On March 8th, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is aiming to get a win inside the ring against Alfredo Angulo but to also score one outside of the ring as well. His return to the squared circle will see him carry his first PPV on his own as the main attraction. Last September, Alvarez took on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a mega bout that claimed the number two spot of bestselling boxing PPV of all time. Though it came up short of beating the mark of 2.5 million PPV buys that De La Hoya vs. Mayweather did (Mayweather-Alvarez did 2.2 million buys) It did break the all time gate record. For that reason it is a no-brainer that a lot more people here in the United States know who Canelo is. Though the lopsided decision loss he suffered on that fateful night in September is still on our minds, he looks to clear it. He will do so by first getting you to spend some of that cash you have and then put on an exciting performance on March 8th.
In speaking with Marcos Villegas, Alvarez not only wants to have a strong showing but wants to show the world that a PPV heavy on Latin fighters can sell well, “It feels great to be able to show the people that not only fighters from other countries can be on PPV. Latinos and Mexicans can come into this and change the notion that only fighters from other countries can carry a PPV but that we (Mexicans) can do it as well.”
The March 8th PPV is heavy on Mexican and Latin talent as it highlights Leo Santa Cruz vs. Christian Mijares, Mexican American Carlos Molina vs. American Jermall Charlo and Texas bred Omar Figueroa taking on the brother of Canelo, Ricardo Alvarez.
It is a bill that plays to the message of what Canelo is trying to put out; that Latinos on their own can sell well on PPV minus big American stars. Certainly some fans may be confused as Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez, Miguel Cotto and other Latin stars have all been on and carried PPV’s.
I think what Canelo is trying to say is that if a PPV card is built from the ground up with Mexican and Latino fighters, it can do well on PPV and he wants to see that as more of the norm.
One thing we all know is that Canelo must perform on March 8th and look impressive. The kid has to sell two more PPV’s to fulfill his goal off three in total for this year. If he has another lackluster showing, it could mean a big bump in the road to being the future of boxing.
