly early – though whether because of Charlo’s improved power or Lora’s increased fragility remains unknown.

Charlo outboxed Lora for every minute of their match, but Lora seemed willing and able to absorb the abuse, at least, which brought sighs of displeasure and surprise from the filled-in Alamodome crowd, when Lora quit on his stool after round 4, awarding Charlo a victory that will go in the books: KO-5.

Charlo continues to build momentum in his career, boxing under Houston trainer Ronnie Shields and improving his physique in each match by applying an innovative and scientific approach to conditioning.

TERRELL GAUSHA VS. WILLIAM WATERS
U.S. Olympians are not supposed to suffer first-round knockdowns to novices with losing records, but that’s exactly what Cleveland super middleweight Terrell Gausha did in the first round of Saturday’s sixth match, catching an overhand right flush on the chin and dropping like he was shot.

Gausha (4-0, 2 KOs) was fortunate, the back of his head caught the ropes on the way down, and he did not suffer the doubly concussive effect of having his brain bounced on the canvas. Still, he was dazed. Gausha rose, collected himself and boxed to a narrow four-round unanimous-decision victory – 38-37, three times – over Alabaman William “The Outlaw” Waters (2-4, 2 KOs), a decision the half-capacity Texas crowd booed loudly.

As many different styles as Gausha had to see en route to representing his country in the Olympics, it was remarkable how often Waters caught him with clean power punches.

RAUL MARTINEZ VS. OMAR GONZALEZ
If it was a surprise to see San Antonio’s two-time world title challenger Raul “Cobrita” Martinez in a four-rounder against an unknown opponent near the bottom of Saturday’s undercard, it was quite a bit more than a surprise to see Martinez bloodied, dropped and beaten by Omar “Bad Boy” Gonzales.

In a four-round match judges scored 39-36, 38-37 and 37-38 for Gonzales (6-8, 1 KO), both San Antonians fought well and hard, but Gonzales was just a little better in a number of exchanges with Martinez (29-3, 17 KOs), who appeared to struggle with balance issues from the opening minute. An accidental collision of heads in round 3 opened a significant cut near Martinez’s left eye, likely buzzing him.

That must be the reason, or at least it will be the explanation, for Martinez’s being dropped on the blue mat in round 4 by a well-placed left-cross counter from the southpaw “Bad Boy,” who then had Martinez nearly down again in the match’s closing seconds.

When the fair split decision in Gonzales’s favor was read, Gonzales celebrated euphorically, and Martinez looked dazedly about, still apparently unsure of his bearings.

UNDERCARD
Saturday’s third match saw Mexican super bantamweight Andres Gutierrez (26-0-1, 22 KOs) brutalize fellow Mexican, and now-worn novelty, Salvador Sanchez III (30-6-3, 18 KOs), stopping him at 1:25 of round 5. Sanchez should no longer be asked to compete against elite fighters, no matter how catchy his deceased uncle’s name.

In other action, Houston featherweight Miguel Flores (11-0, 6 KOs) decisioned Texan Guadalupe De Leon. Tijuana super flyweight Ivan Morales (21-0, 13 KOs) decisioned Chihuahua’s Raul Hidalgo (17-8, 13 KOs). And Philadelphia middleweight Julian Williams (12-0-1, 7 KOs) stopped overmatched Californian Dashon Johnson (14-11-3, 5 KOs) at 1:43 of round 3.

Opening bell rang on a sparsely populated Alamodome at 4:37 PM local time.

Follow all the action as Canelo Alvarez meets Austin Trout in a WBA/WBC Super Welterweight unification bou from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas

12 ROUNDS-WBA/WBC SUPER WELTERWEIGHT TITLE–Canelo Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) vs Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s)

Round 1 Trout pawing with the jab…Canelo gets in a counter right..Lead left hook..10-9 Canelo

Round 2 Trout lands 3 jabs..Good uppercut from Canelo…2 jabs..Right to body…right to head…Right 20-18 Canelo

Round 3 Trout lands a couple good..good 1-2..Canelo lands a 1-2..Straight right..Trout lands 2 jabs and a body shot..29-28 Canelo

Round 4 Trout pops Canelo’s head back with a jab…Canelo lands 2 jabs..Trout landing..Canelo lands a jab..Trout lands a jab..straight left…Canelo lands a uppercut.Trout getting in shots…Hard jab from Canelo..Jab from Trout…38-38

Round 5 Trout lands a good combination..Canelo lands a right to the body..right to the cheek..Trout lands a counter..left..Canelo lands a right..Trout lands a straight left to the body..48-47 Trout

Round 6 Canelo lands a overhand right..Jab..Trout lands a right to the body and a right hook..Lead left from Canelo..trading uppercuts..2 hard shots from Trout on the ropes..Good counter right from Canelo..good uppercut..58-56 Trout

Round 7 HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES TROUT….Trout lands a left..Hard right from Canelo..Good left from Trout..Right to the body from canelo…Jab from Trout..Short left uppercut..Straight right from Canelo..Counter right from Trout…66-66

Round 8 Straight left from Trout..Jab..left..Canelo lands 2 straight right..76-75 Trout

Round 9 Canelo lands a right..2 good uppercuts..Straight left from Trout..Canelo lands a right to the body..Right…Uppercut from Trout..Straight right from Canelo..left from Trout..85-85

Round 10 Trout lands a left..Canelo lands an overhand right..body..Hard uppercut..straight right..Counter left from Trout…straight left…95-94 Canelo

Round 11Left to body from Trout..Canelo 1-2…right..Trout lands a jab..Straight right from Canelo..Right uppercut..left uppercut to the body..left uppercut to the body..Straight left and counter right from Trout…good exchange…105-103 Canelo

Round 12 Trout lands an uppercut..left uppercuts…Canelo lands an overhand right..right..Trout 2 lefts…Canelo lands a left to the body..Right to body.. straight left from Trout..114-113 Canelo

115-112; 116-111; 118-109…CANELO ALVAREZ

SAN ANTONIO – At the corner of San Saba and Commerce Streets, in the middle of whose closed intersection the weighin for “Canelo Vs. Trout” was held, an enormous screenprint of Saul Alvarez stood beneath a signpost on which flew a promotional banner for a local art museum’s exhibition, one called “Real / Surreal.” An appropriate touch, that, as it is exactly the question about Alvarado aficionados will have answered in Saturday’s main event.

Friday afternoon under a bright sun, in the confines of an otherwise unseasonably pleasant outdoor plaza in this city’s Market Square quadrant, at an event attended by the Mayor, his U.S. Congressman brother, and copromoters and formal rivals Oscar De La Hoya and Jesse James Leija, Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KOs) and American Austin “No Doubt” Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) made weight for their Saturday junior middleweight title-unification match.

Alvarez, his skin powder white with fire-brick freckles, made 153 1/2. Trout, much darker complected, his chest and shoulders tattooed in gray art and script, made 153 1/4. Both appeared in excellent fighting trim, with Trout the talller man.

Every ticket for Saturday’s contest has been sold for a week at least. Promoters announced a crowd of about 40,000 is expected at Alamodome. What has been dubbed “Canelo Mania” has Alamo City in its trance, as a barely proven 22-year-old Mexican with features so red, Irish really, he is called “Cinnamon,” has sold more tickets to a domestic boxing event than anyone since Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in 2010, despite facing much lesser opposition.

That will change Saturday. In Austin Trout, Alvarez will find himself matched with an undefeated 27 year-old prizefigher every bit as good as he is, likely better. Trout decisioned Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in December, and Alvarez has yet to accomplish anything that merits comparison with Cotto’s achievements. Alvarez, though, has a youthful vigor Cotto had beaten out of him by Mexican Antonio Margarito and the aforementioned Pacquiao years before he met Trout.

Alvarez is the ticket-selling favorite in this historic, once-Spanish, once-Mexican city. But Trout is accustomed to fighting before unfriendly crowds, having beaten Cotto in Madison Square Garden, Mexican David Lopez in Mexico, and Alvarez’s brother Rigoberto in La Familia Alvarez’s home state of Jalisco. Both men exhude graciousness and poise, though Alvarez’s poise is more easily understood and come-by given the adoration shown him wherever he goes. Trout is unlikely to be undone by Saturday’s large, partisan-Mexican crowd.

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Doors will open at Alamodome at 4:00 PM local time. As a Fiesta carnival occupies Alamodome’s parking lot, no parking will be available at Alamodome for Saturday’s match. This city’s VIA Metropolitan Transit will run busses from five park-and-ride spots, and ticketholders are encouraged to visit the VIA website for more details.

15rounds.com will have full ringside coverage.

WBC, WBA & VACANT RING MAGAZINE SUPER WELTERWEIGHT TITLES – 12 ROUNDS

CANELO ALVAREZ – 153 ½ Pounds

AUSTIN TROUT – 153 ¼ Pounds

OMAR FIGUEROA – 134 ½ Pounds

ABNER COTTO – 133 ½ Pounds

SHOWTIME EXTREME:

JERMALL CHARLO – 154 ¼ Pounds

ORLANDO LORA – 154 ¼ Pounds

JULIAN WILLIAMS – 156 ¾ Pounds

DASHON JOHNSON – 156 ¾ Pounds

ABOUT “CANELO VS. TROUT”:

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

SAN ANTONIO, April 19 – The 38,000 fans in the sold out Alamodome tomorrow night are in for non-stop action as the undercard for the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez and WBA Super Welterweight Austin “No Doubt” Trout showdown is now complete. Unbeaten prospects Jermall Charlo and Julian Williams will be joined by 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha in the SHOWTIME EXTREME bouts that will lead into the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast featuring undefeated lightweights Omar Figueroa Jr. and Abner Cotto followed by the highly anticipated Canelo vs. Trout 12-round Super Welterweight Title Unification bout.

In the SHOWTIME EXTREME headliner, Houston’s Charlo, twin brother of top contender Jermell, puts his perfect 12-0 (8 KO’s) record on the line when he battles veteran Mexican contender Orlando Lora (29-3-2, 19 KO’s) in a super welterweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.

Plus, an eight-round middleweight contest between Philadelphia phenom Williams (11-0-1, 6 KO’s) and Escondido, California’s Dashon Johnson (14-10-3, 5 KO’s) and in a four round middleweight swing bout, 2012 U.S. Olympian Gausha (3-0, 2 KO’s) of Cleveland meets up with Valley, Alabama’s William Waters (2-3, 2 KO’s).

In an eight-round flyweight contest, unbeaten Ivan Morales (20-0, 13 KO’s), the brother of legendary Erik Morales, will continue to make a name for himself when he faces Chihuahua, Mexico’s Raul Hidalgo (17-7, 13 KO’s).

The vacant WBC Silver Super Bantamweight title will be up for grabs as well when Queretaro, Mexico’s Andres Gutierrez (25-0-1, 21 KO’s) faces countryman Salvador “Sal II” Sanchez (30-5-3, 18 KO’s), the nephew of the late Salvador Sanchez.

Local San Antonio hero Raul Martinez (29-2, 17 KOs) continues his comeback in bantamweight action, as he takes on Omar Gonzales (5-8, 1 KO) in a four-round battle. In the four-round junior lightweight opener, unbeaten Houstonite Miguel Flores (10-0, 6 KO’s) meets Weslaco’s Guadalupe De Leon (8-13, 4 KO’s).

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

LOS ANGELES, April 19 – With the April 20 super welterweight unification showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Austin “No Doubt” Trout rapidly approaching, FOX Deportes Classics will prepare fans for fight night on Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT with a series of three of the Mexican superstar’s most memorable fights.

In the main event, it’s a trip back to November of 2011 when Canelo defeated former World Champion Kermit Cintron in the famed Plaza del Toros in Mexico City. Also featured will be Canelos’ September 2011 defeat of fellow countryman Alfonso Gomez on Mexican Independence Day weekend as well as Canelo’s first defense of his title against England’s Ryan Rhodes from June 2011.

Back in Mexico to close out his 2011 campaign, Canelo made an emphatic statement to the boxing world that he was ready for even bigger fights when he blasted former World Champion Kermit Cintron of Puerto Rico in just five rounds on November 26, 2011. From there, it was clear that the sky is the limit for Canelo.

Earlier that year and already one of boxing’s biggest stars, the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion, Mexico’s Canelo successfully defended his WBC crown for the second time on September 17, 2011 with a sixth round technical knockout win over “The Contender” star Alfonso Gomez at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Three months earlier, on June 18, 2011, Canelo returned to his home country of Mexico to thrill fans with a fast-paced battle against England’s Ryan Rhodes. Dropping the challenger in the fourth round, Canelo eventually secured his first successful title defense by finishing his courageous foe in the 12th round.

Now, he prepares for his toughest test to date when he takes on WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout on Saturday, April 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, which will be live on SHOWTIME at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

# # #

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Newly released tickets priced at $150, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are limited to eight per person and on sale now only at the Alamodome box office.

For more information on Golden Boy Promotions, visit www.goldenboypromotions.comor www.FOXDeportes.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or www.twitter.com/FOXDeportes visit us on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page or www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes.

