Las Vegas (March 9, 2018) – Former Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik has confirmed that he and “The Punch Line” Podcast team will appear at the “Ring Life” booth to Meet & Greet his fans at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the fourth edition of Box Fan Expo that will take place Saturday May 5, 2018 from 10a.m to 5pm, during Cinco De Mayo weekend. The Boxing Expo will also coincide with the mega fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, that will take place later that evening.

Pavlik will appear for the first time at this years’ Expo. Kelly and “The Punch Line” team will have merchandise to sell to his fans, as well as photos and memorabilia. They will also promote their New Show from the Boxing Expo.

Kelly Pavlik Known as “The Ghost”, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. Pavlik grew up on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio. He won the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, which was also named Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Pavlik made three successful defenses before losing them to Sergio Martínez in 2010. On January 19, 2013 Kelly Pavlik announced his retirement from boxing.

Today Pavlik is the host of the Podcast Boxing show “The Punch Line” http://punchline.live/ with his co-host James Dominguez.

Box Fan Expo has been a huge success with fans and boxing industry people. Many boxing stars have attended the last two Expo’s such as Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Marco Antonio Barrera, Roy Jones Jr., Marcos Maidana, Sergio Martinez, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Tim Bradley, Deontay Wilder, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Fernando Vargas, Zab Judah, James Toney, Vinny Pazienza, Mikey Garcia , Mia St.Johns, Leo Santa Cruz, Badou Jack, Terry Norris , Riddick Bowe , Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Danny Jacobs, Abner Mares, Jorge Linares, Brandon Rios and many more…

Exhibitors such as boxing gear, apparel, new equipments, energy drinks, alcohol, supplement products, broadcasting media, sanctioning bodies and other companies who wish to participate will once again have a chance to showcase their brand to fans, media and the boxing industry.

Tickets to the Box Fan Expo are available online at:
http://www.boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com

Box Fan Expo is the ultimate boxing fan experience event, which allows fans to Meet and Greet Boxing Superstars of today, current and former world champions, Legends of the sport and other boxing Celebrities at their booth. On Site, fans will experience different activities from Autograph Sessions, Photo Sessions, FaceOff with your favorite boxers, as well as a chance to purchase merchandise and memorabilia from their booth, plus so much more… you won’t want to miss this must-attend Expo!

Box Fan Expo will also feature top boxing organizations, promoters, ring card girls, famous trainers and commentators as well as boxing gear companies “ALL UNDER ONE ROOF”.

Throughout the next couple of months leading up to the Event, there will be weekly updates on the many stars that will commit their appearance at the Boxing Expo. And for anyone in the Boxing industry or other Exhibitors (non-industry), who would like to be involved and reserve a Booth, contact Box Fan Expo:

Telephone number: (514) 572-7222 or Las Vegas Number (702) 997-1927

For any inquiries please email: boxfanexpo@gmail.com

More information on the Box Fan Expo is available at: http://www.boxfanexpo.com

You can follow Box Fan Expo on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BoxFanExpo

and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BoxFanExpo

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 22, 2018): Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) hosted a blockbuster fan event today at Microsoft Square at L.A. LIVE to formally announce their historic, highly anticipated 12-round rematch at T-Mobile Arena on Cinco de Mayo and presented live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

The world champions and their teams discussed the historic rematch following last September’s controversial draw with both fighters contending they will not allow the rematch to go to the judges’ scorecards.

Here’s what today’s participants had to say at the event:

CANELO ALVAREZ, Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight Champion:

“I’ve seen the first fight. I know the changes I must make. That’s going to be the key to victory. It’s about adding more things to the preparation. We’re going to add to the arsenal and add more conditioning, punches and aggression. I need to add more punches and aggression for the victory to be clear. The best way to win this fight is by knockout. It’s not easy, but I can do it.”

GENNADY GOLOVKIN, WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight Champion:

“I’ve done my homework. I know what I need to do to win this fight. This fight will be even bigger. After the first fight, I felt good. I felt I won the fight and I was comfortable. I’ve had a lot of time to rest. This fight will be different. I don’t make predictions, but I know I will give a big show.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions:

“I would have really wished for a rematch against Felix Trinidad. I would have loved to have knocked him out in the last three rounds instead of boxing. We don’t always get rematches of this magnitude, so that’s why this fight is special. On May 5, we will get an explosive rematch, and I believe Canelo will knock him out!”

TOM LOEFFLER, Promoter of Gennady “GGG” Golovkin:

“Because of the first fight, both guys are at another level. That was a mega fight that delivered in the ring. However, Canelo seems to be getting at least one scorecard in the big fights. Maybe it’s the red hair, but he’s doing something to impress the judges. That’s why Gennady [Golovkin] and Abel Sanchez will make sure that the victory is clearer in the next fight. We believe GGG won the first fight. He’s going to turn up the pressure. Dr. Abel Sanchez is going to turn up the pressure, and we’ll see you Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas.”

EDDY REYNOSO, Head Trainer of Canelo Alvarez:

“We don’t have to change anything. We’re going to prepare very well as we always do. We have a smart, defensive fighter, so we must throw more punches and be more aggressive. We’re going to make some small changes so that the training camp isn’t so monotonous, but we’re confident in our preparation and our fighter.”

JOSE “CHEPO” REYNOSO, Manager and Trainer of Canelo Alvarez:

“I’m happy the way Canelo fought in the first fight against Golovkin. But I’ll be even happier in the second fight because he’ll be able to fight differently. Golovkin will come forward and do the same thing, but Canelo has more things to show. He’ll also be better accommodated to 160 pounds since the last fight was his first at 160. This time we’ll look for the knockout.”
ABEL SANCHEZ, Head Trainer of Gennady “GGG” Golovkin:

“I hope Canelo [Alvarez] was able to see a transmission specialist for the rematch because in the first fight he was stuck in reverse. All I know is that after the first fight the fans were not booing Gennady Golovkin. The rematch took long to make because Canelo takes long to heal and had long memories of the first fight.”

Canelo vs. GGG 2 is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,” Fred Loya Insurance and Fathom Events. The event will take place Saturday, May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets for Canelo vs. GGG 2 are on sale and are priced at $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700, $500 and $300, not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of 10 per person at the $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800 and $700 price levels with a limit of two (2) per person at the $500 and $300 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com,
www.caneloggg.comand www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing and @TomLoeffler1; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, ‘
www.facebook.com/gggboxing, and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing and @OscarDeLaHoya; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG2.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying
and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloGGG2 into a browser. Credit must be provided to Golden Boy Promotions for any photo and/or video usage.

Https://www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing/videos/10155512375410756/

By Norm Frauenheim-

Location, location, location. It’s no surprise that the real estate won’t change for the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin rematch. The middleweights will pick up where they left off at Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena on May 5, Cinco de Mayo. Canelo de Mayo, too.

Canelo always said he would re-claim the holiday for Mexicans. He has. Now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has moved on and presumably won’t try to move in on the date like he did three weeks before the Sept. 16 bout late last August against Conor McGregor, Canelo will continue to reign as the NHL arena’s primary boxing resident. Tickets go on sale Tuesday.

“I am happy to return for the fourth time at T-Mobile Arena for this historic rematch against Golovkin,” Canelo said Thursday in a news release announcing that there will be no change of address. “I opened the doors of this place to the world of boxing, and it has become my favorite venue. This is where the fight started, and this is where I’ll end it by doing what I and my fans most desire: knocking him out.”

On the prediction scale, Canelo’s KO promise is boiler-plate. Still, a stoppage of GGG might be the only way for him to silence some boos from Mexican fans unhappy with his performance in the draw last September. Canelo fought in spurts. He’s going to change up his preparations this time around.

He’s headed to Colorado to train at altitude that might augment his conditioning. I’m not sure that will weaken GGG’s chin, however. Can Canelo win? Yeah, oh yeah. Above all, he’s proven to be a very good student, especially in the aftermath of an embarrassing loss to Mayweather in September, 2013. At 27, it’s safe to say we have yet to see the best of him.

Meanwhile, the theory is that GGG is a step beyond his prime. He’s 35. He’ll be 36 at opening bell. His birthday is April 8. More telling, perhaps, are the bruises and swelling apparent in his face after his last three fights – Kell Brook, Danny Jacobs and Canelo. Those optics are early signs of an aging fighter. But sometimes the younger man shows up, especially in fighters as good as Golovkin has been.

From this corner, the intersection of time and place appears to favor Canelo. But early betting odds say something else. They slightly favor GGG (minus 170) over Canelo (plus 140). In other words, it’s almost a pick-em fight. Surely, the rematch is intriguing on multiple levels, even more so than the first one. Canelo promises explosive drama by saying he’ll knock out GGG. Good enough. Knockouts sell. But adjustments fascinate. Look for plenty of the latter. Each fighter possesses a high-ring IQ. There’s some danger in that, of course. Their respective smarts set up a sequel that could go to the scorecards all over again. Judging proved to be a huge controversy in the first one. If there’s any surprise about the rematch’s site, it’s the state not the arena. GGG was angry at the draw delivered by the judges last September. Some of his fans urged him not to return to Vegas.

The first bout and post-fight news conference will be remembered for outrage over Adalaide Byrd’s 118-110 score for Canelo. For some at ringside, Dave Moretti had it right a 115-113 card for GGG. Lost amid all of the anger at Byrd, however, was Don Trella’s card. He scored it a draw, 114-114.

Like the fair-minded Moretti, he gave the final rounds to Canelo. But his score for the seventh is curious. Moretti, most in HBO television audience, the crowd at T-Mobile and the ringside press gave the middle rounds, including the seventh, to GGG. Even Byrd scored the seventh for Golovkin. In fact, it was one of only two rounds that Byrd gave to GGG.

But Trella gave the seventh to Canelo, 10-9. Had he scored it as most everyone else seemed to, GGG would have won a split decision.

GGG’s reunion with the Nevada State Athletic Commission figures to be the biggest story during the weeks before the rematch. There will be plenty of talk about the assignment of the judges. Safe to say, it won’t be Byrd. But that and the location, location, location of a possible trilogy are the only sure things.

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 22, 2018) – Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) will return to
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a highly anticipated rematch on Cinco de Mayo. The first fight between the two world-class athletes sold out in only two weeks, and tickets will surely be in even higher demand as both fighters have promised they will not leave the rematch in the judges’ hands. Canelo vs. GGG 2 will take place Saturday, May 5 and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets for Canelo vs. GGG 2 will go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 10:00 a.m. PT, and are priced at $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700, $500 and $300, not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of 10 per person at the $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800 and $700 price levels with a limit of two (2) per person at the $500 and $300 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com.

The two fighters will meet for the first time since last September’s controversial draw at an event at Microsoft Square at L.A. LIVE Tuesday, Feb. 27. More details will be announced shortly.

“I am happy to return for the fourth time at T-Mobile Arena for this historic rematch against [Gennady] Golovkin,” said Canelo. “I opened the doors of this place to the world of boxing, and it has become my favorite venue. This is where the fight started, and this is where I’ll end it by doing what I and my fans most desire: knocking him out.”

“It feels right that the rematch returns to the scene of the crime,” said Golovkin. “This time there will be no drama with a decision. I won the first fight and left the ring as world champion wearing all the belts. And I am going to win the second fight. It is going to be a record fight and a golden night for me and boxing at T-Mobile Arena.”

Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, said, “There is no better place to host the historic rematch between Canelo and Golovkin than T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Las Vegas on a fight weekend during Cinco de Mayo is electric, and I know fans will travel from around the world to be here to participate in the celebratory atmosphere. Historic boxing matches like Canelo vs. GGG 2 belong in a place like Las Vegas, which offers fans the full and rich experience they are looking for on a big fight weekend.”

“The last time they met in the ring, the tie went to the runner — Canelo Alvarez,” said
Tom Loeffler, promoter of Golovkin. “I think there is only one place to settle this dispute between the two best middleweights. The most appropriate place for the rematch is back at T-Mobile Arena. The venue was a sensational host to Team Golovkin and the fans were terrific. We’ll see if T-Mobile Arena remains Canelo’s favorite venue after he becomes Gennady’s twentieth and record-tying title defense.”

Richard Sturm, President of Sports and Entertainment for MGM Resorts International, said, “T-Mobile Arena is the ideal venue to host a championship boxing event of this magnitude. We look forward to celebrating Cinco de Mayo weekend with sports fans in Las Vegas and worldwide for what should be one of boxing’s premier rematches.”

Canelo vs. GGG 2 is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,” Fred Loya Insurance, and Fathom Events. The event will take place Saturday, May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.caneloggg.comand www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing and @TomLoeffler1; become a fan on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/gggboxing,
and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing,
@Canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing and @OscarDeLaHoya; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG2.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloGGG2 into a browser. Credit must be provided to Golden Boy Promotions for any photo and/or video usage.

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 29, 2018): A sequel to the most anticipated boxing event in years will arrive on Cinco De Mayo as Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) will clash in a historic and highly anticipated 12-round rematch Saturday, May 5. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

Details regarding venue and tickets will be announced shortly.

In September of 2017, Canelo and GGG met in a battle of the world’s two top middleweights, battling toe-to-toe over 12 rounds of high drama that ended in split draw. The fight drew a record crowd for an indoor boxing event in Las Vegas, selling out the T-Mobile Arena in less than two weeks and bringing legions of fans from Mexico to Kazakhstan and everywhere in between.

Alvarez, the 27-year-old native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, is the veritable face of boxing. After capturing two world titles and the lineal championship in the super welterweight division, Alvarez moved up to 160 pounds to capture the WBC, Lineal and Ring Magazine World Titles with a Nov. 2015 victory against Miguel Cotto. Alvarez has maintained his status as the lineal champion ever since, and in a historic Sept. 16 showdown last year, Alvarez fought to a 12-round split draw against Golovkin. Alvarez is eager to erase all doubts regarding his status as the best middleweight in the world on May 5.

“I’m delighted to once again participate in one of the most important boxing events in history,” said Canelo Alvarez. “This second fight is for the benefit and pleasure of all fans who desire to see the best fight the best. This time, [Gennady] Golovkin won’t have any excuses regarding the judges because I’m coming to knock him out.”

Golovkin, the 35-year-old wrecking ball of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, was a dominant amateur standout and Olympic Silver Medalist before turning professional in 2006. Since then, Golovkin has been on an historic trajectory, knocking out one opponent after another to unify the WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO World Middleweight Titles. During this run, Golovkin maintained an unblemished record that included a 23-fight knockout streak, which ended with a unanimous decision victory against Danny Jacobs in March 2017. In September of the same year, Golovkin went the distance in a historic split draw against Alvarez, which has merited a much-desired rematch in the eyes of boxing fans.

