Canelo Mania Is Here

Published

12 years ago

March 21, 2013

Canelo Alvares

Last Thursday, Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout visited Houston, Texas as part of their three-city, two-day press tour to promote their WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Championship Unification bout. The highly anticipated encounter is set for Saturday, April 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas and will be televised live on Showtime.

An eight-piece mariachi band strums gallant war hymns in anticipation of his arrival. Some of Mexico’s finest and most recognizable music fills the air, as anxious onlookers line the specially brought in barrier gates hoping to catch a glimpse of the fair-skinned, redheaded fighter called Canelo.

The PlazAmericas mall has become the frequent home of such boxing related events as of late. Press tours, weigh-ins, fan events—PlazAmericas is Houston’s de facto home of pre-fight proceedings. Many have appeared here. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has strolled through these halls at least twice already, toting with him Mexican legend and father, Chavez Sr. The old man almost always brings telecast partner Marco Antonio Barrera along, who in any other tandem would stand a chance at being the most recognizable Mexican in the building. Erik Morales stepped on the scales here in 2012, before his first valiant effort against rising force Danny Garcia. Jorge Arce and Nonito Donaire stood on this very same stage back in November, a makeshift encampment sandwiched between some escalators and the food court.

Yes, fight fans flocked in droves to see these men, but no one — no one– packed them in the way Canelo Alvarez did last week.

“Viva Mexico!” an admirer screams at him, as the undefeated junior middleweight strides in with unassuming confidence just as the band triumphantly finishes its final song.

The obvious is apparent. At the tender age of 22, Canelo Alvarez (seen in above photo by Rachel McCarson) is already Mexico’s biggest boxing star. More than that, though, he’s also one of the country’s most recognizable pop celebrities. In fact, Paul Magno, editor of The Boxing Tribune, told me Canelo was as big as a celebrity can get in Mexico.

“How big is Canelo here? Mention boxing to any mainstream, casual fan and Canelo is the name you'll immediately hear,” said Magno, a U.S. expatriate who now calls Mexico home.

Even in Texas, Magno’s words rang true. When the 23-year-old walked onto the stage, many of the women in attendance blushed and gushed over his cinnamon-colored hair and fair, freckled face as if Brad Pitt had just walked into the room. The men were no better, only more interested in what he does with his fists than his boyish charms. He was adored by everyone in attendance and he seemed to know it.

Canelo is calm and relaxed on the stage. He doesn’t even turn his head when his opponent, Austin Trout, enters the fray. The man who just went into hell and beat the devil (as Paulie Malignaggi described fighting Miguel Cotto at MSG) seems different than Canelo. He’s nervous, even agitated at times. Sometimes, he just stares off into space smiling. Other times, he’s distracted by the colored pixels on the slick little device he carries around in his pocket.

Both men are stylishly dressed, each carrying a far away intensity in their eyes, but the photographers in attendance only seem interested in capturing the Mexican’s. Canelo is stoic. His green WBC belt rests in front of him as he sits with a slight slouch next to Golden Boy Promotions’ head honcho and namesake, Oscar de la Hoya. Trout is on the other side, the podium acting as a barricade to the men who will intend much harm to each other April 20^th in San Antonio. Trout’s WBA strap is conspicuously absent, but no matter. Those in attendance know the fight means more than those trivial titles can offer. Each man is top of his class, primed and ready for the pinnacle of their careers.

The crowd has quieted a bit now, perhaps in awe of the spectacle. San Antonio’s mayor pro tem, Ed Gonzalez, is here. He has made the 200-mile trip over to represent the host city. He steps to the center of the stage and admonishes the fans for being subdued. They respond in full force with chants of CA-NE-LO, CA-NE-LO, CA-NE-LO.

Their fervor heightens as De La Hoya takes the mic.

“We have a very special event between Austin Trout and Canelo Alvarez,” says De La Hoya. “Not in Las Vegas…not on PPV…it will be a memorable event in Texas!”

De La Hoya tells the crowd what they already know. It’s a great matchup between two young, undefeated titlists at the top of their games. It’s the kind of fight that gets made way less often than it should in boxing.

“The future is right here,” says Oscar. “Boxing is alive and well. Boxing is strong!”

San Antonio’s top promotional team, Mike Battah and Jesse James Leija, agree. Leija-Battah Promotions is a fast rising force in the state of Texas, where more and more fights seem to get made every year. Over the past two years, the company has become the premier local promotional company of the Lone Star state.

“We pushed to have it in Texas,” says Battah. “We fought for it! This is where the fight fans are!”

“We’ve been fighting so hard to bring a big time fight to Texas,” Leija confirms. Then, with a mischievous smile he adds: “I told Oscar to bring a big event to Texas or else we’re going to get back in the ring for a rematch!”

Austin Trout is the first of the combatants to come to the podium. He is greeted by a polite applause.

“That song that was playing when I came up,” Trout says. “Drake said it best: started from the bottom now we’re here…started from the bottom, now my whole team is here!”

Trout calls Alvarez a true champion. He thanks him for taking the fight and says boxing is in such a state today that Alvarez could have easily taken any fight he wanted. He didn’t have to take the toughest fight he could find, but did. The two men nod in respect as he speaks.

“They think boxing is dying,” he says to the fans. “But it’s never going to be dead when we have fans like ya’ll!”

The crowd is pleased.

Next comes their star, Canelo. The roar of the crowd is deafening. The chanting begins again. It is Canelo mania in full force. CA-NE-LO! CA-NE-LO! CA-NE-LO! The crowd is screaming and chanting. CA-NE-LO!! CA-NE-LO!! CA-NE-LO!! It is louder than ever. The throng of onlookers pushes forward now. Even the writers and media members are bumping elbows now.

There is a gleam in his eye. These people love him. Love. And his smile says he may very well love them, too. He’s trying to quiet them down so he can talk, but he can’t seem to help himself. He soaks as much of it in as he can before getting out but out a few words in his native Spanish.

“I am very well prepared. It will be a difficult fight but I’m ready,” he says in Spanish with a smile. “I’m ready.”

And so, it would seem, were the people in Houston last Thursday. We are ready, they say, for a great fight on April 20, ready to witness yet another of their rising Herculean labors, ready to bask in the glory of the presence of the next great Mexican boxing champion. He is here, they say within their hearts. He is here. Our hero has arrived. Canelo Alvarez is here.

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Kelsey McCarson

WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool

Published

2 days ago

October 5, 2024

Arne K. Lang

WBA-Feather-Champ-Nick-Ball-Chops-Down-Rugged-Ronny-Rios-in-Liverpool

In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10^th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.

This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.

The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.

The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.

Semi-wind-up

A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.

Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.

The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.

Other Bouts of Note

In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.

In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.

A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.

In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.

Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186^th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.

A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.

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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney

Published

3 days ago

October 4, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Alimkhanuly-TKOs-Mikhailovich-and-Motu-TKOs-O'Connell-in-Sydney

IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.

Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.

Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.

Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.

The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.

Semi-wind-up

Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).

A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.

Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

Published

4 days ago

October 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”

Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.

Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.

“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.

Smith has a similar goal.

“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”

The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.

Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.

“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”

“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.

Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.

One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.

Conwell has similar talent to those two.

And what about the women fighters”

Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?

West Coast venues

Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.

A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.

On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.

The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.

World title fight

England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.

Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title

Fights to Watch

Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)

Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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