Saul Alvarez-Victor Ortiz Finalized, 9/15 on Showtime PPV
Jun 12, 2012 • 2:10 AM ET
By Rick Reeno and Jake Donovan
The new main event for "Knockout Kings" has been officially finalized, and the fight is of no surprise to BoxingScene.com readers - WBC 154-pound champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (40-0-1, 29KOs) will defend his title against former welterweight king Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22KOs) on September 15th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Before he takes his shot against Canelo, Ortiz returns on June 23rd against Josesito Lopez in a Showtime televised main event at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
In a surprise move, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has revealed that Canelo-Ortiz will be carried and heavily marketed by Showtime pay-per-view. Should Ortiz win - or even fight to a draw - next weekend, the September 15 fight will take place at 154 lb. with Alvarez' alphabet title at stake.
"I think everyone agrees that after last weekend's travesty, that we need fights where we can leave the judges at home," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer stated during an international conference call on Tuesday afternoon.
Shortly after came the announcement from Oscar de la Hoya, Golden Boy president.
"We have as the main event Saul Alvarez versus Victor Ortiz at 154 lb. We will also be having on the card as the semi-main event Jhonny Gonzalez versus Daniel Ponce de Leon.
"The two other fights, we will be working with Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez, with Richard and myself to come up with two other fights as exciting as the two main events or more exciting than the rest of the fights."
Also confirmed on the call was that Showtime will be the exclusive distributor and producer of the event, which for the moment ends Alvarez' recent stretch of appearances on HBO and its own pay-per-view arm.
The card is named 'Knockout Kings', a name that Golden Boy Promotions intend to serve as a true statement come fight night.
"It is my obligation as a fighter and our obligation as a promoter to bring exciting fights to the fight fans, to bring fights that won’t require judging," stated de la Hoya. "Knockout Kings is the perfect name for this card. I guarantee that every fight we bring will not require judging. The fans deserve it. We at Golden Boy are extremely excited for September 15."
Of course, all of that goes out the window should Ortiz not rise to the occasion next weekend.
"Victor Ortiz has a title obligation on June 23 against Josesito Lopez, which takes place live on Showtime. I personally do not like to make fights happen if we know there is a fighter already fighting beforehand," de la Hoya admitted. "Obviously, depending on who wins June 23, we have already in place plans to go ahead with a very strong card on September 15."
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