“I am ready to battle Canelo again and am happy he took this fight again,” said Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. “This is the fight the world wants. This is the fight boxing deserves. I didn’t agree with some of the judges’ decisions in the first fight. This time there will be no doubt. I am leaving the ring as THE middleweight champion of the world.”

“Canelo vs. Golovkin 2 will be boxing’s biggest and best event of 2018 as these two elite fighters once again go head-to-head to determine who is the best middleweight in the world,” said Oscar De La Hoya, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “I expect we will see even more fireworks in the rematch as both fighters know there more is at stake now than before.”

“This is the fight boxing fans have been waiting for since the controversial outcome of last September, and the ONLY fight Gennady has wanted since that decision,” said Tom Loeffler, promoter of Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. “Gennady is ready for this historic record-tying 20th title defense where he will demonstrate his superiority over Canelo. Gennady is on a mission to prove he is still the best middleweight in the world today and one of the best fighters of his era.”

“It’s a special moment for the sport when two of boxing’s most accomplished competitors-both in their prime- agree to meet again in the ring to settle who is the man in the middleweight division,” said Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports. “Canelo vs. GGG2 is the boxing event of the first half of 2018 and we are pleased to present it live on HBO Pay-Per-View.”

Canelo vs. Golovkin 2 is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate,“THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,” Fred Loyal Insurance, Tsesnabank and Capital Holdings. The event will take place Saturday, May 5 and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.comand www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing and @TomLoeffler1; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/gggboxing, and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing and @OscarDeLaHoya; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG2.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloGolovkin2 into a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for photos and videos used.

It’s a holiday treat for HBO Boxing fans. Over four consecutive nights in late December, HBO will present seven of the year’s standout fights, spotlighting some of the biggest names in the sport. Featured are signature wins by Anthony Joshua, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Sadam Ali and Andre Ward plus the high-stakes middleweight showdown last September between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin that was judged a draw before a capacity crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Starting Tuesday, Dec. 26, HBO will replay seven major league showdowns from this year sprinkled over four consecutive nights. All the fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO®, HBO On Demand® and affiliate portals.

The “Boxing’s Best” lineup includes:

Tuesday, December 26 Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin &

11:00 p.m. ET/PT Orlando Salido vs. Miguel Roman

Wednesday, December 27 Roman Gonzalez vs. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai I

11:30 p.m. ET/PT & Miguel Cotto vs. Sadam Ali

Thursday, December 28 David Lemieux vs. Curtis Stevens &

11:00 p.m. ET/PT Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2

Friday, December 29 Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko

11:00 p.m. ET/PT

LOS ANGELES (November 22, 2017) — Boxing’s No. 1 superhero and undefeated WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO middleweight world champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN is back home in the Los Angeles area after his well-received visit to the Mexico, the motherland of his boxing style,. Joined by his trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler, Golovkin traveled to Mexico City this week to meet with his fans and thank them for the support they have given him throughout his career and especially in the lead up and aftermath of his September 16 title defense against Canelo Alvarez. Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs), boxing’s longest-reigning active world champion, has successfully defended the middleweight title 19 times — one short of the record — since 2010.

Golovkin’s whirlwind tour of Mexico City included a sustained standing ovation from 100,000 fans at Azteca Stadium at halftime of the game between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. Golovkin, wearing his WBC world title belt, was introduced on the field at halftime and greeted by an entire stadium chanting ‘Triple G’ repeatedly. The following day, the Mayor of Mexico City, Miguel Angel Mancera, honored Golovkin with a proclamation declaring him a distinguished guest of the city. The proclamation was in recognition of Golovkin’s generous support of the victims of the earthquake. The highlight of Golovkin’s trip was an extended visit to the Moctezuma Pediatric Hospital to give hugs, high fives and toys to children who are battling cancer. He also spent time with the relatives of the children, accompanied by the head of the Ministry of Health, Armando Ahued Ortega, and the president of the World Boxing Council (WBC) Mauricio Sulaiman.

“It really touched my heart to visit the children in the hospital, it was nice to bring them a special moment for a day,” said Golovkin. “I have so much respect for the doctors and nurses who treat the children and their families every day. I am just thankful to God that I am in a position to be able to visit them and bring a smile to their faces.
It was a big honor to receive the official declaration from Governor Mancera, recognizing me as an official guest and International Ambassador of Mexico City. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we should all give thanks for the blessing we have received. My trip to Mexico certainly did that for me.”

“Gennady has won the hearts of Mexican people and is considered one of their own,” said Sulaiman. “His kindness and much love given to those little champions fighting for their lives was humbling and brought tears of joy to many of us. I’m so proud to have GGG as the WBC middleweight champion. He truly represents the best of boxing in and outside the ring.”

“When we walked onto the field in front of 100,000 fans at Azteca Stadium and they were chanting ‘Triple G,’ it was one of those moments that you will remember forever, said Loeffler. “The secret to his success is GGG does more promoting of his career on a world-wide basis when he is not fighting than most fighters do when they have a fight coming up. Last week he was in China with Jack Ma and this week he was in Mexico at the invitation of the president of the WBC.”

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 17, 2017): After giving a career-defining performance as the HBO Pay-Per-View televised opening bout on the Canelo vs. Golovkin undercard in September against former world champion Randy “El Matador” Caballero, recently crowned NABF and NABO Super Bantamweight Champion Diego De La Hoya (20-0, 9 KOs) will return to the ring on Dec. 14 as the main event for Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. De La Hoya will face battle-tested Jose “Sugar” Salgado (35-4-2, 28 KOs) of Quintana Roo, Mex. in a scheduled 10-round super bantamweight bout that is sure to be action-packed as both give their final fight performances of the year. Doors to the Special Events Center open at 4:30 p.m. PT, and the first non-televised bout starts at 4:45 p.m. PT. ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will transmit the fights beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT, and the ESPN3 transmission will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

“I’d like to thank Golden Boy Promotions and my manager once again for keeping me busy with this final fight of 2017,” said Diego De La Hoya. “It’ll be my fifth fight this year and my team and I feel confident in my progression. I’m looking forward to closing the year off at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino and on ESPN. I anticipate 2018 to be even greater!”

“Since my last fight, I have been hoping for an opportunity like this one,” said Jose Salgado. “This fight motivates me. De La Hoya is a great challenge and I hope he is prepared to take me on. On December 14, I am going to give it my all to come out victorious for my fans and family.”

“Diego showed us with every fight this year that he continues to hone his craft and get better with every opponent,” said Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya. “This will be a fun fight for the fans and a great way to close out what has been a phenomenal year for Diego.”

Leading the co-main event on Dec. 14, LA’s Carlos “The Solution” Morales (16-2-3, 6 KOs) will face Kosovo’s Dardan Zenunaj (14-3, 11 KOs) for a scheduled 10 rounds of action for the vacant NABA Super Featherweight title. Morales will have the opportunity to get back the belt he originally lost to Alberto “Explosivo” Machado in a tough unanimous decision this past August in Puerto Rico.

Hoping to make TV time as part of the ESPN coverage, Ferdinand Kerobyan (6-0, 3 KOs) will face a soon to be announced opponent in a four-round welterweight bout. Kerobyan is coming off a hot first-round knockout victory over Uriel Gonzalez in October.

Rounding out the stacked undercard, Southern California favorite Joet Gonzalez (17-0, 9 KOs) will take on the resilient Juan “Buffy” Montes (25-6-2, 15 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout. Gonzalez is coming off a blazing fifth round knockout win over Deivi Bassa on the undercard of Cotto vs. Kamegai this past August.

San Antonio’s Joshua “El Profesor” Franco (12-0, 6 KOs) will participate in a scheduled eight-rounds of super flyweight fury, and East LA’s Jonathan “Thunder” Navarro (11-0, 6 KOs) will engage in eight rounds of super lightweight action. Opponents for these respective fights will be announced shortly. Opening up the action at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Mexican Olympian Raul “El Cugar” Curiel (1-0) will take on Mexico City’s rugged Israel Villela (6-7, 2 KOs) in a welterweight bout scheduled for six-rounds.

Tickets for the event start at $25 and are now on sale at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Media interested in attending Golden Boy Boxing: De La Hoya vs. Salgado must request credentials by emailing clavoie@fantasysprings.net by Dec. 10.

De La Hoya vs. Salgado is a 10-round super bantamweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Don Chargin & Paco Presents Boxing.The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle.” The fights will take place live from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. PT and the first fight begins at 4:45 p.m. PT. ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will transmit the fights beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT, and the ESPN3 transmission will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and http://www.espn.com/boxing/; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @ESPN, and @ESPNBoxeo; become a fan on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing; and follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing and @OscarDeLaHoya. Follow the conversation using #GBPonESPN.

Photos and videos are available to download by clicking here or copying and pasting link: http://bit.ly/DeLaHoyaSalgadointo a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for photos and videos used.

The WBC has ordered a rematch of the September 16th Canelo Alvarez – Gennady Golovkin bout, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Regardless of if they did or didn’t order the rematch, we are going to try to make it happen,” Eric Gomez, president of Alvarez promoter Golden Boy Promotions, told ESPN on Monday night. “We’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen because it’s the fight that the fans want, it’s what the fighters want, and it’s what the media wants.”

“It doesn’t get any better than the fight with Canelo,” Loeffler said. “It really became an international sporting event instead of a world boxing championship match. Gennady still has all his titles. He’s still the world champion and this is a fight that the fans want again, so we can have a more definitive ending to the next one. We’ll do whatever we can on our side to make it happen.”

By Norm Frauenheim-

Andre Ward’s surprising retirement, Roman Gonzalez’ sad defeat and the scorecard controversy still brewing over the Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez draw is re-energizing the pound-for-pound debate and generating renewed optimism about a resilient business known for comebacks.

It’s always best to be cautious about whether another comeback is on the horizon. Adelaide Byrd’s crazy card favoring Canelo by a bewildering eight-point margin on Sept. 16 serves as a clear-and-present warning. It reminds me of an old line from Hall of Fame writer Michael Katz. To wit: Only boxing is killing boxing.

Nevertheless, some intriguing elements are beginning to fall into place for some real momentum going into 2018. Even Adelaide’s Byrd-brain card might prove to be a good thing. It all but ensured that there would be a rematch in what looks to be a headline-grabbing rivalry until at least next May and perhaps beyond. There are plenty of reasons to question — even suspect — Byrd’s scoring. But only a rematch can provide an answer. That’s good for business.

So, too, is the slow, yet still painful move away from the pay-per-view business model. The numbers just can’t be believed any more. The buy rate has been corrupted.

The only relevant number in a Guccifer 2.0 era full of Russian hackers, bots, Trump tweets and pirates is the rip-off rate. The move toward bouts on ESPN and Showtime without the PPV tag is already underway. Early indications are that it is working. It has to.

The idea is to introduce young fighters, fighters from Eastern Europe and Central Asia to an emerging audience of young fans armed with cutting-edge tech and seeking new ways to watch. They’re seeking new fighters, too. Ward was good, even great in an old-school kind of way. At 32-0, he has a Hall of Fame resume.

It also fair to wonder whether he won’t be at least tempted to try his luck at heavyweight, a la Roy Jones Jr. But the guess here is that Ward knows he’s just not big enough to contend with Anthony Joshua, 6-foot-6 and 27, or Deontay Wilder, 6-7 and 31. Ward formally notified the acronyms this week that he was vacating his light-heavyweight titles. Now 33, he’ll look around at the younger generation in a year or two and probably decide to stay retired.

Ward’s retirement creates a vacancy – maybe even a breath of fresh air – at the top of the pound-for-pound debate. He was a terrific boxer, subtle and smart. Yet, he was never a big draw, in part because of inactivity brought on by promotional trouble. He also had something of an artistic temperament, meaning that he approached each bout more as a craftsman than a salesman.

He was fun to watch, but you had to know what you were watching. Same with Roman Gonzalez, a master craftsman who is the lightest fighter to ever occupy the pound-for-pound’s top spot. Gonzalez’ fight to draw a big crowd was complicated by the simple fact that he’s a little guy, a flyweight whose ascent up the scale was stopped by successive losses to junior-bantamweight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

There’s a reason for weight classes and that was evident in the Gonzalez defeats. Evident, too, was a fighter who seemed to have lost his way, if not his will, in the wake of trainer Arnulfo Obando’s death.

Time, tragedy, simple physics and circumstance have eliminated them from the top of the argument. In their place, there is a youth movement, at least there is in this pound-for-pound edition.

At No. 1: Terence Crawford. He’s slick, quick, instinctive and appears to have a mean streak. He dominated junior welterweight and the guess here is that he will do the same at welter. There are questions about whether he can draw in locales far from his fans in Omaha. On PPV, no. On ESPN, yeah. Without PPV limits, more fans will get a chance to see just how good he is and how much better he’ll soon be.

No. 2: Mikey Garcia. He’s smart and as efficient as any fighter in a long while. I’m not sure the lightweight champion can beat Crawford at a heavier weight (147 pounds) or junor-lightweight Vasily Lomachenko (more on him later) at his own weight, 135. But it looks as if the economical Garcia does what he has to, which might mean we haven’t seen most of what he can do.

No. 3: Lomachenko. He’s part wizard and part Ali. At least, that’s how promoter Bob Arum and others have portrayed him. At 130 pounds, I’m not sure anyone can beat him, but he faces an intriguing Dec. 9 challenge from Guillermo Rigondeaux, anther master craftsman, yet dismissed as boring. Rigondeaux is jumping up in weight, from 122 pounds, to face Lomachenko in an unprecedented bout between double Olympic gold medalists. Can the Cuban beat the Ukrainian? Maybe not, but he has the skillset to challenge him, or at least show somebody else how to beat him.

No. 4: Golovkin and Canelo in a tie. Or was that a draw? If Canelo learns from the debatable draw the way he learned from a loss to Floyd Mayweather, he should win against GGG, who is 35 and will be 36 at opening bell of the projected May rematch.

No. 5: Joshua. Maybe, Joshua belongs in the second five for now. But he is the possible face of the very future that is apparent in autumn of the year before boxing’s potential comeback. He is drawing huge crowds in the UK. Boxing has always been defined by the heavyweights. No real comeback is complete without one and Joshua might be the one.

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 28, 2017) While everyone at Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions appreciate the media’s recognition that the fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin was an enormous success, the figure that is being cited by some news outlets is simply inaccurate.