CANELO ALVAREZ, WBC Super Welterweight World Champion

“If I want to win this fight, I have to move fast. I have to watch out for Trout’s left. I’ve been studying his style and I can definitely adapt to it. It’s going to be tough, but I know I can beat him. I trust I have what it takes to beat him.

“On Saturday, after defeating Trout, I will raise my hand and my belt and will be thinking of my brother. That belt is his.

“I’m 100 percent ready for Trout. He’s a world-class boxer and an undefeated world champion.

“I’m thankful to the people of San Antonio. They give me great motivation and they have an amazing energy.

“I’m very grateful and happy to be here.

“I’m maintaining weight. I’m training hard. I’m ready.

“I’m visualizing the fight. I’m very focused and very determined. Saturday is going to be my night.

“I’d like to thank my fans for their support. I’m anxious to give them the show they want on Saturday.

“I’m excited to be part of all this. I feel motivated that Oscar De La Hoya is part of all this. It makes me happy to be part of his team.

“I’m the type of boxer that adapts well to other styles.

“When I step into the ring, the best of me comes out.

“I’m ready for Trout. I’m ready to not let my fans down. I’m ready to win.”

AUSTIN “NO DOUBT” TROUT, WBA Super Welterweight World Champion

“We just want to up the intensity from the Miguel Cotto fight. Even though they’re not the same fighter, they have similar styles. We want to up the intensity because Canelo is a bit more intense of a fighter than Miguel Cotto.

“He’s an all-around fighter and he doesn’t have many faults, but he’s not as strong in some areas as others and we’re going to exploit that. We’re preparing for the total package.

“Canelo’s a world champion so he has to have what it takes. They wouldn’t have given him the belt otherwise.

“I’m ecstatic to be the focal point of over 38,000 people. It’s wonderful. I really just can’t wait to be in that atmosphere.

“If Canelo’s not ready now, he’s never going to be. I’m excited to get in there and I’m glad he put his foot down to make this fight happen.

(On the public turnout at Wednesday’s workout) “It’s love. I appreciate all the love. They’re the reason that boxing is going to thrive for ages. It’s one of the oldest sports and it’s not dying anytime soon. This is evidence of it right here.

“Anything is possible. We’ve done things that people said couldn’t be done. I believe God does miracles everyday. I’m not saying it’s going to beat the man, but it can be done. Impossible is a mind state and I don’t have that type of mind state.

“My focus is to just be in shape. We know he’s going to bring it, so we want to make sure we can up the intensity when we need to.

“I don’t think it’s going to be difficult at all fighting in front of these fans. It’s the opponent that’s going to make it difficult. The crowd isn’t going to make it harder or easier. Canelo is going to make it harder. So the crowd is not going to stray me or bother me one bit.

“My hometown is really divided being that it’s a mostly Latin area, but we have a lot of support coming from Las Cruces. Mexican blood is thick and it’s hard to divide that. They’re the best fans to have. If I could have them adopt me as their own champion, I’d be ecstatic because they’re loyal and they fight for their guys. My whole goal is to just take that love and push it onto me.

“Canelo is a champion and he wants to please his fans. If his fans didn’t say that he needed to fight me to prove that he’s the true champion, then I don’t think he would have done it.

“My strategy is to win by any means possible. Whether it is brawling, boxing, moving, sticking there, staying there, whatever I need to do. We’re going to win.

“I want to be a legend in this game. I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder.

“I’ve been the underdog a lot. What they think doesn’t bother me. I think ‘underdog’ is a mind state. I’m here to win. I’m here to win decisively. What the odds say, what the people say, is not really going to affect what happens in the ring.

“I’ve prepared for it and the way I’m feeling right now in my heart and in my mind, that’s what is going to affect the fight.

“The formula is the same (as against Miguel Cotto), but we know they’re not the same fighter. Canelo is in his prime, he’s undefeated and he’s not battle worn. He’s still got a lot of pop and life left in him. Although the formula is the same, we have to up the intensity and we’re not treating him as the same fighter.

“I fought his style of fighter my whole life being from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and fighting around the area. I’m not sure if he’s fought my style, though and we’ll see the difference come Saturday.”

ABNER COTTO, WBC FECARBOX Lightweight Champion

“First, I want to thank the public of San Antonio for being here. Then, I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for giving me this opportunity. I’m so proud that I’m fighting at the Alamodome in front of over 30,000 people. It’s a true honor.

“It’s truly an honor to fight on the same card as Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout. They’re both great boxers. It’s not going to be easy for Canelo. Trout is a tough fighter. After all, he beat my cousin [future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto]. To be honest, I don’t know who’s going to win. I’m not going to make a prediction.

“When I have to fight, I’m always ready to fight at my best.

“I’ll be representing my people from Puerto Rico on Saturday at the Alamodome and I won’t let them down.”

JERMELL CHARLO, Top Super Welterweight Prospect

“I’m so happy to come back to San Antonio. I really enjoy the boxing fans here. They’re so nice and excited about boxing in this city.

“I feel good. I’ve been training hard. I’m focused and I’m ready.

“This is my shot…my first real shot. This is my chance to show not only San Antonio, but also the boxing world, what I’m made of and what I can do.”

RAUL MARTINEZ, Top Bantamweight Prospect

“I’ll be in my prime in a couple years. I’m training very hard. This fight means a lot to me. It’s my chance to move forward.

“I’ve had tough times, but boxing is a tough sport.

“I don’t have a promoter right now, but I have a great trainer, Jesse James Leija. He’s truly an inspiration to me.

“It’s an honor to be here working out at The Alamo. I’ve been to workouts before, but none like this one. This is awesome. Being in front of my people is an amazing feeling.

“To me, if you go by what you believe and you put a lot of effort and pride into it, you will get something out of it.

“I look up to Jesse [James Leija]. He gives me energy and he motivates me. When we’re training, I want to show him what I have and what I’m made of. He makes me want to punch harder.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“This fight will truly show the world what Canelo is made of. This is the opportunity he has needed to prove himself.

“I can’t wait to be in that arena on Saturday night. With almost 40,000 people in the Alamodome, it’s going to be rocking.

“It’s just amazing the draw that Canelo is. At 22 years old, his following is unlike anything I have seen in a long time.

“This is going to be a tough, tough fight. Canelo has his work cut out for him. Trout showed what he is made of when he fought Cotto and he is going to have to bring that intensity and more on Saturday night.”

JESSE JAMES LEIJA, President of Leija Battah Promotions and Texas Boxing Legend

“We brought the big fight here and San Antonio responded.

“Not only was I proud to fight here every time I stepped into the ring to fight, I am proud as a promoter to bring big fights here now.

“This is such a tough fight. I can’t pick a winner.

“If the energy in the arena is anything like it was 20 years ago when Julio Cesar Chavez fought Pernell Whitaker, you will be able to feel the electricity through your body.”

# # #

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for

Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions and will be a WBC lightweight semi-final elimination bout for the vacant NABA Lightweight Championship and Cotto’s WBC FECARBOX Lightweight Championship. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Newly released tickets priced at $150, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are limited to eight per person and on sale now only at the Alamodome box office

LOS ANGELES, April 18 – With the Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout coming up this weekend on Saturday, April 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, followed by the Unified Super Lightweight World Championship between Danny Garcia and Zab Judah at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, April 27 and the culmination of the back-to-back-to-back championship fight weekends, “MAY DAY: Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero” on Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, predictions are swirling around on the internet, in newspapers and on television from boxing scribes and fans doing their best to make their calls on what will happen in the upcoming fights.

Yet perhaps the predictions that hold the most weight are those of the pugilists themselves set to fight in the coming weeks.

Below are fight predictions from WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez,Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift Garcia,Middleweight Contender Fernando Guerrero,Six-Time and Four Division World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero,Middleweight Rising Star J’Leon Love, Two Division World Champion Abner Mares,WBC Featherweight World Champion Daniel Ponce de Leon, WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, former IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa CruzandWBA Super Welterweight World Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Austin Trout – Saturday, April 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®

“I am going with Austin Trout, but he has to go in there and box. He can’t let Canelo Alvarez warm up too early. If he drops hard punches, he’ll pull it off.”

– Danny Garcia

“Gotta go with Canelo Alvarez. He’s young and he’s a mentally and physically strong person. Also, the people (fans) make him better.”

– Fernando Guerrero

“Canelo Alvarez is very hungry to prove all the doubters wrong. Both fighters have tremendous heart and will give fans a night to remember. Canelo has developed nicely and I’m giving him the edge in this fight based on pure desire. His body attack will be the difference. Canelo wins by mid-fight knockout.”

– Robert Guerrero

“I think Austin Trout will win because he has a better skill set and he’s a better boxer.”

– J’Leon Love

“That’s going to be a really exciting fight being that Canelo Alvarez has never faced a champion in his prime. Austin Trout is a difficult fighter that just beat (Miguel) Cotto, but I think Canelo should win because he’s younger and has a statement to make to let the world know that he is the real thing as a younger and hungrier fighter.”

– Abner Mares

“I’m going with Canelo Alvarez because he’s more powerful. I think Canelo can win by knockout if Austin Trout is willing to exchange shots.”

– Daniel Ponce de Leon

“This is a good matchup for boxing. You can’t go wrong with either fighter. Its two top fighters at the top of their game. I’m in the gym with Canelo Alvarez, and Austin Trout is my friend, so it is hard to pick.”

– Peter Quillin

“I think Canelo Alvarez is going to win. He comes forward. It’s going to be hard for Austin Trout to take Canelo’s pressure and handle his strength. Trout will make it difficult for Canelo, but I think he will win.”

– Leo Santa Cruz

Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah – Saturday, April 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®

“This is a great fight. I don’t have a favorite. The best fighter will win.”

– Canelo

“Danny Garcia will win. Zab Judah had his time. I think its Garcia’s time now.”

– F. Guerrero

“Zab Judah will make the proper adjustments in this fight, which will tame the young lion Garcia. Danny’s youth and punching power will even out Zab’s experience. This fight ends in draw.”

– R. Guerrero

“I pick Danny Garcia because he is younger and stronger.”

– Love

“This is another interesting fight. I’m 100 percent sure that Danny Garcia is going to win. No doubt the power punch is there. I know that isn’t everything for everyone, but that’s everything for Garcia. Zab Judah is an older guy. He’s an older fighter. I think he’s coming in with everything he has, but that isn’t enough. Youth and power trump age. I pick Garcia by knockout.”

– Mares

“Danny Garcia has power in his fists and will win by knockout. He is young and full of energy.”

– Ponce de Leon

“I think that in the first rounds Zab Judah will be a problem for Danny Garcia, but he will get tired in the later rounds. Danny will take advantage of that and knock him out.”

– Santa Cruz

“Danny Garcia will win with his consistency and power.”

– Trout

Peter Quillin vs. Fernando Guerrero – Saturday, April 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®

“I cannot give a prediction since I’ve never seen Fernando Guerrero fight. However, Peter Quillin is the champion and has the advantage.”

– Canelo

“Peter Quillin all the way. He has the street in him and the heart. That’s the making of a great fighter.”

– Garcia

“This is going to be a competitive fight. I’m going with Peter Quillin to win by knockout because I feel he has the better punching power and will catch Guerrero with a punch he doesn’t see coming.”

– R. Guerrero

“Peter Quillin is a bigger puncher, but it will be a hard fight. I think Quillin will pull it off though.”

– Love

“That is a really tough fight. I know a lot of people see it toward Peter Quillin, but I think he’s going to have a hard time. Guerrero takes everything and more and gives as much back. It’s going to be an even fight.”

– Mares

“I think Peter Quillin has the advantage and can win in any way. He’s the better boxer and is the champion.”

– Ponce de Leon

“I haven’t seen much of Fernando Guerrero, but what I have seen from Peter Quillin, he’s a really good, strong fighter. I think he’s going to win by decision, but I think he is going to take a few punches along the way.”

– Santa Cruz

“Peter Quillin showed his heart and determination to win the belt. I’m sure he will go above and beyond to keep it. I am picking Kid Chocolate.”

– Trout

Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero – Saturday, May 4 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV®

“Robert Guerrero has a great opportunity to win. He’s hungry for glory and will try everything to get the victory. I am picking Guerrero.”

– Canelo

“Floyd Mayweather all the way. Robert Guerrero is a good fighter. He earned his shot, but Mayweather is the star.”

– Garcia

“You can never bet against Floyd Mayweather. He’s just overall one of the best fighters ever. Gotta go with Mayweather.”

– F. Guerrero

“Floyd Mayweather is too intelligent of a fighter.”

– Love

“Floyd Mayweather is such a talented fighter and he backs it up. He talks a lot, but he backs it up. I know Robert Guerrero is hungry and determined, but wanting to win doesn’t get you a win. It’s about what you can do inside the ring, and that’s why Mayweather will win.”

– Mares

“I think Robert Guerrero can win if he fights the same way he fought Andre Berto, pressing the action like Jose Luis Castillo did against Floyd Mayweather. However, Mayweather is a great fighter and so difficult because his style, but I think Guerrero will win.”

