NSAC Director Doubts Canelo-Chavez "Bet" Will Push Through

By Miguel Rivera

As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. have staked millions of dollars on the line in a purse vs. purse bet on their upcoming Cinco De Mayo weekend.

Their fight is set for May 6th at the T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas. There is a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds in place.

"He accepted, I accepted and in front of the cameras and I think we shook hands like gentlemen in front of the cameras. I think that in the United States, when something is promised verbally then it is official, so the bet is already on," Canelo told ESPN Deportes. "[We bet] his purse, or he goes home with double or goes home with nothing."

"I did it because I do not like to offend people, I do not like to say things. When he starts to say that he's going to knock me out in 8 rounds, he said it from his mouth. I saw him in a video... saying that I have not fought with anyone. If he is so sure that he is going to beat me, that he is going to knock me out - I told him to bet his purse."

Chavez Jr. wants the exact terms of the bet to be outlined in a contact. 

"If he says he's going to make four times [as much money] than I am, I should be grabbing an amount that is four times more. I think the fight is the most important thing. If he says he's going to win four times more than me, but if I'm going to win 6 million and he would win 24 ...let's see what the exact terms of the bet are going to be," Chavez Jr. said.

But Bob Bennett, the Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director, doubts the "bet" would ever be allowed to go through. 

“I’m not even sure our deputy attorney general would even allow it — betting purses is a lot of money and doesn’t seem like a wise thing to do,” Bennett said to the Los Angeles Times.

“If they want to put that in their new contract, then I’d see, but we don’t condone our fighters betting against each other for their purses. It’s never been done in my time here.”