Not only are satellite operators and cable companies still in the process of compiling data, that number does not include online PPV sales through RingTV.com, Sony Play Station, and Sling TV which far exceeded any previous fight featuring Canelo or Golovkin. The bottom line is that we expect the final numbers to be well north of current reports, and we will make a decision on reporting those numbers when we know they are accurate.

The September 16th Canelo Alvarez – Gennady Golovkin fight generated a gate of $27,059,850 which constitutes the 3rd biggest gate of all-time, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

The fight generated $27,059,850 from 17,318 tickets sold, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. There were 934 complimentary tickets given out, according to the commission.

“By drawing the third largest gate in [boxing] history, Canelo has demonstrated once again that he is the top draw in our sport,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez’s promoter, told ESPN. “And the scary thing is that he’s still only 27 years old. As he continues to engage in the kind of hard-fought battles he had with GGG, Canelo’s popularity will only continue to soar.”

Saturday’s HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT with the exclusive replay of Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.

In the main event, Jorge Linares puts his lightweight title on the line against Luke Campbell in a scheduled 12-round contest.

Official Weights from Inglewood:

Jorge Linares: 134.2 lbs.
Luke Campbell:134.8 lbs.

Fighters from around the globe do battle when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: JORGE LINARES VS. LUKE CAMPBELL AND ANTONIO OROZCO VS. ROBERTO ORTIZ is seen SATURDAY, SEPT. 23 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) from The Forum in Inglewood, Cal. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

The fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

In the main event, Venezuela’s Jorge Linares (42-3, 27 KOs), who calls Tokyo home, puts his lightweight title on the line against 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and top contender Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) from the UK in a scheduled 12-round contest.

Linares, 32, is a three-division champion, having also won featherweight and super featherweight titles. Returning to the U.S. after a three-year stretch fighting abroad, he’s on an 11-bout win streak and making the second defense of his lightweight crown. With only one blemish on his professional record, Campbell, 29, has steadily risen in the rankings and is making his first bid for a title in his U.S. debut. Turning pro in 2013, Campbell has fought his entire career to date in Great Britain.

The opening bout pits San Diego’s undefeated Antonio Orozco (26-0, 17 KOs) against ring veteran Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2, 26 KOs) from Torreón, Mexico in a scheduled ten-round super lightweight contest. Orozco, 29, is a rising star in the 140-pound division thanks to speed and counter-punching. With one controversial loss, Ortiz, 31, will rely on his experience and punching power.

Leading off the telecast with the replay of the highly-charged middleweight championship fight from Sept. 16 when superstar Canelo Alvarez challenged the undefeated Gennady “GGG” Golovkin for his crown. The sport’s top matchup of 2017, produced a classic 12-round battle that had the capacity crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas buzzing throughout.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Thomas Odelfelt; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, talks for a rematch of last Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez – Gennady Gilovkin will commence shortly.

“I had conversations with [Golden Boy CEO] Oscar [De La Hoya] on Sunday and Monday, and we feel that’s the best thing to do, to go straight into a rematch,” Golden Boy President Eric Gomez said.

He also spoke to Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler, who also wants to pursue a second fight.

“I spoke to Tom a few times, and he’s certainly open to it after taking to his side, so we agreed to sit down later this week and start discussing it,” Gomez said.

“Obviously, we’re going to give Canelo some time off and we’ll start talking to him as well. Immediately after the fight everybody was open to a rematch. I feel it was such a great fight it deserves a rematch, even besides it being such a close fight.”

“Regardless of what the contract says, everybody is interested in the rematch, so it’s just a matter of us sitting down and talking,” he said.

“We are definitely open to it. It’s owed to the fans and owed to the sport that the rematch should happen.”

“The priority for Gennady is to do the rematch,” Loeffler said. “It’s the biggest fight still in the sport of boxing and the biggest fight for both guys. We will sit down with Golden Boy and see if we can make that happen and we wouldn’t let a different fight get in the way.”

“If we can make the rematch for May, Gennady would wait for the rematch in May,” Loeffler said. “If Canelo won’t commit to the rematch in May, then we can’t wait on Canelo and we would take a different fight before that. But clearly there’s no reason to talk about a different fight yet if we can make the rematch with Canelo in May.”

“There’s no problem with that, but I would rather we do the rematch directly because I would hate for him take another fight and get injured or lose. It’s too risky,” Gomez said. “I would be against it, but I don’t control it. But, that said, based on my conversations with Tom, they would like to do an immediate rematch. I think the fight merits a rematch and we’ll see if it gets done.”

Said Loeffler: “That just adds to an additional aspect to the rematch.”

By Jimmy Tobin-

Saturday night, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin fought to a most convenient draw. If the fight fell short of expectations (and it did) it is mostly because those expectations, stewing as they had for two years, had become impossible to satisfy without the presence of a ten-count, a capitulatory knee, an urgent physician. Bereft of carnage’s markers, discussion of a bogus scorecard is dominating the aftermath. That is unfortunate, not just in the way those most outraged would have you believe, but because when the sabers rattle about scorecards it means neither fighter was left in a heap. And if that is an oversimplification, go on and rattle your saber about it.

Judge Adelaide Byrd’s 118-110 scorecard is absurd, yes. Should Byrd turn in the same tally with the same action but participants reversed, she would be incompetent. Were she to turn in a different card with that same reversal, she would be corrupt. But Golovkin had 12 rounds to convince two judges of his superiority and couldn’t and Alvarez, yet again, had an unfathomable card in his favor because there is no Golden Boy Promotions without him (in this respect Alvarez is quite right in asserting he is above any need for luck). Neither man is as good as his most passionate supporters or HBO would have you believe, and chopping up those thirty-six minutes into five-second clips that justify your interpretation of the action does nothing to change that. If you wish to harp about a bad card, attend these considerations to your bleating.

The spectacle produced by one of the most intimidating fighters of the decade and the latest Mexican fighting icon was well short on violence. Were there moments where each fighter was hurt? Perhaps, though not so glaringly that one might expect such moments to trigger a sequence culminating in unconsciousness. Golovkin drove home a few signature blows; Alvarez managed to bury this fist or that into Golovkin’s ribs or chin. To say with confidence that either man was hurt, however, required looking closely for evidence, which, considering what the evidence is, should be rather obvious. No, it was a cautious and defensive fight between reputed punchers—did you wait two years for cautious and defensive?

“Cautious and defensive” for Golovkin demands an explanation. Age and the recent improvement in his opponents have tempered Golovkin; the withering body attack that accompanied his arrival to American airwaves has left him seemingly for good. Whatever the reason, a mediocre trainer, a diminished ability to pull the trigger, aversion to the vulnerability bodywork demands against the best, Golovkin has become a headhunter and his two best opponents have benefited mightily as a result. Still, he stalked effectively enough, endlessly enough, that the potential for a stoppage seemed his alone. All the while he was as elusive as a pressure fighter can be, catching just enough of Alvarez’ punches on his guard to nullify one of boxing’s most creative offensive fighters. The subtlety of Golovkin’s defense can be a challenge to appreciate, but his chin, otherworldly as it is, is not what makes him so seemingly indestructible.

Enough about his defense though: it is his capacity for destruction that built the Golovkin mystique, and it was this that Alvarez had to reckon with. Reckon with it he did, (if as little as possible). Sometimes widely, sometimes by but a hair, Alvarez managed to make Golovkin miss punches that have broken lesser opponents. There is a flash to everything Alvarez does in the ring: his combinations are flamboyant, he dispatches spectacularly opponents selected for that purpose, his defense too, has an exaggerated flair. He does not embody the Mexican fighting spirit—there is a striking absence of his culture’s beloved attrition in his game, and too much privilege in his ascension—but he is skilled and professional and connected and those things can take you a long way. He fought Golovkin effectively in spurts, trying, as his promoter once did, to steal three minutes in thirty seconds, a tactic that will serve him so long as he fights for Golden Boy Promotions in Nevada and Texas.