– Ponce de Leon

“I never count Floyd Mayweather out. He’s the best pound-for-pound fighter. He’s who every fighter looks up to. I call it the Floyd Mayweather era of boxing. Robert Guerrero wanted this for a long time. He’s a multi-division champion and he deserves it. They both have something to prove. I don’t know who to pick here.”

– Quillin

“That is going to be another hard fight. I think Floyd Mayweather has more experience and he’s smarter. He knows what he has to do to win. Guerrero is a good, smart fighter, but I think Mayweather is going to take it by decision.”

– Santa Cruz

“I’m picking Floyd Mayweather, but this fight is not as easy as everyone thinks it’ll be. Robert Guerrero is hungry and has the ability to make it a tough fight.”

– Trout

Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. Abner Mares – Saturday, May 4 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV®

“I’m taking Daniel Ponce de Leon. I don’t really see Abner Mares pulling it off at 126 pounds. That’s a tough fight.”

– Garcia

“Abner Mares just has the youth and the will. When guys are winning, they want to keep at it.”

– F. Guerrero

“Both Daniel Ponce de Leon and Abner Mares are great Mexican warriors. Mares is going to come forward with pressure and Ponce de Leon will counter. I’m picking Ponce de Leon to win by a close split decision.”

– R. Guerrero

“Abner Mares has much better skills.”

– Love

“A lot of people don’t give Abner Mares the credit he deserves. Daniel Ponce de Leon has a rough, rugged style. I see Mares putting on a great performance against a guy like Ponce de Leon who gives people trouble, and coming out with the win.”

– Quillin

“That is going to be another hard fight. They are both Mexican warriors. It can go either way, but if it goes to decision, Abner Mares will win. However, if Daniel Ponce de Leon catches him with a good punch, he will win by knockout.”

– Santa Cruz

“Abner Mares takes this one. His youth and toughness can outdo the super tough Daniel Ponce de Leon.”

– Trout

Leo Santa Cruz vs. Alexander Munoz – Saturday, May 4 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV®

“Leo Santa Cruz should win. He’s younger and full of talent.”

– Canelo

“Leo Santa Cruz is a tough guy and he is on a hot streak. I’m going with him.”

– Garcia

“Leo Santa Cruz is going to grind out a tough hard fought victory with pressure and a nice body attack. Santa Cruz wins by unanimous decision.”

– R. Guerrero

“Leo Santa Cruz is a much busier and better fighter.”

– Love

“That fight is hard to call. I think Santa Cruz is a strong up-and-comer. I think Alexander Munoz is an tough opponent for Santa Cruz to go up against, but he will go in there, look good and come out with a win.”

– Mares

“Leo Santa Cruz is the favorite to win because is young and powerful, and I think he will win.”

– Ponce de Leon

“I love watching Leo Santa Cruz. He’s a fan-friendly fighter and I think he will win.”

– Quillin

J’Leon Love vs. Gabriel Rosado – Saturday, May 4 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV

“Gabriel Rosado is a Philly guy, so I have to go for the hometown fighter.”

– Garcia

“J’Leon Love is the man. We’ve fought on the same card several times. I fought Gabriel Rosado. That is a pretty tight fight. He’s a tough opponent. That one is a question mark for me.”

– F. Guerrero

“J’Leon Love is a good prospect, but I think Gabriel Rosado is going to pull off the upset. Experience will be the key factor in a Rosado split decision.”

– R. Guerrero

“Flip a coin on that one.”

– Mares

“This is J’Leon Love’s biggest fight. He’s in camp with the pound-for-pound champion. He has a controversial win on his record. Gabriel Rosado is rough and rugged. He puts it all on the line. We’ll see. I don’t know who will win this one.”

– Quillin

“I have heard that J’Leon Love is a really good fighter. He should be able to take it. He has more to lose. I think he’s going to go out there and win by decision.”

– Santa Cruz

“This is a toss up. J’Leon Love is looking to prove himself. Gabriel Rosado is proven in my mind at 154, so we will see if weight is an issue.”

– Trout

# # #

About Canelo vs. Trout:

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions and will be a WBC lightweight semi-final elimination bout for the vacant NABA Lightweight Championship and Cotto’s WBC FECARBOX Lightweight Championship. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Newly released tickets priced at $100, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and only available for purchase at the Alamodome box office.

About Garcia vs. Judah:

Garcia vs. Judah, a 12-round bout for Garcia’s Unified Super Lightweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona and AT&T. In the co-featured attraction, WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin puts his title on the line against hard-hitting Fernando Guerrero in a 12-round fight. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).

Remaining tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000. For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.

About “MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero”:

“MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero,” a 12-round fight for Mayweather’s WBC Welterweight World Championship and the vacant Ring Magazine Welterweight World Championship, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Star Trek Into Darkness and Valvoline. The mega-event will take place Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and 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). Also featured will be WBC Featherweight World Champion Daniel Ponce de Leon taking on Two-Division World Champion Abner Mares in a 12-round fight for Ponce de Leon’s WBC Featherweight World Championship, former IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz facing veteran Alexander Munoz in a 10-round fight for the vacant USBA Junior Featherweight Championship and rising star J’Leon Love squaring off against recent world title challenger Gabriel Rosado in a 10-round middleweight battle for the vacant NABF Middleweight Championship.

Remaining tickets for “MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero”
priced at $1,500, $1,250, $800 and $600, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now with a ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com
or www.ticketmaster.com.

General admission tickets for the “MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero” closed circuit telecasts at ARIA, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York, are priced at $50, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. 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.

FORT WORTH, Texas – The hardest part about this thing we do is not, as novelist Philip Roth once put it, that everything must be written about, but that everything can be. Such a thought visited, Saturday, while sitting near a stage on which Natalie Merchant performed. I forwent a trip to New York City and a boxing-writers dinner and a prizefight, Guillermo Rigondeaux versus Nonito Donaire, that interested me, to see Merchant, tickets to whose concert I purchased months before Donaire fought Jorge Arce in Houston.

Nothing about the previous week’s trip to Ireland haunted me much as this concert did, because I pledged before boarding an Aer Lingus flight nothing about Ireland would find its way in this column. With the year’s largest consequential fight thus far, Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus New Mexican Austin “No Doubt” Trout, happening Saturday at Alamodome in San Antonio, though, connections had to be made because that is how columns work, and the connection between Merchant and Alvarez was, and is, grace.

Grace is not a word one freely associates with Mexican prizefighters, or prizefighters of any ethnicity, but in the swirl of impressions that happened Saturday in the Bass Performance Hall of this underestimated city’s Symphony Orchestra, “grace” was the very word that came to mind because of what happened at the press conference announcing Canelo vs. Trout one month ago at Alamodome, San Antonio’s signature edifice that will hold more than 30,000 people Saturday because Alvarez is that popular and Texas, frankly, is the one American state so interested in our sport.

After the usual things were said in the usual way by the usual people – one of the wonders of streaming video: today, no editor expects deadline coverage of such banality – there were side interviews ready to commence for television and television and television, and a local reporter or two, adjusting in no way the hands of what clock tells us what media matters. Before those loopy questions might be asked loopingly, to be televised in loops, though, Alvarez, dressed in a shiny battleship-gray suit and matching tie on synthetic black background, was brought to the stagefront’s extended tongue, to greet admirers for a moment or two of that spirited miming known as Connection with the Fans. But Alvarez began to sign anything handed him with any implement handed him, and while promoter Oscar De La Hoya shyly flapped a wing fans-ward, from a studiously selected perch 15 feet back of the scavengers, Alvarez signed and signed.

Thrice that I counted, Alvarez was asked to stop signing things and attend to the promotionally essential matter of television cameras. And thrice that I counted, he dismissed the request with hardly an acknowledgement – “You want me to be a ticket-seller in los estados unidos, ¿no?” – inconveniencing himself with not two syllables of explanation. Before he finished signing gloves and shirts and posters and programs and hats, numerous items for numerous folks, to tell television cameras he feels strong and is excited to be in, let’s see, San Antonio?, yes, San Antonio, he smilingly saluted the hoi polloi, hundreds strong, smaller and browner and towing a child or two, kept from him by a flat aluminum barricade, promising to sign their items, too, before he left.

What special effects Alvarez brings are natural, meaning authentic, and he appears to realize it: To date, his red hair and freckled complexion have distinguished him most from the large ranks of his countrymen’s prizefighters; Juan Manuel Marquez, for example, still could not sell 30,000 tickets in San Antonio three weeks before opening bell – and no, meritocracy has nothing to do with this, and yes, every ticket is sold: The Alamodome box office had nary an offering Friday morning. And meritocracy returns us to Saturday’s concert.

Natalie Merchant was the lead vocalist for 10,000 Maniacs before her 18th birthday, and possessed two platinum and four gold records before she turned 30, and has grown increasingly obscure since. She will turn 50 this year; her hair is timberwolf grey, not silver, her flat, once-almost-pretty features are overripe, and despite her confessed efforts she has acquired a pound of girth for every year since the 1992 MTV Unplugged performance that likely marked the last time anyone reading this saw or thought of her, if then. She was more effortful, Saturday, than her writing and singing imply; there were more clenched fists, more appeals for audience patience, and more autobiographical exposition than even her best song, “Tell Yourself” – one at whose singing she failed thrice, turning her back to the audience and sobbing, finally – anticipates.

Thirty minutes before, she found a very young boy in the audience, there with his mother and dressed in a dark suit not unlike Canelo’s, and gave him a signed copy of her book of collected children’s poetry, asking if this were his first concert, and when he said it was, Merchant offered:

“You will be proud to be able to say this was your first concert. In 25 years, a whole lot of people are going to be pretending Justin Bieber was not their first concert, and you won’t have to.”

It said much about how Merchant views her place in the canon of popular music, and it has some application to Canelo Alvarez for this obvious reason: He is the nearest thing prizefighting now has to Justin Bieber. His popularity dwarfs his achievement. His popularity dwarfs his potential for achievement, too; if we’re being honest, there is exactly no chance Alvarez will retire more accomplished than Juan Manuel Marquez, but he may outgross him many times over.

Today Saturday’s fight is not about Austin Trout at all, which is why this column has not been either. It says here, though, by the reading of the judges’ last scorecard this weekend, most accounts will treat Trout in the bitter way boxing’s habitués increasingly do everything: “Another robbery!” “Texas-sized Larceny!” “Someone Been Fishin’ in Trout’s Pond!”

I’ll take Alvarez, then, SD-12, in a fight honest hands score for Trout, 8-3-1.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Kelly Swanson

Thank you everybody for joining us today. You are on this call to talk to both the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion, Canelo Alvarez, and the WBA Super Welterweight World Champion, Austin Trout. We will start with Canelo Alvarez first and then Mr. Trout will join for the completion of the call.

We will also be sending out a Fight Week schedule and you will be receiving more information about the show, which takes place Saturday, April 20th. But to give you more details about what’s going on and what we’re talking about today I’d like to turn the call over to Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. Oscar?

Oscar De La Hoya

Thank you very much, Kelly. Yes, we are a little over a week away and things are moving extremely well. Ticket sales have been unbelievably selling like hotcakes. We are well over 35,000 tickets.

We expect an incredible walk up, not only the day of the fight but all that week. As you know, when Julio Cesar Chavez fought Pernell Whitaker the walk up on that day alone was unbelievable. So we’re expecting a lot of people from across the border to come over and support their very own Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

This bout is a unification fight. It’s a 12-round fight for the WBC and WBA and also the vacant Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championship. We’re happy to announce the culminating event will be the up and coming fighter from Texas, Omar Figueroa Jr. vs. Abner Cotto, which will be a ten-rounder for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Title.

As you know, this event is taking place at the Alamodome promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions. And I also want to thank Leija & Battah Promotions, who have been doing an incredible, incredible job. I’m also happy to announce that Miguel Cotto also is helping us promote this event with Omar Figueroa and Abner Cotto.

This event is being sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Thank you very much. And as always, thank you very much to Showtime Championship Boxing. This event will be beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Pacific and the preliminary bouts will air on Showtime Extreme at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Tickets are still available. There are tickets priced at $25 and $10 and we’re also, because of the high demand, going to\ add some bleacher packs to the existing set up enabling us to open up seats which are priced at $150 and $100.

So April 20th fights will begin at 4:30 p.m. live there at the Alamodome. The doors will open at 3:30 p.m.

And so let me introduce to you, he hails out of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He is the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion. He has been a pro since 2005 and he started professionally at the age of 15. Right now at the age of 22 he’s obviously Mexico’s champion and current boxing super star. Let me introduce to you the champion at 154 pounds, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Saul?

Canelo

I’m very happy. The time is near. I like the response that all the fans and the media have given me. I’m very, very motivated and willing/ready to give my best once I step into that ring come Saturday the 20th.

Q

Very good. Hey, I just wanted to ask you, do you think that a victory in this fight against Trout makes it a no-brainer that your next fight should be against Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

And also on that, what does it mean to you to be considered, like Oscar said, Mexico’s champion and boxing super star in the country now? Do you think that you really have elevated to that spot? Thank you very much.

Canelo

To answer your question, right now my focus is 100% only on Austin Trout and that’s all I’m thinking of. After the fight, we’ll sit down, discuss what’s next, but right now I’m focused only on Austin Trout and, God willing, winning this fight.

Your second question, it’s an honor. I’m very, very honored to hear someone like Oscar mention me in those words. I love it. It does thrill me but I’d rather the people say it and me continue to do my job inside the ring.

Q

Canelo, going into this fight when the deal was being done I guess there were people that were in your camp that weren’t really high on the fight but that you continued to press for it because it was that you personally wanted to sort of prove a lot of the critics wrong and because you hadn’t really fought any top fighters to take on one of the elite fighters in the division.

Can you talk about your mindset, as far as demanding that fight and maybe going against what some of your advisors and people close to you thought about the match up?

Canelo

The team, after the fight with Cotto we had decided that’s the fight we wanted. And yes, we sat down and talked to our promoter, Golden Boy, made the decision that was who we wanted. They got to work and that’s where we’re at now and we’re all happy that we’re all in agreement.

Q

But am I wrong that there were people, at least initially that were not-I mean they were going to do what Canelo ultimately wanted them to do, but that they weren’t really pressing the issue? They thought maybe there could be a different fight or a better fight but that you insisted on this fight?

Canelo

Oh yeah, it was brought up that there are other fights and let’s take other avenues but I wanted this fight and that’s why we’re here on this call today and with the fight coming up on the 20th.

Q

I mean obviously you’ve been a champion now for a while. You fought some good fighters and that sort of thing and been active, but do you view this as your best opponent and also sort of like I guess maybe your moment of truth to sort of prove to anybody that might doubt your abilities that you are for real because you’re taking on one of the best fighters out there coming off the win against Cotto?

Canelo

There’s always going to be critics but criticism is also constructive and in this particular case it’s always your next fight that they’re going to criticize or talk about and that’s your toughest fight. This particular fight, yes, the one in turn, it is the toughest and we’ll silence the critics after.

Q

Oscar, let me ask you a quick question. Listen, you were a guy, when you were boxing, pretty much took on everybody that was there, especially as a welterweight and above, every top name, all the guys that people maybe rated ahead of you.

I’m curious from your perspective. What do you think it says about the competitive nature and just the attitude of Canelo to just basically say to everybody around him, “Listen, I don’t want to hear about any other names. I want the guy I think’s the next best guy in the weight class. I want to fight Austin Trout.” What does it say about Canelo as a fighter that he would just demand this caliber of a fight?

Oscar De La Hoya

It speaks volumes of such a young man. At the age of 22 already wanting to fight the very best. Austin Trout is a very dangerous opponent. Just like every other opponent, yes it’s dangerous, but Austin Trout is an undefeated fighter, WBA champion.

You’re right. People were worried, were concerned but one of those people wasn’t me. I know Canelo’s abilities. I know his style. I know that he loves fighting southpaws. But it speaks volumes.

At the age of 22 years old, if you compare Saul’s career to anybody else’s, anybody else who’s elite, they would never take this chance or this type of fight ever, including myself, including a Floyd Mayweather, including anybody. This is a test that he wanted and we’re obviously hoping for the best.

Q

What did you see in Austin Trout’s style and what do you think his strengths and weakness are?

Canelo

We had Cotto in mind. We wanted to fight Miguel Angel Cotto but obviously when he beat him we saw a fight that we wanted to do. Austin Trout’s undefeated. He’s a world champion, very difficult style, strong southpaw, but this also gave me the motivation to go on and fight one of the best and we consider him as one of the best out there.

Q

My question to Canelo and Oscar, you did fight a lot of guys. You fought the best guys and you lost some tough fights, Mosley, Trinidad, and I understand there’s a rematch clause for this fight. Can you discuss the notion of a rematch clause and from Canelo’s standpoint, from your guy’s standpoint, what that means?

Oscar De La Hoya

Well obviously, yes, if you want to be the best you have to fight the best and I had the privilege of fighting the very best, which obviously a lot of people appreciated. This is no different. Canelo, at the young age of 22, is already going to fight the best.

The rematch clause is obviously-whatever happens in the fight, if it’s a great fight then let’s do it again. Why not? That’s the way we see it. Canelo winning or Austin winning, it being a draw, if it’s going to be a great fight then why not do it again?

Canelo

It’s something you respect and it depends on the outcome of the fight, but yes, like Oscar mentioned, if it’s a great fight and the fans want to see it then yes we consider it, definitely.

Q

Okay. Also, Oscar, you’ve made a lot of comparisons between this fight and the Chavez/Whitaker fight. Can you discuss the element of that fight? You have a great Mexican warrior against a boxer who’s also a southpaw and also the location. And also you could have Canelo address the notion of being compared to that night and the two double fights and the meaning it has to his country?

Oscar De La Hoya

Absolutely. I’ve compared this event to a lot of past fights that took place. For instance, when I fought Fernando Vargas the importance to me as a fighter to convince people that I was the real deal. When I fought Ike Quartey those types of fights convinced people that I could fight.

Even when Chavez fought Pernell Whitaker the magnitude of event in San Antonio was like no other. It put boxing on the map in San Antonio. So all of those three fights that I just mentioned, Canelo right now is in that same position. He’s going to put boxing back on the map in San Antonio with the event. I mean we’re well over 35,000 tickets sold.

And this fight is the defining fight for Canelo Alvarez. This fight, if everything goes well, him winning this fight will take him over the top and will get the respect from the critics who don’t believe. So it’s a very important fight, but it’s a fight that the people are going to enjoy and I think both fighters are going to really, really fight their hearts out come April 20th.

Canelo

I’m very honored. I’m very proud to be even included and compared into those comparisons and making history, fighting in a historic place. That’s what motivates me even more and to be fighting in front of so many Mexicans. I’m very happy.

Q

So you embrace this opportunity and do you think that it will bring out the best in you, a tough opponent and a large supportive atmosphere and the history of one of the greatest champions in Mexican history?

Canelo

Yes of course. Yes, I’m very honored. I’m very proud. That’s what we’ve been training for very hard because we want to show that we belong here. We’re ready for this and because it’s a big responsibility and we want to make everybody proud.

Q

Oscar, this questions for you. Have you given Canelo much advice and if so what?

Oscar De La Hoya

Absolutely. There are times where I-we can see him in the gym or at press conferences or talk to him over the phone or even send text messages, just little things. It’s amazing how Saul is so mature for his age. He’s got his head on his shoulders.

He’s well advanced in terms of his abilities inside the ring. He is just a seasoned veteran at the age of 22. He’s thinking like a veteran champion and that is just incredible to just talk to him. When I’m giving him advice he already knows. He already knows.

It kind of I feel, yes, like I do want to take him under my wing and I do want to guide him and wish the best for him but he already knows everything there is to know. I can give him little tips in here that are going to work inside the ring or outside the ring but he’s just such an intelligent and, like I said, seasoned veteran inside and outside the ring so it really is an honor to work with him.

Q

Yes, they say that if you wait long enough what goes around eventually comes around. Nearly 20 years ago in September of 1993 there was fight before a huge crowd at the Alamodome between a great Mexican champion in Julio Cesar Chavez and a slick African American southpaw in Pernell Whitaker.

I wanted to ask Canelo how familiar he is with that fight and what possible similarities or dissimilarities does he see between what’s going to happen in this fight and what happened in that fight?

Canelo

Yes, it is a very similar fight. I watched it on video several times and Austin Trout, like Pernell Whitaker, is a southpaw, slick, difficult fighter. He’s very difficult but that’s what we’re training hard for. We’re training hard for that and come the 20th, the night of the fight, we’re going to make it where it’s not so difficult for us.

Q

It seems like most people are seeing this as a puncher against a boxer. Do you feel that perhaps your boxing skills are unappreciated, at least here in the United States? And while I know you respect Austin’s boxing ability, what’s your level of respect for his punching power?

Canelo

Many people focus just on my power but they don’t see that I’m very fast and know how to move in the ring as well. So that’s something that, yeah, they’ll see.

And Trout is a strong fighter. He showed it. He showed it with Cotto and he is a very strong fighter but that’s what makes me very happy, motivated, working hard and I’ll show it all come fight night.

Q

You are undefeated. Trout is undefeated. What is going to be the key to victory?

Canelo

The key is not to get desperate, not to get wild. Take round per round, win round per round and see what comes up and counter that during the fight.

Q

I have a two-part question for Canelo. Just one, how motivating is it for you to fight Trout knowing that he beat your brother, Rigoberto, a couple years ago and if Austin Trout was even on your radar at the time of that fight?

Canelo

Yes, definitely, it’s a blood revenge that I’m looking at. I’m very motivated for it. I was there at the fight when he beat Rigoberto, my brother. And I felt such an inability to do something but now it’s here and I’m very motivated and that is a big factor.

Q

The question is for both Oscar and Canelo. In the future, is there still a possibility of a fight against Victor Ortiz?

Oscar De La Hoya

Look, the focus right now is on Austin Trout and after that we’ll decide but Canelo said to fight the best in the world.

Q

Okay, Canelo, this fight was originally scheduled for Cinco de Mayo weekend but moved back to April 20th due to a falling out with Floyd Mayweather. Are you at all disappointed that you’re not fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend?

Canelo

No, on the contrary I’m very happy to be fighting on April 20th. Look at the response that the people have had, the press has had. Even though it’s been a short time to put it together I’m very excited, very happy about it.

Q

How do you envision this fight with Austin Trout? And coming out victorious, are you interested in a fight with Miguel Angel Cotto?

Canelo

We all know Austin Trout’s undefeated, tough. It’s a very difficult fight but that’s what we’re training for, preparing for, to come out victorious. Right now my focus is just on Austin Trout. But like I said, after the fight we’ll sit down and we want the best fights and yes, of course, Miguel Angel Cotto is a great fighter.

Kelly Swanson

Okay, great, actually that was our last question for Canelo. So we would like to see if you’d like to make one last comment before we switch over to Austin Trout.

Canelo

Thank you everybody. I’m very happy for all the support that I’ve received and I’ll be waiting for everybody in San Antonio on the 20th. Thank you all.

Kelly Swanson

Okay, now at this time I’m going to turn this call back over to Oscar De La Hoya and he will make the introductions for Mr. Trout. Oscar?

Oscar De La Hoya

Thank you very much, Kelly. I greatly appreciate it. He is the WBA Super Welterweight World Champion. As we all know, he captured the world title by defeating Rigoberto Alvarez, who is Canelo’s brother, on February 5th, one day after my birthday in Guadalajara, Mexico.

He did beat a very tough and in his prime Miguel Cotto to defend his world title in a very impressive fashion in hostile territory out at Miguel Cotto’s second home at the Garden in New York. He’s no stranger to going to people’s backyards and winning fights inside that squared circle.

He is fighting for the Unified World Title on April 20th. With a record, an impressive record I may add, of 26-0 and 14 knockouts, out of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Austin Trout.

Austin Trout

Thank you all for being here. I’m very excited about this coming fight April 20th. I’ve said this many times before, this is a fight that should happen, two undefeated fighters, to undefeated champions in their prime and put it all on the line.

I’m praying that after this win it’ll put me in a position to be your superstar like we want to be. But first things first is we have to get through this beast called Canelo. So I’m very happy to be here and shoot away. I’m an open book.

Q

Hey, when you and Louie look at Canelo do you see a one-trick pony, a guy that’s strong but a fairly uncomplicated fighter or do you see skills and suddenly they’re really going to challenge your skills?

Trout

No, no, he definitely has skills that are going to challenge my skills. He’s fast. He’s strong. He has good reflexes. He’s explosive. As far as the style goes, we’ve been fighting his style our whole life. We don’t think his style’s necessarily going to give us problems but the skills that he brings within that style are going to be a bit of a problem.

Q

Canelo said earlier that he feels like his boxing skills are under appreciated. By the same token, do you feel like maybe your punching power is underestimated?

Trout

I definitely do. In every fight I’ve been in I’ve marked up everybody I’ve fought. They’ve been reluctant to come in and I’ve fought in super middleweights and middleweights and I’ve hurt them and even dropped them. So I think my punching power is very underestimated.

Q

Hey, I just wanted to ask you, I mean when you talked about that skill within his style, obviously it’s his punching power. How do you know that over the course of 12 rounds that you can stand up to the power that you’re going to see from Canelo?

And obviously the other factor is sort of the home arena advantage that he will probably have in Antonio. Is that something that’s going to affect you or not? Thank you.

Trout

It’s never affected me before and I don’t plan on it affecting me again. The crowd can’t do anything but cheer for him. They can’t even give him water. They can’t breathe for him. They can’t punch for him. So I’m not worried about the crowd.

And about surviving his power for 12 rounds, you know, we’ve been in with stronger guys for 12 rounds and we banged out stronger guys for 12 rounds. I’m not saying I’m not worried about it. Of course that’s why we’re training and we’re having such a hard camp to make sure that we’re prepared for that, but I don’t see it being a major factor, especially if we execute our game plan.

Q

Hey, the comparisons have been made to the Chavez/Whitaker fight and I think it’s a good comparison, a great Mexican champion against a good African American southpaw. Have you watched that fight, because Canelo says he has, and do buy into the history and the comparisons between this fight and that one?

