Avila Perspective, Chap. 104: Collaborative Endeavors, Canelo’s Lawsuit and More

Avila Perspective, Chap. 104: Collaborative Endeavors, Canelo’s Lawsuit and More

It’s the strangest of times with seemingly all sports engaged in playoffs or fighting for berths in playoffs.

Boxing has lost that big advantage it had for a moment when it was the only sport around being internationally televised. That window has now shut down.

Only the female boxing scene thrived as it put its best foot forward and showcased top notch world title fights. Jessica McCaskill defeated welterweight queen Cecilia Braekhus in the Upset of the Year. Then, Katie Taylor fought Delfine Persoon in possibly the Fight of the Year.

What about the men?

A few world title fights among the men took place but not among the elite. There are some rumblings taking place beginning this weekend.

Featherweight contender Joet Gonzalez (23-1, 14 KOs) walks in against Colombia’s Miguel Marriaga (29-3, 25 KOs) on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the MGM Grand Bubble in Las Vegas. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

It’s another case of Top Rank allowing a Golden Boy fighter on its platform. When the two powerhouse promotion companies collaborate that creates combustion.

Gonzalez, 26, last stepped in the boxing ring nearly a year ago when he lost decisively to Shakur Stevenson for the vacant WBO featherweight title. The defeat left a bitter taste in his mouth for different reasons.

Although Gonzalez was defeated by Stevenson, that featherweight title is now vacant as the former Olympian has chosen to move up in weight class without defending it. The featherweight division remains wide open for various reasons.

Now the Southern California fighter sees opportunity.

“After the world title loss to against Shakur I wanted to get right back in and face the best,” said Gonzalez who is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and managed by Frank Espinoza. “I want to show everyone that I’m a top contender.”

Also seeking a world title is Colombia’s super tough Marriaga.

Marriaga, 33, may have three losses but all the defeats were against world champions Vasyl Lomachenko, Oscar Valdez and Nicholas Walters. He hasn’t lost a fight in three years and he’s tough as they get.

“We hope that this time around I can finally conquer a world title. I’m hungry. I really want it. On Saturday night, Joet Gonzalez will face a very strong Miguel Marriaga. I have a great hunger for triumph,” said Marriaga.

Next week a battle for the vacant WBO featherweight title pits Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete moving up from super bantamweight to battle Northern California’s Ruben Villa. The winner of their clash could very possibly meet the winner of Gonzalez and Marriaga.

The featherweight division is loaded with talent but so far WBC titlist Gary Russell Jr., WBA titlist Leo Santa Cruz and IBF titlist Josh Warrington have been unable to find each other. Maybe that will all change when the WBO crowns a new champion.

Welterweights

In a companion main event on the Top Rank card, welterweights Egid “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas (21-1-1) and Mikael Zewski (34-1) meet for the NABO welterweight title. The winner could get WBO kingpin Terence Crawford but it’s a longshot.

Mean Machine Kavaliauskas (pictured) was derailed by Crawford last December. This is the Lithuanian’s first return to the boxing ring. He needs a win at 32 or it’s back home he goes.

Canada’s Zewski, 31, has one loss and that was five years ago. He also needs a win to stay relevant in the welterweight division. A win could nail him a shot at the world title.

Another Golden Boy fighter, Genaro Gamez (10-1), will be featured on the card. The talented San Diego fighter with weight problems jumps to super lightweight to meet Anthony Mercado-Raices (13-4) in an eight-round bout.

Canelo Lawsuit

Boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez filed a lawsuit in Southern California against his promoter Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya and streaming company DAZN claiming breach of contract.

When Alvarez signed an 11-fight contract for $365 million it made him the biggest paid athlete at the time. He then fought Rocky Fielding for $15 million and subsequently fought Sergey Kovalev for $30 million as agreed upon. But now there’s a problem.

Apparently DAZN does not want to pay the $30 million per fight and also wants to select who Alvarez fights. Other factors are involved of course including a fight against Gennady Golovkin that DAZN demands, extra fees between Alvarez and Golden Boy for that fight, extra fees between DAZN and Golden Boy for each Alvarez fight and the current pandemic that has shut down arenas to the public.

One major point on the contracts signed by Alvarez with both DAZN and Golden Boy gives him the power to choose who he wants to fight.

It’s not an easy fix.

Without a doubt Alvarez leads the boxing world as its biggest attraction with three pay-per-view fights near or above 1 million buys each. No other active fighter can claim that.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday Sept. 8, at US District Court in Los Angeles, California.

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel 

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE