By Keith Idec
Canelo Alvarez offered a not-so-subtle sign as early as Wednesday that he was having more difficulty than usual making the 154-pound limit.
After an open workout in Las Vegas, Alvarez said, “My main concern when we are this close to a fight is always my weight and making the weight.”
Alvarez added, “Although I’m on weight and it will not be a problem, that is always my concern this close to a fight.”
The 23-year-old Alvarez obviously wasn’t forthright about being on weight. The former WBC super welterweight champion couldn’t get lower than 155 pounds prior to his weigh-in Friday for a 12-round fight Saturday night against Alfredo Angulo.
Mexico’s Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) reportedly paid Angulo $100,000 from his $1.25 million purse to adjust the contracted weight from 154 to 155 pounds. Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs), who’ll now earn a guarantee of $850,000, weighed 154½ pounds Friday at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the site of the fight.
Both boxers will weigh in again Saturday. Neither fighter can weigh more than 168 pounds at the second weigh-in.
The Alvarez-Angulo fight will headline a four-fight Showtime Pay-Per-View telecast ($59.95 in HD), which is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
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.