Trout

I do see a very similar comparison. First of all, let’s just say “Sweet Pea” is my favorite fighters. But the thing of it between me and “Sweet Pea” is that I could punch a bit. There are things I saw that he did in the fight that he could’ve done to make it a lot less close that he could’ve done to pull away from Chavez.

The best way to not let history repeat itself is knowing your history. So yes, I’ve definitely watched the fight. We’ll make our adjustments because Chavez Sr. is not Canelo and I’m not Sweet Pea. But there are very similar comparisons.

Q

Okay. My second question is you fought in hostile territory before most impressively, I guess, in your last fight against Cotto. Put us in the ring with you that night in how you were able to shut out the crowd. I mean you said you were going to do that and do you anticipate being able to do that again?

Trout

One thing I was saying is that if they’re going against me my goal is to set them up, not give them anything to cheer for and that’s the same mind set we’re going into this fight. If they’ve don’t have anything to cheer for then they won’t be able to cheer.

I know in the beginning, of course, while they’re excited they’re going to cheer for everything he does. If he sneezes my way they’ll go and get excited for it, but eventually as the fight goes on you’ll see the crowd getting quieter and quieter or even switch to my side like they’ve done before.

Q

My question is on the Whitaker/Chavez theme the real comparison I think you obviously would like to avoid is the outcome. Whitaker, by most accounts, won that fight pretty handily, yet he was given a draw.

Are you worried about getting a fair shake? The crowd’s going to be very pro Alvarez. Does that worry you about getting a fair shake in this fight?

Trout

It does a bit. We know Texas is a WBC country, but I can’t focus, I can’t use any energy to dwell on things I can’t control. All I can do is just focus on what I can control and that’s what I have to do in the ring.

We don’t want to go out of the game plan. We don’t want to break character to force something that’s not there. So we’re going to just stick to our guns and make sure that we do our absolute best and if it goes to the judges then it’s really in God’s hands. If the judges want to jerk me, that’s between them and God and I have to ask for that later.

Q

One other question, I think I read something about something you do in the Las Cruces area called “Club KO” or something like that. Are you actively involved in that and going to schools in that area?

Trout

Yes, we definitely are. Club KO is just a little club I put together where I go and try to KO some things that are problems in school. One of them is bullying. Another one is peer pressure. And we just try to give them some kinds of tools that they can use to get out of a bad situation that they’re in and by doing that we end up knocking out these problems.

Q

Now when you fought Miguel late last year and you got the win that was sort of what everybody would view as your defining fight. You took on one of the biggest names and one of the best fighters in the weight class. To those who weren’t that familiar with Austin Trout you proved yourself and probably made a lot of fans with that fight.

I’m wondering, Canelo is in a similar situation and he’s got a lot of the fans but a lot of fans want to see him prove himself against one of the elite fighters in the 154 pound weight class. I’m wondering what you think it says about him that he went and demanded to fight you, which not a lot of guys demand to fight Austin Trout? What was your reaction to knowing that this was the one and only fight that he really wanted?

Trout

I have much respect for Canelo for demanding this fight. Some people don’t want to fight Austin Trout, but when his people didn’t want him to fight me then he made his demands known and as a hungry true champion should he called out for the best. So there’s much respect to him for that and for putting his foot down and making that happen.

And I just thank the fans as well because I think it was the outcry from the fans that put the pressure to make him make those demands.

Q

Okay. And also one of the things that he mentioned in his portion of this call was talking about one of his great motivations for making that demand, really wanting to fight you, besides unifying the titles and have a big fight against another champion was his desire and motivation for revenge because you had defeated his older brother when you won your title. So I wanted to know your take on trying to now go 2-0 against family, Alvarez, Canelo certainly regarded as the better of the two?

And also if you could talk about what you mentioned to me on Twitter a little while ago about your thoughts about the rematch clause being one way action for him but not for you? Thank you, Austin. Good luck in the fight.

Trout

Thank you. It’s all motivation. It really has nothing to do with him or his brother. But with the legacy he’s considered one of the best so we want to fight the best. He also has that WBC belt and one of my goals is to be the undisputed champion.

And I’ve had this goal since I was a young boy. So it’s a lifelong work that I’ve been putting in to make this goal happen. That is more motivation, in my opinion, than a two-year old revenge policy that he’s going for.

We beat his brother two years ago and now it’s so important now? I’m not buying it because if that was the case he’d be trying to fight Mundine and Rubio and some other guys that beat his brother. I’m not the only one.

But it’s all motivation. To be 2-0 against the Alvarezes will be great, but more importantly, to beat somebody who’s considered the best and to take that WBC belt, those are my motivations and I think those are imperative for my legacy.

Q

And what about the rematch clause stuff?

Trout

Yeah, the rematch clause is only one way. When I win the clause could be in effect, but if he wins they go about their business. It shows to me a lack of confidence in their fighter. My team believes in me 100% against anybody.

And I know, as you know, De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer tried to not make this fight happen at every turn. When they changed the fight from Vegas to San Antonio there was talk of Angulo being their pony, but that’s when Canelo put his foot down, like a champ, and said, “No, I want Trout.”

They tried hard not to make a fight, but I wonder how they must feel for him knowing that your team doesn’t have the utmost confidence in you. I don’t know that feeling. My team believes in me.

Q

It’s been well documented that there have been plans for the two of you to fight on the under card of Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero on May 4th but Canelo ended up not taking the fight on that day and he’s said multiple times that he wants to be Floyd’s next opponent.

Does this desire of his to fight Mayweather down the road strike you as a bit of a sign of disrespect, like he’s looking through you and towards his next possible opponent?

Trout

I don’t necessarily think its disrespect. If he is overlooking me that’s better for me because regardless if he wants to fight, whoever he wants to fight later, he still has to deal with me on April 20th. I look at it as an advantage if they are looking over me, which they definitely shouldn’t.

He’s been doing this a lot and things just haven’t been going his way. So I like the trend that he’s setting with this whole overlooking people.

Q

Canelo has approached superstar status in the world of boxing and while he has certainly put together an impressive resume, fans, even with victories against Miguel Cotto, have been a little bit slower to come around in support of you. Do you feel uncomfortable being perceived by some as a B-side of some of these big fights that you’re being put on?

Trout

No, no, I don’t feel uncomfortable as being the B-side. I mean I’m more comfortable as the A-side but it doesn’t bother me because really the B-side is a matter of state of mind. I don’t feel like I’m on the B-side, no matter what people say.

And I’m coming to win. I’m not coming for a paycheck. If you look at the pay you’ll see that that’s clearly right, that I’m not coming for just a paycheck. I’m coming for the win. I’m coming for the respect. That’s what I’m fighting for, to get the respect in this game that I feel like I deserve.

Q

Hey, Austin, it seems like a lot of fighters are apprehensive about going on the road to fight someone like say Canelo in front of 35,000 fans. You seem to take great pride in it.

So until you are able to establish yourself as a hometown attraction do you feel like this is going to be your legacy, like you’re going to be boxing’s next road warrior, if not already?

Trout

Definitely. I feel like the fighter that just fights at home and claims to be a world champion is not representing the world correctly. Even after the fact where I feel like I’ve established myself, as a hometown attraction I still wouldn’t mind traveling and extending my belts around the world.

The greats did it. Ali did it. He fought all over the place. Plus I like to travel and I like to see other people in their cultures. It’s not a problem for me at all.

Q

You brought up the great champions like Ali. Do you feel like you’re helping put the world back in world champion, because a lot of guys, they got comfortable just fighting at home, fighting in the U.S.? You’re ready to become the globetrotter?

Trout

Definitely. I would love to bring it back to the golden age where the best fought the best, where we could have these wonderful trilogies or things like that. And again, traveling around the world to defend a world title-we’re trying to represent the world as a champion.

Q

Austin, talk a little bit about that just. You know El Paso. It’s a boxing town. You’re just right next door to us but you also have the Hispanic culture that might go for Canelo.

How big is this fight? I mean do you see it just being-it’s an elite fight. You two are elite fighters. You guys are going at it for one night. And you know, one of you guys are going to come out on top.

Trout

I think it’s just huge for boxing. This is the type of fight that could bring back boxing to the golden age where Leonard’s, Duran’s and the Hagler’s all fought each other. I think that me and Canelo are leading by example on what a world champion should do and how they should fight.

And as far as El Paso goes, I know me being born in El Paso, raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico, I’m sure we’ve got a great division going there because the Mexican blood is thick. I’m just glad that I could be a part of this type of event.

Q

Austin, I wanted to ask you a little bit, obviously boxers have great confidence, very, very confident individuals, but after your win against Cotto was that just bumped up a couple more notches and you felt like, “Hey, I could take on anybody?”

Trout

To be honest, I knew I could win. I had to prove it to everybody, same thing here. So my confidence…all I ask for is a chance to prove my work and what a great way with an undefeated champion like Canelo Alvarez.

Q

I wanted to ask you, do you think your fight in New York, fighting in front of Puerto Rican fans is going to help you for this fight down in San Antonio with the Mexican fans? And also, do you think you’re going to help start a new tradition seeing that it’s Fiesta weekend down there and there are probably going to be a lot of people out there, probably over 40,000, you think so?

Trout

I hope we can start a tradition and not just with San Antonio but just with a fight like these going forward. Like I said, there are fights that should happen. If you have a belt, then your next move should be to get another belt, to unify divisions.

I definitely feel like the Garden experience is going to help me prepare for this fight. The fight in the Garden was hostile but it wasn’t as big. So it’s a step up from the fight in the Garden. But nonetheless, like I said, God puts me on the path to prepare me for things like this and I feel like everything I’ve been through is working for helping me become on a stage like this.

Q

Okay, you’re making this a family affair by taking on Canelo. How do you feel knowing that you could win another world title by defeating another member of the same family?

Trout

It’s all pretty much a coincidence, to be honest. His brother had a belt. He has a belt. It’s not like I’m gunning for the Alvarez family. I’m not trying to be the Alvarez destroyer or anything like that. But if another one of the brothers does catch a belt, well then he’d be on my hit list too, you know what I mean?

Q

Okay, and the most famous fighter to come out of New Mexico was the late Johnny Tapia. Did you grow up watching Tapia and admiring him? Did you by any chance get to meet him coming up?

Trout

I got to meet him, definitely. I did watch him growing up and actually Johnny Tapia, when I saw him on TV, as a world champion, he showed me that I didn’t have to go to Philly or to these other places where I thought you had to be to be a good pro in order to make it as a world champion. I could stay in Cruces. Him and Louie Burke and Danny Romero, they all paved the way for me to be able to stay in New Mexico and perfect my craft.

Swanson

Okay, great. That was our last question, Austin. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to join us. If you have one last comment or a final comment you’d like to share with the media before we wrap it up please feel free.

Trout

No, this is going to be a great event. I’m expecting nothing less but the best from Canelo. We know what we brings to the table and I’m more than happy to match him in intensity and fierce. Expect fireworks. This is going to be a good fight.

Swanson

Okay, great. Thank you so much. Media, thank you so much for joining us today. You will be receiving your Fight Week schedule shortly. So we appreciate the coverage. We look forward to your stories and thanks again. Bye.

END OF CALL

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Newly released seating priced at $150 and $100, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, with a ticket limit of eight per person, will only be available for purchase at the Alamodome box office and go on sale Monday, April 15 at noon CT.

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. (April 4, 2013) – Mexican superstar and WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez held a media workout on Thursday at the jam-packed Wild Card West in Santa Monica, Calif., in preparation for his world championship unification showdown against undefeated WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Austin Trout taking place on Saturday, April 20, live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT). The 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas is for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title.

The throng of media members at Wild Card West was just a warm-up for what Canelo can expect in San Antonio when he faces the toughest opponent of his career at the 30,000-plus seat Alamodome later this month. Joining Canelo on Thursday at Wild Card West was manager Chepo Reynoso, trainer Eddy Reynoso and President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya.

The pride of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, the 22-year-old Canelo Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) is a superstar in Mexico and one of the biggest draws in boxing. He has successfully defended his title five times, most recently with victories in 2012 over “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Josesito Lopez.

Long considered one of boxing’s most underrated fighters, Las Cruces, New Mexico’s Austin “No Doubt” Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s), 27, is coming off of a career-best victory over Puerto Rican legend and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden last December.

Here’s what the participants had to say on Thursday:

CANELO ALVAREZ

“The more intelligent fighter is going to win on April 20. We’ve mapped out a game plan and we’ll stick to it. I’ve looked back at some of my past fights and I’m critical of how I’ve performed. I’ve taken criticism, but all criticism is constructive and I’m taking it all in.

“Because he beat my brother and took his belt, this fight has more meaning. It’s personal, because he took something from us. After I win this fight, I’m going to get that belt and I’m going to give it to my brother.

“I’m really excited for the San Antonio fans, as well as all the Mexican fans who will be there supporting me. I’m hoping I can give them a great fight.

“The key for me is patience. I know he’ll be ready for me at all times. It’s going to be a complicated fight, but I’m prepared for it.

