By Keith Idec
The one-sided beating Alfredo Angulo absorbed against Canelo Alvarez five months ago technically was contested at middleweight.
Now the rugged Mexican contender is a full-fledged middleweight. Angulo and his handlers announced on a conference call Wednesday that his Sept. 13 fight against James de la Rosa (22-2, 13 KOs) has a contract weight of 162 pounds, two above the official middleweight limit.
Though most of his 26 professional fights were contested above 154 pounds, the Mexicali native has considered him a junior middleweight throughout his nine-year pro career. At 32, however, Angulo (22-4, 18 KOs) has found it more difficult to fight at or near the junior middleweight limit.
“I’ve been saying all along that I was going to stay at 154 until my body said otherwise,” said Angulo, who fought Alvarez at a catchweight of 155 pounds. “It’s not a struggle. I can still make 154, just not comfortably. So that’s why [I made] the jump to 160. I think I’m going to feel more comfortable. I think I’m going to be the ‘Perro’ that you all know.”
The Angulo-de la Rosa fight will be one of three bouts that compose the undercard for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Marcos Maidana rematch Sept. 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
When asked if he thinks he’ll be able to carry his power up to middleweight, Angulo said, “I don’t know. Honestly, I think you’ll know come Sept. 13 if I have the same [power at 160 as 154] or even more going into the new division. We’ll let you guys decide.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
