Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin’s eagerly-awaited middleweight superfight will take place at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena on September 16. HBO Pay-Per-View will produce and distribute the event. Photos by Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos.
The two boxers began their media tour on Monday, with a face to face meeting in London, where they revealed that Canelo-Golovkin would be broadcast in the UK via BoxNation.
Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions had suggested a range of venues from Dallas to Los Angeles were being considered for the fight, one of the most mouthwatering match-ups in years.
De La Hoya, who promotes Mexican star Alvarez, predicted an explosive fight.
“Everybody who wants to go to Vegas, have a great time. Watch a great fight with Triple G (Golovkin) and Canelo. I mean it’s going to be a train wreck, let me tell you.”
De La Hoya said Golden Boy had received offers from several large-capacity venues, notably the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Texas and baseball’s Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Madison Square Garden in New York had also lobbied for the fight.
However it was Las Vegas’s record as a party destination that swung the deal towards the T-Mobile Arena.
“Ultimately the entertainment factor (was key),” De La Hoya said. “People want to go to parties after the fight. You want to stage the pre-fight parties, the weigh-in.”
The hard-hitting Kazakh Golovkin (37-0, 33 knockouts) is widely seen as the favourite against Alvarez, who is 49-1-1 with 34 knockouts.