“I’m not concerned about talking about (Floyd) Mayweather or anyone else. I’m just focused on this fight. If he didn’t want to sign [to fight me], that’s on him. After this fight we will talk about Mayweather and whoever else.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA

“This is going to be a very physical fight. Austin Trout is legitimate. He is undefeated. He is strong. I think that whoever wins this fight is going to shoot up like a star and go to the next level. It’s a tough fight for both. I expect a really, really tough fight.

“What I see is the potential for whoever wins this fight to be a superstar. Not just a star or just a champion, but a superstar. Canelo is on the right path and April 20 is going to show us if he’s able to make that jump. Canelo’s destiny is in his own hands and it’s up to him to win the fight.

“This reminds me when I beat Ike Quartey. Although I did have all the admirers and the fans, I needed that one win to solidify me as a great champion. This is his one moment, but he has his work cut out for him. Austin Trout is the real deal. He’s no joke, but if you want to beat the best you have to fight the best. I’ve said that throughout my whole career.

“I think San Antonio is a great fight town. The fans there have been asking for a great fight. They haven’t had a big fight there since Chavez-Whitaker. I fought there, but they haven’t had a big, big world championship fight in some time.”

CHEPO REYNOSO

“All the training’s been done and we are down to our final weeks. We know that Trout is a smart fighter and that he got some invaluable experience against (Miguel) Cotto.

“We’re ready for a lefty fighter and focused our training sparring with two very seasoned lefties who provided us with a lot of different looks. They have a lot of similar characteristics to what we are going to see against Trout.”

EDDY REYNOSO

“Canelo is going to fight how he always fights. We aren’t going to change just because of our opponent. Of course we’ve studied all of Trout’s fights and we’ll be ready for whatever he brings, but we’re just going to come to fight like we always do.”

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).

Remaining tickets priced at $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available for purchase at the Alamodome box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.

April 4, 2013 – Junior middleweight prospect KeAndrae “Lightning” Leatherwood (12-2-1, 8 KOs) has been added to the undercard of Saul Alvarez and Austin Trout’s unification bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas which takes place April 20th. Boxing 360’s Leatherwood will compete in a 10-round bout against Golden Boy Promotions undefeated Julian Williams (11-0-1, 6 KOs) from Philadelphia.

This will be Leatherwood’s first professional fight in Texas and he is being matched tough with Williams coming off of two 7 round TKOs in a row. The nickname “Lightning” is fitting for Leatherwood, who possesses some of the fastest hands in the division, but he will have to prepare himself accordingly in order to perform in a manner that captures the attention of a predictably enthusiastic Texas crowd.

“I’ve regrouped and I know what I have to focus on in order to produce the best possible performances. My opponent is a talented guy, but I haven’t even hit my peak yet and my best boxing is still to come. I know what I’m capable of and I think the boxing world will take notice once they see me put it all together,” Leatherwood said.

Leatherwood is looking to take advantage of the high profiled feature bout and hopes to capture the attention of an enthusiastic crowd.

“I know that the atmosphere will be off the charts, it’s going to be a great night for boxing. I’m going to win over some of those Latin fans and they will leave the arena that night wanting to see me again,” Leatherwood said.

Boxing 360’s Mario Yagobi is thrilled to see Leatherwood on an undercard of this magnitude and he too sees this as an opportunity for his fighter to gain a new fan base.

“It’s a chance for KeAndrae to show his skills in front of a completely new geographical demographic. Texas fans know boxing and the expected crowd in San Antonio will be an enlightened bunch. Those fans are capable of appreciating a fighter’s talents and they will recognize KeAndrae’s when he displays his speed, versatility and other attributes,” said Leatherwood’s promoter Mario Yagobi of Boxing 360.

KeAndrae Leatherwood is promoted by Boxing 360. For more information on Leatherwood please visit www.boxing360.com.

San Antonio (April 3) Over 30,000 fans packing the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, April 20 for the Super Welterweight World Championship Unification showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout will have another reason to cheer, as the evening’s co-main event will feature a clash of unbeaten lightweights when Weslaco, Texas’ Omar Figueroa Jr. and Puerto Rico’s Abner Cotto square off in an explosive 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight title live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®.

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona andAT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).

Remaining tickets priced at $100, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available for purchase at the Alamodome box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.

A proud Texan who always shows his best for his home state fans, Weslaco’s Omar “Panterita” Figueroa Jr. (20-0-1, 16 KO’s) is a top lightweight prospect on the verge of moving into the top ten at 135 pounds. The owner of wins over top prospects Michael Perez, Ramon Ayala and Dominic Salcido during a 2012 campaign that saw him go 6-0, the 23-year-old kept the momentum going into this year, when he knocked out Henry Aurad in just 47 seconds in March in San Antonio. On April 20, he’s back and looking to match or surpass that performance against Cotto.

The second cousin of Miguel and Jose Cotto, 25-year-old Abner Cotto (16-0, 7 KO’s) has gotten off to an impressive start in the family business. A former amateur standout, Caguas’ Cotto turned professional in 2009 and has since won each of his 16 bouts. A Puerto Rican and WBC FECARBOX lightweight champion thus far, Cotto has bigger titles in his sights in the future and after an impressive seventh round technical knockout over Sergio Perez last December, Cotto knows that a victory over the undefeated Figueroa will make a statement to the boxing world that he’s ready for anything.

For information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/leijabattahPR, www.twitter.com/CaneloOficial, www.twitter.com/NoDoubtTrout, www.twitter.com/Alamodome and www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #CaneloTrout or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

LOS ANGELES, March 21 – Boxing fans and sports enthusiasts have spoken to the tune of approximately 50,000 tickets purchased for the unprecedented three consecutive weekends of mega-events in April and May, all of which are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

The three-week marathon of championship boxing excellence begins with the WBC and WBA Super Welterweight Unification bout between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday April 20 which is co-promoted with Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions, followed by the Unified Super Lightweight World Championship between Danny Garcia and Zab Judah at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, April 27 and the grand finale, “MAY DAY: Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero” on Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada which is co-promoted by Mayweather Promotions. The April 20 and April 27 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING events will be televised live on SHOWTIME® and the May 4 “MAY DAY: Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero” mega-event will be produced and distributed by SHOWTIME PPV®.

“The fans’ response to this amazing schedule of boxing events, which occur one right after the other, has been overwhelming,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Across the country from Brooklyn to San Antonio to Las Vegas, we have seen a rapid response from sports fans and boxing loyalists who have purchased tickets to support these terrific boxing events.”

Schaefer continued, “The public’s enthusiasm about this three week run, culminating with the return of Floyd Mayweather to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, reinforces our strong belief that if you provide and deliver competitive matches at the highest level, the public will respond enthusiastically and support this sport we love. In addition, fans across the country that cannot be there in person, can see all of these fights on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME PPV (May 4). We are thrilled to partner with SHOWTIME to continue to provide excellent programming throughout the calendar year to those who love and appreciate the sweet science of boxing.”

Ticket sales for Canelo vs. Trout have been so overwhelming that promoters Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions will soon extend the available seating by putting additional tickets on sale. San Antonio can expect more than 30,000 fans in the building come fight night, proving once again that Texas is a hot spot for boxing aficionados.

Coming off of witnessing the record-breaking performance by IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins on March 9 at Barclays Center, Brooklyn boxing fans are gearing up for another stacked fight card taking place Saturday, April 27 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia facing Brooklyn’s own Four-Time and Two-Division World Champion Zab Judah.

The three-week lead up ends on Cinco de Mayo weekend with a nearly sold out event featuring the ring return of boxing mega-star Floyd Mayweather against Six-Time and Four Division World Champion Robert Guerrero. The event, which takes place on Saturday, May 4 at MGM Grand and will be produced and distributed live on SHOWTIME PPV, will undoubtedly sell out, once again showing Mayweather’s incredible drawing power at the box office.

About Canelo vs. Trout:

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The fight will air live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT) and is presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions.

Remaining tickets priced at $100, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available for purchase at the Alamodome box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.

About Garcia vs. Judah:

Garcia vs. Judah, a 12-round bout for Garcia’s Unified Super Lightweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored Corona and AT&T. In the co-featured attraction WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin puts his title on the line against hard-hitting Fernando Guerrero in a 12-round fight. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Remaining tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

About “May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero”:

“MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero,” a 12-round fight for Mayweather’s WBC Welterweight World Championship is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. The mega-event will take place Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Also featured will be Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. Abner Mares, a 12-round fight for Ponce de Leon’s WBC Featherweight World Championship.

Remaining tickets for priced at $1,500, $1,250, $800 and $600, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS (March 15, 2013) – The Texas Three-Step is over for popular, unbeaten Mexican superstar and WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez and undefeated WBA Super Welterweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout, who completed their highly successful three-city, two-day press tour in Texas on Thursday.

To infer that the three press conferences, all open to the public, were smashing successes would be an understatement.

Fans lined up around the building to get into the McAllen Convention Center in McAllen, Texas, to watch the press conference late Thursday afternoon, the final stop of the press tour. Nearly 1,000 of them had assembled in the room by the time Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya stepped to the dais to begin the proceedings.

Earlier Thursday, more than 500 fans flooded the food court at PlazAmericas Mall in Houston for the press conference. On Wednesday, the tour began in the fight’s host city of San Antonio, at the fight’s venue, the Alamodome, where approximately 1,500 fans attended.

At each location, the boxers obliged the adoring fans with autographs and posed with them for pictures.

In an eagerly anticipated matchup of talented, exciting, unbeaten boxers, Canelo (41-0-1, 30 KO’s), of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will take on Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s), of Las Cruces, N.M., in a 154-pound world title unification fight on Saturday, April 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio live on SHOWTIME® (10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT).

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale and available for purchase at the Alamodome box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.

Canelo vs. Trout is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and the fight is presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. The event is sponsored by Corona and AT&T.

Below are quotes from the boxers, members of their teams and executives, including De La Hoya, Texas boxing legend and former Two-Time World Champion Jessie James Leija and Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports, Stephen Espinoza, among others, from the three press conferences:

CANELO ALVAREZ, WBC Super Welterweight World Champion

“I’m very humbled by the attendance (at the press conferences). I get goose bumps when I get up here with everyone cheering. I want to thank you for your support. I’ll be prepared as always. We’ll be ready. Texas has a great vibe. The people here have a great vibe and that definitely helps me. It’s a pleasure to fight at the Alamodome. This place has so much history. I fight for my people. They’re my inspiration. I carry a great deal of responsibility on my shoulders, because I carry the hopes and dreams of my people. I’m undefeated and my record is thanks to my people, who support me every step of the way.

“I’m very happy to be in Texas. This is the very first time I’m fighting here and I can already tell I like it. I like San Antonio because it has so much history and so many boxing fans. I want to thank all my fans for supporting me. On April 20, if God provides, the crowd will be on my side.

“We are working hard. My team and I are focused 100 percent on my opponent. I have great respect for Austin Trout and what he has been able to achieve. This fight is a complicated one. He’s not only tough but a lefty and he also knows how to keeps his guard with his left. He’s a very intelligent fighter, young, skilled and tough. It’s not going to be an easy task to beat him, but we’re working hard and getting ready. I respect Trout outside of the ring, but once he’s in the ring, that’s a whole different thing.

“This fight for me is personal. I know Trout beat my brother. I was there that day and that made me feel helpless. Now I’ll get the chance to avenge his loss and bring him up to the ring with me when I win.

“Like in life, in sports, there are critics and skeptics. There’s always going to be someone criticizing you. To fight Trout is not going to quiet down criticism against me, but I honestly don’t mind it. I think all criticism is constructive.

“My daughter motivates me to be better and not to fail.

“I’m ready to fight Floyd Mayweather when he’s ready to fight me.”

AUSTIN TROUT, WBA Super Welterweight World Champion

“I was born in El Paso, Texas. This is where I’m from. I’ve been around Latinos all my life and I can say I feel like one of you. Boxing is never going to be dead when there are fans like this (in Texas). It’s a sport that is 200 years old, but when you have a fight like this you know it is alive and well. Mark my words, on April 20, Texas will win.

“I want to thank the fans. The fans demanded this fight and made it happen. I believe that Canelo is a great champion. I have to thank him for making this happen. I want to thank the Lord, because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Him.

“I’m a fast, hungry champion. I don’t believe that Canelo is the second coming of Oscar De La Hoya. I do believe that I’m the better fighter. If I didn’t think I could be victorious, I wouldn’t be risking my life and limb to face this man. I wouldn’t be risking my undefeated record and my belt if I didn’t believe in myself. I’ll be victorious and I’ll go home as the unified champion.

“Someone’s ‘0’ has got to go. It sure as hell isn’t going to be mine and I’m sure he is saying the same thing. That’s the formula for a great fight. (Hip-hop artist) Drake said it best, ‘Started from the bottom, now we’re here. Started from the bottom, now my whole team’s here.’

“I know that Canelo is a hungry champion. I’m not just hungry. I’m starving. I’m ready for April 20.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“I was in San Antonio a few months ago and told Jesse James Leija and Mike Battah that we would be back. So standing here, bringing you a big mega-fight featuring Canelo Alvarez against Austin ‘No Doubt’ Trout really is a dream come true for Golden Boy Promotions and I.

“These types of fights normally take place in Las Vegas and are normally shown on pay-per-view. However, we had to bring this fight in particular to San Antonio because of the fans. It’s not on pay-per-view. It’s on SHOWTIME.

“We have over 10,000 tickets that are going to be on sale at 10 dollars each. We want to make this a historical event, but that won’t happen without the fans. Without you, it wouldn’t be possible.

“This is an opportunity for Canelo to show everyone in boxing that he is the real deal. He’s not only a champion, but can stage his own show, pull in his own fans and draw his own great ratings.

“Boxing gives hope and strength to a lot of people. Boxing is a sport that can reach and impact people. This fight is showing the world that boxing is alive and well. Boxing is strong and we have the future right here with Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout.

“When they show Canelo’s fights in Mexico, his ratings are through the roof. He is a superstar in Mexico. Fans believe in him and are 100 percent behind him because they want to see the next Mexican fighter that is going to give them the strength to move forward.

“Canelo is a hard worker and he wants to be put to the test of fighting the very best.

“This fight is no joke and that is the beauty of it. We don’t know who is going to win. This is the type of fight that we should be putting on.

“How many times have you seen two fighters that are undefeated, two fighters that are champions risk it all? You seldom see that, but on April 20, you get to see two fighters that will risk it all to unify their belts.

“Golden Boy wants to show the world that boxing doesn’t have to be in Vegas alone. Boxing will be where the fans are. That’s why we are bringing this world championship to Texas.”

JESSE JAMES LEIJA, Former World Champion and Texas Boxing Legend

“(To San Antonio fans) We brought the big fight here, now we need your help. Bring grandpa, grandma, the wife, the girlfriend, everyone. We need everyone here. We want people to say, ‘Vegas who?’ We don’t need Vegas, we need San Antonio, but we can’t do that without your support.

“I told Oscar De La Hoya to bring a fight to Texas or we’re going to get back in the ring for a rematch.

“Raul Martinez will be on the card. He will be our next world champion.

“Houston is only two-and-half-hours from San Antonio. We have a great undercard, but nothing is going to surpass Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout fighting in this championship mega-fight.

“We want to keep bringing fights to Texas. It’s great for the economy. It’s great for the sport of boxing.

“Oscar De La Hoya knows that the best boxing fans are in Texas. Boxing is on the upswing. It’s the best sport in the world and that’s because of fans like you.”

MIKE BATTAH, President of Leija and Battah Promotions

“Oscar is giving us a great opportunity to put on a fight where the real fight fans are located. We’re bringing this fight to San Antonio because we pushed to have it in Texas.

“I want to thank the new fans that have come out to our fights and I want to thank the existing fans that will show Canelo and Trout what Texas is all about because we’re fight fans.

“I’d like to thank the amateur program that has supported us throughout our fights, so we can show those amateurs what it is like to be a pro one day.

“This is where fight fans are and this is the grassroots of Texas. This wouldn’t have been possible without the fans and we know you are going to come and support these great champions on April 20.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports

“At SHOWTIME, our goal is to bring boxing fans the best fighters and the biggest fights. That’s what April 20 is going to be. We’re bringing the biggest young stars and the biggest young champions to the fans on our network.

“On September 15 (2012), Canelo fought on SHOWTIME and set all-time ratings records. In December, Austin Trout faced Miguel Cotto in a fight no one thought he could win. He not only won, but that fight also set a new SHOWTIME ratings record. I know April 20 will be another record-breaking event.

“Champions are often too afraid to take tough fights. These two are stepping up to the plate and for that, they should be rewarded.”

“We had Jesse James Leija on our network for some of his biggest fights and we are proud to be working with him again.

“The last time we had a fight on our network in Texas it featured Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and we couldn’t be happier to be back for a fight of this size.

“We are approaching the biggest and best run of fights on SHOWTIME in the history of the network. On April 20 we have Canelo Alvarez vs. Austin Trout. On April 27, we have Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah and on May 4 on SHOWTIME PPV we have Floyd Mayweather facing Robert Guerrero in a mega-fight.”

JULIAN CASTRO, Mayor of San Antonio

“San Antonio has a rich and proud boxing history. Who could forget in 1993 when (Julio Cesar) Chavez fought (Pernell) Whitaker and other great names such as (James) Leija and (Robert) Quiroga?

“Watching our great Jesse James Leija fight bout after bout was great for this city and we are thrilled he has continued to bring boxing to this city.

“San Antonio is proud to play host to another great match featuring to two great boxers in their prime – Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout.”

MIKE SAWAYA, Alamodome Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Director

“Oscar De La Hoya told me he was going to bring an event to this building that would fill up the venue. This is a boxing town, but it is also a town that loves different types of entertainment, all different sports and we are looking forward to hosting this great event. Buy those tickets and we’ll see you in April.”

ED GONZALEZ, Mayor Pro Tem of Houston

“Houston is the fourth largest city in the country and the largest city in Texas. I’m so proud to be hosting this event today here in our city.

“There are 50 boxing gyms in Houston with young kids learning the sport. Houston is a boxing city.

“We are so thrilled to have Oscar De La Hoya, Jesse James Leija and the fighters here today. Thank you for coming and inviting all of these fans to be here and experience boxing at its finest.”

JOSE “CHEPO” REYNOSO, Canelo’s Co-Manager

“I’ve been in the boxing business for many years and I’ve never seen so many boxing fans together. Texas has amazed me. The boxing fans were amazing.

“Be ready, Texas. On April 20, two undefeated world champions are going to step into the ring, but only one of them will step out as true unified champion and that is going to be our Canelo. We have two missions to accomplish on April 20…the first is to take Trout’s belt home with us and the second is to fill up the entire Alamodome.

“We ask that everyone come out to support this great Mexican champion (Canelo) on April 20.”

BOB SPAGNOLA, Austin Trout’s Manager

“We’re thrilled to be here. I knew there would be a big crowd here in San Antonio because this is a boxing town. There are boxing people here.

“The respect that these fighters are getting and the respect they are giving each other is commendable. In a sport where fighters are forced to talk (badly) about each other, these two champions are showing each other amazing amounts of respect.

“There are a lot of great boxing people in Houston. There are a lot of people that give tirelessly to youth for them to learn this sport.

“We can’t say enough about these two fighters. A lot of great fights don’t get made for one reason or another and we’re thrilled that Canelo has given Austin this opportunity.”

GREG ALVAREZ, Assistant Boxing Administrator for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

“Texas is so proud to be able to host an event of this caliber. I want to thank the people for being such great boxing fans. I also want to thank SHOWTIME for being part of this great boxing event. This is the top fight that we have in Texas and we cannot wait for April 20.’’

For information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/leijabattahPR, www.twitter.com/CaneloOficial, www.twitter.com/NoDoubtTrout, www.twitter.com/Alamodome and www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #CaneloTrout or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOsport.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (March 13) – Unbeaten Mexican superstar and WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez and undefeated WBA Super Welterweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout are set to square off in a 12-round, WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight on Saturday, April 20 from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas in a fight which will be televised live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®(10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT).

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona andAT&T. The fight will air live on SHOWTIME and is presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions.

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Alamodome box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.

Canelo, who started training for the fight in his hometown of Guadalajara before moving camp to Santa Monica, Calif., is already familiar his opponent’s fighting style and abilities as he was ringside for Trout’s December 1, 2012 victory over Miguel Cotto in New York and also watched Trout defeat his older brother Rigoberto Alvarez in Guadalajara in February of 2011.

“Austin Trout impressed me with his win over Miguel Cotto and my brother,” said Canelo, who will be making his sixth title defense against Trout. “But I feel that in boxing, it’s my time now, and I will show Trout why I am the best in the division. Champions should fight each other because that’s what true champions do. I know he will be a tough challenge, but I’m confident I will be the unified champion at the end of the night. Beating him will make a statement, and in so doing, I plan to avenge my brother’s loss to him and bring victory home to Mexico too.”

The WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Trout, whose performance over Miguel Cotto in December helped further establish him as a force to be reckoned with, is ready for his next contest against Canelo.

“I’m absolutely ready to face Canelo and all of his fans who will be out in full force in San Antonio that night,” said Trout, the 27-year old southpaw from Las Cruces, New Mexico who will be making his fifth title defense. “Although he is a true champion, I don’t believe he has had the ring experience or has faced the competition he should have in order to be able to handle the skills that I will show him when we fight April 20. I have already defeated his brother and taken his belt, and I plan on making it two for two against the Alvarez’s in my in my quest to be the best. I have no doubt that I will retain my title and takes his with me too. I can’t wait.”

“Canelo has proven with each challenge he has faced that he is getting better and has fast become a superstar in the sport not only because of his talent, but also because of his unbelievable fan base that continues to grow every time he fights,” said Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions. “Austin Trout is an incredible fighter with superb boxing skills and a great champion in his own right. I’m very excited to see what happens when these two fighters meet in the ring on April 20. Golden Boy is going back to Texas in true Texas fashion with a huge fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, the home of great boxing fans who love and appreciate the sport. It’s going to be a great night for everyone involved.”

“We are very excited to work with Oscar de la Hoya, the entire Golden Boy Promotions team, Canelo Promotions and SHOWTIME on this sensational event,” said Texas boxing legend and former World Champion Jesse James Leija of Leija and Battah Promotions. “Boxing fans in Texas have a terrific opportunity to be part of a memorable evening headlined by two of the sports finest competitors.”

“At just 22 years of age, Canelo’s appeal is undeniable and still growing,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager for SHOWTIME Sports. “His first appearance on SHOWTIME last fall resulted in record ratings for SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. We are thrilled to have him headlining once again when he will face the toughest opponent of his career. Austin Trout, likewise, helped set a ratings record on our network last December when he upset future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto with an impressive, coming-of-age performance. Canelo vs. Trout is exactly the type of fight that SHOWTIME has become known for – a match-up between two of boxing’s brightest stars in which the outcome is impossible to predict. Naturally, as a programmer, I am thrilled to deliver this world championship unification to SHOWTIME subscribers. As a fight fan, I can’t wait to be ringside at a raucous Alamodome.”

“We are pleased to join Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leijah & Battah Promotions in bringing this highly coveted match-up to our city,” said Michael Sawaya, Convention, Sports, & Entertainment Facilities Director of the Alamodome. “San Antonio has long been a host for many championship events and this world title bout continues our long tradition.”

The pride of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, 22-year-old Canelo Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) has proven himself worthy of standing side by side with his country’s modern day boxing greats, both in the ring and outside of it. A fighting phenom who has been a pro since 2005, Canelo ran through all comers on the local circuit before winning the NABF welterweight title in 2009, before beginning his attack on the international boxing scene. In 2010, Canelo had a breakout year with wins over Jose Miguel Cotto, Luciano Cuello, Carlos Baldomir and Lovemore N’dou, and by 2011 he was a world champion, defeating Matthew Hatton for the WBC Super Welterweight World Championship. Canelo, who has truly become a superstar in Mexico with millions tuning in every time he fights, has since defended his title successfully five times, defeating Ryan Rhodes, Alfonso Gomez, Kermit Cintron, Sugar Shane Mosley and Josesito Lopez. On April 20, he will look to unify the division against Austin Trout in front of an adoring crowd as he fights in Texas for the first time.

Long considered one of boxing’s most underrated gems, Las Cruces, New Mexico’s Austin “No Doubt” Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) took the long road to recognition in his pro career after a successful run as an amateur. Willing to go anywhere to fight anyone, the talented Trout built up win after win while waiting for his shot at the gold. That shot came in February of 2011 when he faced Canelo’s older brother Rigoberto for the WBA Super Welterweight World Championship. Despite fighting in Alvarez’s backyard in Guadalajara, Trout’s boxing skills prevailed as he won a 12-round decision and the title. Still looking to convince the boxing world that he was the real deal, Trout successfully defended his title with wins against David Lopez, Frank LoPorto and Delvin Rodriguez, setting up a December 2012 showdown with Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto. Again, Trout stepped up when the pressure was highest, winning a 12 round unanimous decision over Cotto in a career best performance that he hopes to top on April 20.

For information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/leijabattahPR, www.twitter.com/CaneloOficial, www.twitter.com/NoDoubtTrout, www.twitter.com/Alamodome and www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #CaneloTrout or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOsport.

SAN ANTONIO – While there is no promotional formula for rising from small and local shows to large and national ones, there is perhaps a timeline: suddenly. The incremental approach that works well in most of life’s worthwhile doings does not work nearly so well in prizefighting promotion, as so many other good ideas do not work nearly so well in prizefighting promotion – wherein shortsightedness rarely finds its match in anything but cupidity. “Go large, be bold, and expect to lose” is probably good a slogan as any, and Leija-Battah Promotions certainly understands those first two.

Saturday at Our Lady of the Lake University, Leija-Battah Promotions held its final sparring session before a championship match it will make, both as promoter and challenger, on April 20, when Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fights New Mexican Austin “No Doubt” Trout at Alamodome, in the biggest consequential fight of the first half of 2013.

