Several dozen television camera crews, newspapers and web reporters, photographers, (video) bloggers and fans were on hand to watch popular former WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez during his media workout at House of Boxing on Tuesday in San Diego.
With Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya looking on, Canelo worked out for a little over an hour. He shadow-boxed, hit the mitts, did calisthenics, worked the speed bag, smacked the heavy bag, did stretching exercises, posed for photos, signed autographs and conducted copious amounts of interviews, some in groups and others one-on-one, as traditional Mexican music blared in the background.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out today,” said the humble yet confident Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KOs), who leaves Southern California for Las Vegas on Monday. His showdown against Mexican compatriot Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) will take place Saturday, March 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena live on SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). “I am very thankful and appreciative to all of the media and fans here. They provide me with my motivation.”
In three world title fights on the PPV undercard, undefeated two-division world champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight title against former three-time world champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (49-7-2, 24 KOs); unbeaten Omar “Panterita” Figueroa Jr. (24-0-1, 17 KOs) will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez (23-2-3, 14 KOs) and “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs).
Tickets are on sale and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.
Below is what Canelo, his manager Eddie Reynoso, his trainer Chepo Reynoso and Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya said Tuesday:
CANELO ALVAREZ
(“What are your thoughts on what figures to be a slugfest with Angulo?)
“There are hard fights and there are difficult fights; this is going to be a very hard fight, a grueling fight. I know Angulo is training like he never has before.”
(If victorious, who do you want to fight next?)
“I am not thinking of any other fighter or any future fight. My only focus is on Angulo and March 8. This is a really tough fight and it is the only fight I think about.”
(How is this camp different than your past camps, or is it different at all?)
“I learned a lot from the Mayweather fight, not only physically, but mentally. It was a great learning experience. This camp may not look that different, but I’ve been applying everything I learned into this camp and trying to refine some of the things I do.”
(How have you managed to handle the media scrutiny throughout your career?)
“I don’t think about it. This performance is going to regain everybody’s confidence in me.”
(Did you ever think you’d reach these heights as a professional fighter?)
“No, never. I always just tried to be the best fighter I could be, the best in the world. All of this notoriety and popularity is a plus but I’m just a normal person trying to succeed and reach my goal.”
(Is Angulo made to order?)
“His style is one that I enjoy because I know he loves to trade punches so I won’t have to go looking for him.”
(Do you consider yourself a superstar?)
“I do not and would never consider myself a superstar. I leave that up to the fans and media to decide.”
(Any advice for fighters coming up?)
“Work hard and stay in the gym. If you stay disciplined, good things will happen.”
(Is there a fighter you’ve faced that reminds you of Angulo?)
“I think that if I had to name one fighter it would be Carlos Baldomir, because I fought him when I was so young and he was so strong at that point in his career.”
(Is it important for you to win by knockout, or just to come out victorious on March 8?)
“I never go into a fight looking for a knockout. I just want to win convincingly, although there’s no doubt our styles will make for an exciting fight.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Golden Boy Promotions President
“I’m very excited about this whole event and, of course, especially the main event. It’s going to be an exciting fight, a helluva fight. It’s going to be a shootout.
“With two Mexican warriors in the ring, you may go in with a game plan, but once one of them gets hit, well, Viva Mexico. It’ll be bombs away.
“You really don’t want to miss this event. From top to bottom, there are great, action-packed fights. Last year I thought we put on the most exciting fights and we’re continuing that with our first pay-per-event in 2014.
“I want to thank the fans for all their support and for supporting Golden Boy Boxing.”
CHEPO REYNOSO, Canelo’s Manager
“It’s going to be a very interesting fight because the styles complement each other. Angulo is an aggressive fighter who comes forward. That’s the tailor-made style for Canelo to make a very exciting fight.”
EDDIE REYNOSO, Canelo’s Trainer
“It’s going to be a hard fight. We’re up against a very strong fighter in Angulo and that’s why we’ve been training so hard.
“Training has been going very well. We’ve been training very hard and effectively and that’s why we expect to have Canelo get his hand raised on March 8.’
“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, Two-Division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title against former Three-Time World Champion Cristian Mijares exciting young star Omar Figueroa will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo Alvarez and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing,@CaneloOficial, @elperro82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @OmarFigueroaJr, @DinamitaAB, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @mgmgrand and@SHOSports, follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing andwww.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.