And it served him on this night. If only in a few crucial rounds, Alvarez did what anyone who wants to slow Golovkin’s roll must do: fight back. And while there was a hint of desperation to those flurries—indicative of a fighter trying to fight off rather than fight an opponent—those combinations still stalled Golovkin and brought the crowd to life. Here the advantage of his flashiness cannot be understated. It is easier to appraise Alvarez’ work: his technique is clean, obvious, and it encourages fond assessment thereby.

It would be unfair to reduce Alvarez’ performance to optics, however. Yes, he retreated too often, too obviously to secure a win despite needing to convince but one judge of his superiority. Only one fighter did enough to have his hand raised Saturday, and he left with his belts. But the notion that Alvarez does not belong in a ring with Golovkin is nonsense. Alvarez planted his feet long enough for Golovkin to leave no doubt in the judges’ minds, to live up to his reputation. That he didn’t says something about Alvarez, lest you wish to strip Golovkin of his reputation (and whatever glory Alvarez, whatever victory his supporters, may find in a draw). It says something about Golovkin that Alvarez was anything but bold on a night that demanded it.

And it says too that neither fighter is great. A great fighter would have left no doubt Saturday.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday in Las Vegas the adverb-adjective noun in the noun preposition adjective noun(s) happened when Kazakhstan’s middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin drew with Mexican junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a prizefight that burnished somewhat Canelo’s legacy, not Golovkin’s. One scorecard went for Golovkin, one scorecard went for both, and the one scorecard that went for Canelo was sufficiently wide to stoke outrage and preserve its embers till May’s rematch.

Saturday’s junior middleweight did not deserve to win the decision, and Saturday’s middleweight did not deserve to win the fight by virtue of its going to a decision. A draw was just fine.

I did not score the match because promotion of both fighters’ punching prowess since 2012 assured me there was no conceivable way the detonation scheduled for their opening bell might lead to both remaining upright, much less unscathed, and so why bother with the formality of an incomplete card? Nobody’d care, after all, I had it 3-2 for Canelo when the deadliest puncher in middleweight history put him on a gurney.

Golovkin’s supporters lost Saturday night. Canelo proved himself the better athlete, craftier technician, possibly the harder puncher and decisively the better finisher, while Golovkin proved himself, well, bigger. The ratification catharsis Golovkin fans have anticipated for five years – the night all their grainy camp videos and faith in Abel Sanchez coalesce into a spectacle so feral their hypothetical legend is ratified as something greater – did not happen, and so their catharsis got loosed on a scorekeeper’s card.

If that’s not an admission of defeat, it’ll do till one shows up.

Whatever the scores should’ve been makes exactly no difference because the fight was good enough to merit a rematch and nobody became interested in our beloved sport on the quality of its split decisions. Now’s a decent moment to reiterate that: You didn’t start watching boxing because you heard about its awesome fourheaded scorekeeping criteria; you grew to love boxing on the virtue of its best events needing no judges whatever. Since Saturday’s event needed judges it was less than best and way less than promised.

A sixtymonth campaign of pretending GGG’s knockout ratio against undersized overachievers is somehow historic now devolves into a shouting match over how many points he scored on a junior middleweight whose consciousness he did not imperil and whose ribs he did not crack and whose nose he did not bloody and whose eyes he did not shutter and whose spirit he did not nick, in 36 minutes of trying? How embarrassing. Golovkin is and will remain a B+ middleweight in a D+ era, but let us have no more happy talk of inclusion on lists with Marvelous Marvin Hagler or Carlos Monzon or Harry Greb – however much longer GGG’s reign of terror on former welterweights and super welterweights continues.

Against a heavybag or a smaller man frightened into behaving as one Golovkin is, no doubt, an annihilating presence. In his postfight comments, somewhere between his fifth “Mexican Style” and seventh, Golovkin accused Canelo of not being that sort of heavybag, and he was right. Canelo’s brand of Mexican style has always been offbrand, more Puerto Vallarta than Culiacan, but as the smaller man he was entitled to do something other than stand and trade mindlessly with a man whose only midfight adjustment was to stand and trade mindlessly-er.

And before we get any higher on our hindlegs about that decision it certainly felt like an honest hand could score rounds 1-3 for Canelo and rounds 10-12 for Canelo, and since three plus three still equals six, if disputing Saturday’s draw becomes your new identity, kid, that says not a damn thing about Saturday’s decision but lots of damning things about you.

Canelo’s winning clearly the last two rounds and less clearly the 10th was the most impressive thing either man did Saturday, especially after preceding those rounds with toetouching backstretches courtesy of one factor, Canelo’s carrying into the championship rounds more weight in his upperbody than he’d done previously, and courtesy of a much larger factor – Golovkin’s stiff jabs to the spot on his forehead where the headgear’s patch would sit, the happenings of which jar the spine its length (see also Ali-Patterson, 1965).

From the fifth round through the ninth the geometry of Canelo-Golovkin 1 appeared like nothing so much as Margarito-Cotto 1, right down to the parry-shuffle-set Canelo did while a large, tactically limited man chased him nodding and smiling. At the fight’s exact midpoint, 30 seconds after round 6 ended, Canelo looked towards the ceiling like he hoped it would say round 9, not round 7, then he fought the next six minutes like he wanted merely to weather them. He was quick and experienced enough to see Golovkin’s telegraphed punches as they left the signalhouse and widely avoid the worst of them, but he hadn’t the conditioning to chasten Golovkin’s sloppy delivery with anything worse than taunts – and if neither man exhibits effective aggressiveness it is never improper to reward ineffective aggressiveness, which Golovkin showed every single minute of the fight.

Thus Golovkin’s largest quality lay in his being the larger man; Canelo’s blocking punches thrown by a 160-pound man fatigued him more than blocking a 154-pound man’s punches (yet another reason why GGG’s inability to fight above middleweight will remain a mark against him). I watched the match with an ethnically diverse group of aficionados, the majority of whom have themselves thrown hands, and the consensus as round 10 began was that Canelo was there for the having. But then Canelo delivered the sophomore level of a lecture Danny Jacobs began in Golovkin’s last match: What happens when you try to mincemeat a man who doesn’t fear you.

There was never anything devastating about a single Golovkin punch – but who could forget the early days of the Golovkin manufacture when HBO leaped to liken a round 7 corner stoppage to prime Mike Tyson? – and Canelo established this early then worried about it midway, but by round 11 Canelo knew no single thing Golovkin could do would unconscious him, and so Canelo went for the win while Golovkin stayed at cruising velocity. Which is why Golovkin fans’ rage at one card of Saturday’s acceptable splitdraw decision is disappointment with their guy, masquerading as a stand against injustice.

Just wait till y’all see the scorecards and purses on Cinco de Mayo!

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

HBO Sports presents WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: CANELO ALVAREZ VS. GENNADY GOLOVKIN, the exclusive replay of their highly anticipated showdown, SATURDAY, SEPT. 23 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team, which was ringside at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the live HBO Pay-Per-View® presentation on Mexican Independence Day, called all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
The fight will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO®, HBO On Demand® and affiliate portals.
In the sport’s top matchup of 2017, middleweight champ Gennady “GGG” Golovkin put his title belts and undefeated record on the line against his arch-rival, superstar Canelo Alvarez, who despite having just turned 27 has emerged as a box office powerhouse and one of the sport’s elite fighters. Their 12-round fight took place under the bright spotlight of the T-Mobile Arena.
Complementing the exclusive replay on HBO will be two live bouts from Inglewood, CA next Saturday night as Jorge Linares and Luke Campbell — in a lightweight title fight– headline the card from the venerable Forum.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 17, 2017) — Boxing’s No. 1 superhero and undefeated WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN (37-0-1, 33 KOs) successfully defended his titles Saturday night, scoring a controversial draw against lineal and Ring magazine Middleweight World Champion and Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs). Golovkin, boxing’s longest-reigning world champion, who has been middleweight champion since 2010, made his 19th consecutive title defense – one short of the all-time record.

The fight took place in front of a crowd of 22,358 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. HBO Sports will present the exclusive replay of the exciting battle This Saturday! Sept. 23, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, on World Championship Boxing. The fight replay will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO®, HBO On Demand® and affiliate portals.

“Of course I want the rematch, said Golovkin. “Real Mexican style fighters do not run from best fight, from history fight.”

“To paraphrase Gennady, this was a big drama score,” said Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez. “Gennady and Canelo treated us to a great event. It’s a shame they didn’t get the definitive result they deserved. It was a close fight. I thought Gennady won. You don’t win fights backing up all night.”

“There is no question that Gennady won the fight,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter. “Because the world was watching and the media was covering, this time, what happens in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas. Saturday’s HBO replay will show that. There are no issues to doing a rematch. I just hope it takes Canelo and Golden Boy less time to do it than it did to make this fight. Enough drama, let’s get them back into the ring. Gennady is a true champion. He runs from no one.”

********************************

Canelo vs. Golovkin was a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions and sponsored by Tecate “BORN BOLD”; Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle; O’Reilly Auto Parts. Better Parts, Better Prices…everyday!; Fred Loya Insurance; Interjet; Thor: Ragnarok; Fathom Events; Tsesnabank; and Capital Holdings. The event took place Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloGolovkin into a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for photos and videos used.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing and @TomLoeffler1; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/gggboxing, and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing and @OscarDeLaHoya; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG.

LAS VEGAS – The business wanted a party. Wanted to celebrate. But all it can do today is to try to explain away another controversy, the only promise boxing ever seems to deliver with any kind of reliability.

 

GGG might as well stand for Grumble Grumble Grumble.

 

The judges got in the way of a good fight. Not a great one. Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez will never be confused with Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. But they’re in the history books anyway, but for all the wrong reasons. They fought to a draw Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in another pay-per-outrage event.

 

Canelo promoter Oscar De La Hoya promised rounds of hell. For him, the hell will come in trying to calm the anger over the judging. For instance: What in the hell was Adelaide Byrd watching? She had it 118-110 for Canelo. Carl Moretti scored it 115-113 from Golovkin. Don Trella had it 114-114.

 

At home and in the very expensive seats, it looked like a much different fight. On the 15 Rounds scorecard, it was GGG, 116-112. Perhaps, it was closer than that. But Golovkin seemed to gain momentum midway through the bout, controlling the pace and landing most of the punches from the sixth through the 11^th rounds. According to CompuBox, Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) landed 49 more punches, 218 to Canelo’s 169.

 

On any scorecard, Golovkin, still the reigning middleweight champ, also appeared to score heavily in the aggression category. That’s GGG for Going Going Going. He was always going forward. Canelo (48-1-2, 34 KOs) would land thudding body shots and head-rocking uppercuts. Yet after each, the redheaded Mexican looked up and there he was all over again, Golovkin going, going, going forward.

 

Canelo will see GGG coming forward and into his face in his dreams. He’ll also hear the boos. The predominantly Mexican crowd — populated by Canelo fans — was unhappy at the judging. After all, they had been told this was a real fight. Whet they didn’t know was that the judging would be such a mockery of what Canelo and GGG did. Those punches were real. They were dangerous. The judging was devoid of reality, yet dangerous in terms of how it can further erode credibility in a sport with so little of it.

 

A rematch, of course, looks to be inevitable.

 

“Of course, I want a rematch,’’ Golovkin said. “I won the fight.’’

 

But not the cards, a House of Cards that always seems to make boxing look like a Joker.

The arena was empty. But the ring wasn’t.

Flyweight Marlen Esperza was there, full of heart and skill, to open the show Saturday a couple of hours before the pay-per-view telecast of the long-awaited card featuring the middleweight showdown between Gennady Golvkin and Canelo Alvarez at T-Mobile Arena,

Esperza (3-0) who dedicated the fight to the flood-ravaged victims in her hometown of Houston, looked dominated every second of every round for a six-round shutout of Aracely Palacios (8-8, 1 KO) of Mexico.

“Even though my opponent, on paper, looked like she had more ring experience, I’ve been in the ring way more than she had,’’ said Esparza, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist. “Because I had three-minute rounds, I was able to think a lot more in the ring and was even told by my trainer I had to slow down.

“I couldn’t research much about my opponent, but we knew she was going to be throwing her right often. I’m satisfied with my performance because this was my first six-round fight.”

Follow all the action as Gennady Golovkin defends the IBF/WBA/WBC/Middleweight titles against Canelo Alvarez in a highly anticipated bout.  The action will begin at 8 PM EST/5 PM PT/7 PM in Guadalajara/6 AM in Kazakhstan with a 3 fight undercard featuring Joseph Diaz Jr. taking on Rafael Rivera.  A battle of undefeated super bantamweights in Randy Caballero battling Diego De La Hoya as well as Ryan Martin battling Francisco Rojo

THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1:Golovkin stalking. Alvarez gets in a nice combo to body  pops him with the jab

Round 2. Alvarez landing quick combinations.  Working the body

Round 3. Golovkin becoming more aggressive with his pressure. Lands some solid left hooks

Round 4. Golovkin continues to pressure and land on the ropes. Lands a nice quick hard right

Round 5.  Great Round.  Golovkin landing on the ropes. Canelo shakes off and explodes out with a combination. Golovkin landed a huge right

Round 6. Golovkin looking to ramp up pressure. Alvarez landing some nice combinations

Round 7  Golovkin pressure landing some thuddingbshots. Alvarez mixing in combinations.  Alvarez swelling under left eye

Round 8. Golovkin stuns Alvarez with a left.  Canelo responds nicely with combinations.  He lands a flush uppercut on ropes. Hard right from Golovkin

Round 9. Both guys tiring.  Golovkin still landing harder shots but Canelo gets in a vicious right hand

Round 10. Another terrific Round  Alvarez controlled the early part with hard combination on a tired Golovkin. Golovkin came back but wasn’t enough

Round 11. Alvarez lands a crushing righ5 and did some good body work. Golovkin lands a hard combination

Round 12. Canelo doing terrific work on the inside.  Golovkin doing work.  Great flurry down the stretch

118-110 Canelo.   115-113 Ggg.  114-114.   Draw

Round 1.  Rivera lands a hard right.  Body shot from Diaz.  Right from Rivera

Round 2.  Right from Diaz.  Right hook.  Right to body from Rivera.  Left. Right hook. Straight left.