Is this city ready? That is a question Saturday answered incompletely. The main event certainly was not ready, or anything local promoters had control over. Golden Boy Promotions was to blame for Omar Figueroa unmanning someone named Henry Aurad in a few punches, but only insofar as a promoter overextended with television dates and fighters can be. There’s an underexplored conundrum here, one that having too large a stable, usually required by too many television commitments, can bring. It’s a thing storied matchmaker Don Chargin shared: You run out of opponents. When you have too many good fighters and they must be kept active against fighters other than your other good fighters, when your responsibility is to build fighters, not fights, appropriate opposition goes missing.

Golden Boy Promotions now finds itself often putting men like Henry Aurad on television. Top Rank, in its overstocked past, did this lots, too, but Top Rank has stropped itself in the last four months – one is tempted to hear the starter’s pistol the night Juan Manuel Marquez recalled Top Rank’s signature brand though the downsizing began months earlier – and is on the verge of having its least-active Q1 in memory.

Our Lady of the Lake University’s gymnasium was filled Saturday. OLLU is a small, old, lovely place a couple miles west – just to the Mexican side – of this city’s downtown. Any town has its ethnic enclaves, and while this one is probably the most Mexican of our country’s largest, the west side of San Antonio is even more Mexican than other parts with their enclaves of Chicanos or African-Americans or German-Americans.

Founded nearly 120 years ago by the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence, a French order of Catholic nuns, OLLU is a school with a campus that is small but precious and home of its city’s most picturesque steeple, reminding students, or boxing aficionados as the case may be, their host is not secular. Catholicism is arguably a cultural artifact for Mexicans more than a religious one; the reevaluation of the Church the Irish, among others, now undergo is a thing Mexicans underwent in the late 1920s, when President Plutarco Elias Calles fired what might euphemistically be called a starter’s pistol of his own. Mexican Catholicism is a rich and irreverent species of Catholicism; its cultural tendency towards faith is leavened by a deeper indigenous recollection of how the faith was delivered by steel-bearing Spaniards the new God mysteriously chose as His emissaries.

OLLU is a local-knowledge spot Leija-Battah Promotions chose for a small show because it is a local promoter that understands the city in which it promotes because it is run by residents of the city. This month marks a year since Jesse James Leija, still a trainer and former prizefighter much more than a promoter, and Mike Battah, a local businessman, formed Leija-Battah Promotions and presented a Top Rank show that featured Kelly Pavlik in a corner of Alamodome called Illusions Theater.

Other shows followed, and while announced gates were encouraging, other elements were not. After Alamodome, there was a show at a dancehall followed by a pro-am at Alamodome, followed by a Freeman Coliseum show and a late-December card in an assembly hall. Throughout, there were rumblings of Leija-Battah wanting to bring Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to San Antonio. When Saturday’s show got announced in January with Henry Aurad in the main event of a card at a university wellness and activity center, though, well.

Then last week brought news Canelo was in fact en route, and not as a showcase talent against a designated opponent – the way Manny Pacquiao visited this city in 2007 and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. came in 2010 and 2012 – but in a legitimate title-unification match against a fellow champ with good a chance of winning as losing, if every scorecard were in an honest hand. Alvarez will fight Trout on the third evening of Fiesta, this city’s annual and colorful 10-day celebration of Texas independence – contextualized regularly by San Antonians as “our Mardi Gras,” which means plenty, from a live-gate perspective, when one considers Alamo City has about 400 percent New Orleans’ population.

Will Alvarez-Trout break the record set at Alamodome by Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. 20 years ago this September? No, but an attendance number above 25,000 is not out of the question. And when did those words last appear in a sentence about American-venue boxing outside Lone Star State?

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

LOS ANGELES, December 21 – This holiday season, get ready for a gift all boxing fans will love, as Golden Boy Promotions teams up with FOX Deportes to re-air classic fights for four days and nights of epic fights featuring current and future Hall of Famers, world champions and rising stars engaging in some of the most pivotal bouts of their careers.

Included in these marathons are “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, Julio “JC” Cesar Chavez, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Marco Antonio “Baby Faced Assasin” Barrera, Miguel Cotto, Sugar Shane Mosley, Canelo Alvarez, Abner Mares, Ricky “Hitman” Hatton and Danny “Swift” Garcia, just to name a few.

The action begins this Saturday, December 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT with the following lineup:

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Pernell Whitaker – 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT

Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera I – 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley I – 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT

Erik Morales vs. Pablo Cesar Cano – 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT

Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez III – 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT

Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley – 8:00 p.m.ET/5:00 p.m. PT

Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz – 9:00 p.m.ET/6:00 p.m. PT

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad – 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT

The next day of classics begins on Tuesday, December 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT with 10 more bouts:

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ike Quartey – 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT

Shane Mosley vs. Ricardo Mayorga – 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT

Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Oscar De La Hoya – 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT

Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton – 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas – 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT

Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez II – 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad – 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT

Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana – 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT

Canelo Alvarez vs. Ryan Rhodes – 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT

Canelo Alvarez vs. Mathew Hatton – 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT

On December 29, it’s a Saturday night doubleheader featuring:

Abner Mares vs. Vic Darchinyan – 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT

Danny Garcia vs. Nate Campbell – 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT

Finally, on Saturday, January 5, it’s another marathon of elite level boxing action with the following bouts:

Rigoberto Alvarez vs. Austin Trout – 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT

Lamont Peterson vs. Victor Ortiz – 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT

Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi – 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT

Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley -9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad – 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT

For more information on Golden Boy Promotions, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxingor visit us on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page. For more information on FOX Deportes visit www.FOXDeportes.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FOXDeportes or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes.

The other night Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez made his ringwalk to a song from the American movie “Rocky IV.” If you were thinking Crossover Appeal, well done. I’ve long thought there was a better song for him, though: “Güero Canelo” by Calexico, an Arizona band.

But then I checked the lyrics. The song might be about a Tucson restaurant and the general crime that happens in the southern part of its city, or maybe not. Whatever it’s about, “Güero Canelo” features an exhaustive list of narcotics. It’s probably better, then, that a Mexican star not precede his performances with a song like that.

Saturday night in the Mexican state of Veracruz in a venue called Estadio Beto Avila, Jalisco’s Alvarez won a unanimous decision over South African Lovemore N’dou by scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109. N’dou fought like a good sparring partner should, trying to win no more than 30 of the match’s 2,160 seconds. And the Veracruzanos went home certain they’d seen a future great.

Since we won’t know about that for a long time, let’s go back to the Calexico tune.

Did you catch 2004’s “Collateral” with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx? If so, “Güero Canelo” was the song that played for the dancing Sinaloans in the scene at El Rodeo night club. If not, here’s a touch of back story.

Vincent is a hit man played by Cruise. He climbs in a taxi driven by Max, a cabbie played by Jamie Foxx. Max learns the destinations to which he is chauffeuring Vincent are actually hits, witnesses for the prosecution in a drug case set to begin the next day, and demurs. Eventually, he also trashes Vincent’s witness work-ups, with two hits to go. Vincent sends Max into a Mexican club called El Rodeo to pretend he is Vincent and retrieve work-ups on the two remaining witnesses.

And this is where most American moviegoers meet actor Javier Bardem for the first time. Bearded and elegant, Bardem plays a Mexican narcotraficante named Felix. Enraged by “Vincent’s” having lost the work-ups, Felix tells a wonderfully imaginative story about Santa Claus’s special helper in Mexico named “Pedro el Negro.” And Bardem shows incredible presence.

Despite being the first Spanish actor ever nominated for an Oscar, four years before, Bardem was cast in what might have been a five-minute throw-away scene in the middle of an action movie in 2004 – his first American work in two years, at the time.

Not exactly Saul Alvarez’s career path.

After a shaky opening to his own American debut in May on the undercard of “Who R U Picking?” – when the 19-year-old Mexican was temporarily walked down Queer Street by Jose Miguel Cotto (yes, the other Cotto) – Alvarez rallied and won by TKO in round 9. A couple months ago, Alvarez also blasted his way through Carlos Baldomir. Saturday he was a red-headed rock star whose girlfriend got about as much camera time as N’dou’s corner did.

That old saw about nothing attracting a crowd like a crowd perfectly captures the reflexivity that feeds the hype machine and so, too, aptly captures Alvarez’s celebrity. Fight aficionados, of course, want an organic star, someone who learns his craft in obscurity before emerging properly seasoned, preferably in an upset – someone like Michael Medina, Dmitry Pirog or Sergio Martinez. Promoters, and the casual fans they hope to feed, want something else entirely.

They want someone who’s equipped for immediate stardom if not pugilistic excellence. Someone like, say, Alvarez. Golden Boy Promotions, whose eye for talent gets blackened by reality here and there, needed a Mexican prospect to offset rival promoter Top Rank’s cynical celebration of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., son of Mexico’s fistic legend. The country’s other famous Juniors all had a loss or three on their records. And HBO hates that.

“Canelo” is good-looking, undefeated, and of Mexican origin, so he became the next Oscar De La Hoya.

Look, Alvarez is a good fighter. He has uncommonly powerful legs for a junior middleweight. His footwork is serviceable. He counters right hands fairly well after nibbling on them. His punches are straight and committed.

But he’s slow-handed more than heavy-handed. N’dou, a 39-year-old man whose best days came at 140 pounds, was not in trouble for a moment against the 154-pound Alvarez, Saturday. Alvarez showed characteristics of a young fighter accustomed to blowing through overmatched opponents. He threw lead hooks and paused after they landed, expecting N’dou to be felled instantly.

Perhaps Alvarez will become Mexico’s next legend. Right now, though, his celebrity feels wholly manufactured.

A month before his 18-line performance as the narcotraficante Felix, Javier Bardem arrived in the United States as a semi-obscure foreign actor. He spent five weeks perfecting the differences between English spoken with a Mexican accent and English spoken with his Spanish one. Then he made an unforgettable performance. And today, American moviegoers know him as the Oscar-winning actor from “No Country for Old Men” – a role that still didn’t come for three years after “Collateral.”

Bardem’s celebrity feels a bit more authentic by comparison, doesn’t it?

One other thing about “Canelo”: He’s only 20 years-old, and he’s had 36 professional fights. That point was rehearsed and exuberantly retold numerous times by HBO Latino’s commentators Saturday. Well.

The last time we heard about such a young sensation from Mexico, his name was Julio Cesar Garcia, and his nickname was “Baby Face.” Garcia was 40-2 (34 KOs) on his 20th birthday. He’s 1-2 in the three years since then. And before you think De La Hoya will be the difference for Alvarez, remember that Garcia had Roberto Duran.

Saturday’s fight, lastly, was Alvarez’s second defense of an esteemed WBC Silver title. WBC Silver, you’re thinking, who else has a silly title like that? Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., actually.

A proposal, then: Alvarez and Chavez Jr. fight to determine whom we should take seriously going forward – and the loser stays in Mexico to defend the silver.

Bart Barry can be reached at bbarry@15rounds.com. Additionally, his book, “The Legend of Muhammad Ali,” co-written with Thomas Hauser, can be purchased here.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, hot shot Welterweight prospect Saul Alvarez will take on former undisputed Welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir on September 18th as part of the Shane Mosley – Sergio Mora Pay per View at Staples Center in Los Angeles

“When Alvarez recently fought in Mexico, there was an average between six and eight people per home watching this fight,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, referring to statistics he said he received from Mexican network Televisa. “The fight got a 17.8 rating, which is equivalent to 600,000 homes watched by 60 million people.

“Canelo has reached superstar status in Mexico. The ratings he gets on the national Mexican broadcaster, Televisa, are unheard off and in line with what the national soccer team gets.”

“I’m glad to be on such an important card with such good fighters,” Alvarez said. “It’s business as usual when I step into the ring. I fight with desire. I hope everyone comes out that night to watch because this is a really exciting night of boxing.”

Said Jose Reynoso, Alvarez’s manager and trainer: “This is a very important date. As Mexicans, we are celebrating the bicentennial of Mexican Independence. [Alvarez] is No. 1 in Mexico and now we want to conquer the world. A big part of that is being successful in L.A.”

“Carlos Baldomir is a fighter with an iron will and iron chin. He will come to Los Angeles and try to derail the fast rise of Canelo Alvarez,” Schaefer said. “He is on a mission to come and capture the American market and display his talent and excitement at Staples Center on Sept. 18. He realizes that Los Angeles is the largest Mexican market outside of Mexico and wants to come and show what he is all about.”

Said Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya: “I walked the streets myself the other day in Mexico where I watched Alvarez fight [on July 10]. I was asking people from all walks of life, ‘Have you heard of Canelo Alvarez?’ And everyone answers with a glowing face [and said], ‘He’s our next promise. He’s our next guy.’”

Floyd Mayweather 146 – Shane Mosley 147
Saul Alvarez 150 – Jose Miguel Cotto 149

Undefeated nineteen year old, Saul Alvarez talks about his American PPV debut against Jose Miguel Cotto this Saturday night on the Mayweather – Mosley PPV card

Watch Saul Alvarez in Sports  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com