By Rene Umanzor, Miguel Rivera
Junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18KOs) is surprised that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (42-1-1, 30KOs) selected him for the March 8th Showtime Pay-Per-View main event, taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Angulo says he has a lot of respect for Canelo, explaining that the young superstar's team were against the fight, which presents a lot of danger. Canelo returns from a twelve round decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September, while Angulo suffered a tenth round TKO to Erislandy Lara last June. Canelo wanted a boxer with Angulo's style, because he wanted a fight that produces fireworks for the paying public.
"The fight comes to me at a very good time, for me and for my career. Both Canelo and I are at a very important moment. He has the opportunity to demonstrate that he is really made for fights with boxers of the same weight and I have to prove that I'm made for big fights. I was surprised that Canelo selected me, but he also has my respect, because I know that the team did not want me. Canelo was the one who made the decision to fight me and that I appreciate. He has earned my respect," Angulo said.
Rene Umanzor covers boxing in Mexico for The Record.