Round 3.  Diaz lands a body shot.  Combination to head

Round 4.  Right from Rivera. Left from Diaz.  Hard combination

Round 5. Hard right from Rivera at end of round

Round 6. Body combination from Diaz.  Head combination.  Left to body.

Round 7. Body work from Diaz

Round 8. Body from Diaz

Round 9.  Right hook from Diaz.  Right hook

Round 10.  Right to body from Diaz.  Straight left.  Counter right. Another counter

Round 11. Right to head from Diaz.  Right from Rivera.  Straight left from Diaz left from Diaz.  Right to body from Rivera.

Round 12. Hard counter and straight right from Diaz.  Right hook to body. Combination. Right. Right from Rivera

119-109 twice and 120-108 for Diaz

De La Hoya landing harder shots and very aggressive after Caballero came out strong

Round 10.

100-90 &98-92 on 2 cards for De La Hoya

Round 1 right from Rojo…combination from Martin

Round 2. Left from Martin. Left hook..right from Rojo.  Martin jabbing.  Body work.   Combination

Round 3. Rojo working body. Body. Combination from Martin. Right hand…Right from Rojo

Round 4.  Right from Rojo.  Body shot… body shot. Combination from Martin.   Jab from Rojo

Round 5.  Rojo working on ropes.  Hard right from Martin.  Right from Rojo. Left from Rojo.

Round 6.  Right from Martin. Right from Rojo.  Combination on ropes. Combination from Martin. Jab from Martin

Round 7.  Martin lands a body shot. 1-2.  Body shot from Rojo. Combination from Martin. Rojo working body.

Round 8.  Martin warned for low blow. Left from Rojo. Martin warned again.  Good right from Martin. Another right.

Round 9. MARTIN DEDUCTED POINT FOR LOW BLOW.  Combination from Martin. Left gets in for Rojo. Right from Martin

Round 10.  Rojo working on ropes.  Combination from Rojo.  Combination from Martin. 3 punch combination. Body shot from Rojo.  Left. Right

Martin wins by split decision.96-93,95-94. Rojo got a card 98-91

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Finally, a fight with a buzz.

It was there, loud and clear, Friday in a way that could be heard in the roar and felt in sharp elbows from fans in a restless crowd jostling for a clear view of two men in their underwear standing on a scale.

More than 9,000 jammed an arena at the MGM Grand to witness a ritual, a weigh-in and stare down. No suspense there. But anticipation was off the scale for the long-awaited Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez fight (HBO pay-per-view/5 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena.

They were mostly fans with no chance at seeing the fight live. If you’re thinking about buying a ticket on the secondary market, call your banker or head to the corner pawnshop. On Friday, the cheapest seats were going for $700. But the weigh-in was free. Fans began standing in line at sunrise. They waited for five, six hours, to see what had already been expected. The fighters made weight. Surprise, surprise.

In a middleweight bout so even in so many ways, they were — appropriately enough – even on the scale, too. Golovkin 160, Canelo 160. Not an ounce difference between them. Golovkin looked a little taller; Canelo looked a little wider. Six of one; half-dozen of the other.

It’s a pick ‘em fight and the spontaneous roar from the crowd seemed to say it was happy, perhaps relieved, for an opening bell to a bout without a pre-ordained result. Make no mistake, the weigh-in was a spectacle. They all are. But it wasn’t the empty shell that played out on the eve of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s scripted stoppage of novice boxer Conor McGregor on Aug. 26.

That was about money, and only money. Money is part, and only part, of Canelo-Golovkin. According to contracts filed with the Nevada Athletic Commission Friday, Canelo is guaranteed $5 million and GGG $3 million. With a percentage of pay-per-view buys, both are expected to wind up with a lot more, especially if the PPV number hits 1.5 million.

Whatever the final take, Canelo (47-1-1, 34 KOs) and GGG (37-0, 33 KOs) are guaranteed only a fraction of Mayweather’s $100 million and McGregor’s $30 million. Mayweather and McGregor laughed all the way to the bank. Canelo and GGG will have to fight their way there.

That’s the expectation. Both fighters say they know that and have planned for it. Both promise a fight that some say might rank alongside some of the best in middleweight history. That’s saying a lot. It was Sugar Ray Robinson’s division. It means Hagler-Hearns and Bernard Hopkins.

All kinds of that hype and more have been offered up during the weeks before Saturday’s fight for Golovkin’s title.

Canelo promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who often sounds as though he’s been watching too many old movies, has promised 12 rounds of hell. GGG trainer Abel Sanchez, more understated and perhaps more realistic, said he expected both fighters to get knocked down. GGG has never been off his feet. Never been beaten either.

Canelo has promised a knockout. He repeated the promise Friday. GGG shrugged his shoulders and flashed his What-Me-Worry smile.

“I have been champion long time,’’ the fighter from Kazakhstan said, almost cryptically.

Those fans, that roaring crowd, needed no interpretation. They were buzzing about a fight, the kind of fight they haven’t seen in a long time.

LONDON (15 September) – Canelo Alvarez has warned Gennady Golovkin he will show him how a true Mexican fights, as he vows to reign supreme over the middleweight division.

Speaking exclusively to BoxNation, who will broadcast the fight live in the UK on BoxNation Box Office for just £16.95, the Mexican superstar said the time for talking is over after weighing-in for his superfight with middleweight kingpin Golovkin.

But after both men hit the scales bang on the 160-pound mark Canelo told BoxNation that he is raring to go and will capture the Kazakh knockout king’s WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO world titles.

“I’m ready to go! The talking has been done, we have weighed-in and now it is about getting in the ring and fighting. I’m ready to show how a true Mexican fights,” said Canelo.

“I am going to give the fans a special fight – a real fight. I am ready for him and whatever he comes with. If he wants to stand toe-to-toe I will not back down. However he wants to fight I am ready.

“This is the fight boxing wanted and now it is here. I am ready to reign at the top of the middleweight division for a long time,” Canelo told BoxNation.

35-year-old Golovkin goes into the ring as the naturally bigger man but Canelo has shown his world-class ability by already claiming the accolade of being a two-weight world champion.

To claims that Canelo is going knock him out, ‘Triple G’ was quick to fire back and said he still has a long time left in the sport.

“Let’s see on Saturday if he is going to knock me out. I’ve been a champion a long time,” said Golovkin.

“In boxing every day is difficult and dangerous. Right now I feel great. Everything’s good. My family and my team support me. I feel very comfortable. I want to box for five years more – maybe until 40,” he said.

Taking place during the Mexican Independence Day holiday this weekend, fans have been streaming into Las Vegas from all corners for a fight that Golovkin has promised will produce fireworks when it gets underway at the sold-out T-Mobile Arena.

“This is our Mexican Independence Day holiday weekend gift to boxing and to boxing fans. The fans have been asking for this fight for years. We are going to give a great battle,” Golovkin said.

“I am very excited to be finally fighting in Las Vegas, but I am more excited that it is against Canelo. The energy will be off the charts.

“Let me repeat – this is a fight boxing can be proud of,” said Golovkin.

Canelo v Golovkin is live on Saturday night on BoxNation Box Office. Press the Box Office button on your Sky remote or buy online at boxnation.com

*Media can download the weigh-in video at the link below: https://atom42.box.com/s/3bu3qni3g57b3ps5mu9d7w5pdegg8d7i
Or watch/embed via BoxNation’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/HAX99M1HPHw

-Ends-

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