Canelo v Kirkland – “Will Kirkland Turn Up?”

05/05/201505/05/2015 Olly Campbell

With the debate still raging at whether or not Saturday’s fight will have attracted new fans to the sport, the dedicated hardcore are turning their attentions to the weekend and the return of Mexican star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (44-1-1, 31ko) who squares off against big punching James Kirkland (32-1, 28ko) in Houston, TX in a fight that – on paper at least – should be far more entertaining than the May-Pac affair.

At least that is what Golden Boy chief Oscar De La Hoya is promising, previously telling fighthype.com

“This will be a dangerous and fun fight to watch. You’re guaranteed to see fireworks, guaranteed to see a knock-out. One punch can change it all.”

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Canelo Alvarez Interview Transcript

04/27/2015 Golden Boy Promotions

Canelo Alvarez – Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here with you.

O. De La Hoya – Great. So, now we can open it up for questions. Thank you.

Q – Okay, great. First of all, I’d like you to ask Canelo, he’s coming back to another city in Texas in Houston when he was in San Antonio a couple years ago and he had that huge crowd for the Austin Trout fight. I want to know how pumped up is he because by all accounts, you’re going to have another crowd similar in size in a different city in Houston for this fight. How much does he feel that love from his fans, particularly the Mexicans and the Mexican-Americans and get him motivated, let’s say, for this kind of fight?

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James Kirkland Interview Transcript

04/27/2015 Golden Boy Promotions

Oscar De La Hoya – Thank you very much to all the press. We are excited to be on this conference call. We are more than just a little over a couple weeks away with Canelo-Kirkland which will be a 12-round super welterweight showdown. It would be and it should be an explosive night, one to remember, live from Minute Maid Park in Houston. Tickets are going extremely well. Tickets are still available, so I urge you to get your tickets fast as we expect a sellout crowd.

I am extremely proud to be announcing that this event is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Canelo Promotions and SMS Promotions and Leija Battah Promotions. I want to thank the sponsors as well: Corona Extra and Mexico-Live it to Believe it, Fred Loya Insurance and also O’Reilly Auto Parts. Thank you for your support.

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Alvarez Looking Sharp Ahead Of Kirkland

04/21/2015 Olly Campbell

Saul Alvarez(44-1-1, 31ko) was looking good out Stateside yesterday in a media workout ahead of his contest with James Kirkland (32-1,28ko) on May 9th, that will be screened on HBO in the US and on Boxnation in the UK.

The May 9th fight that will come potentially a week late for Mexico’s biggest PPV star (as Floyd and Manny have already bagged the sought-after Mexican bank holiday weekend date, even though Cinco De Mayo is on the 5th) is being billed as “his toughest test yet” in many corners of the media, which is leaving many fight fans, especially neutrals, totally bemused.

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James Kirkland fighting without Ann Wolfe against Canelo

02/16/201502/15/2015 James Sexton

A lot of people seem to think James Kirkland’s chances in his scheduled May 2nd fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez are dramatically altered on whether or not Ann Wolfe is going to be in his corner on the night of the fight. The single loss on Kirkland’s career was a TKO in the first round and on that night he did not have Ann Wolfe as his trainer. Since reuniting with her he has gone on a five win streak against decent opposition which has lead to this fight.

He has employed the services of Gerald Tucker, and this has rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way, but this should not come as surprising news to most, as Kirkland has made a reputation for himself over the years as an inconsistent character.

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Cotto-Canelo fight off, says De La Hoya

01/17/2015 Rob Smith

The highly anticipated bout between WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez won’t be taking place, according to Golden Boy Promotions vice president Oscar De La Hoya. Instead, De La Hoya will be looking to match his fighter Canelo up against possibly middleweight David Lemieux or James Kirkland.

WBA 160 pound champion Gennady Golovkin’s name isn’t being talked about for Canelo.

“Oscar just told me no Cotto-Canelo. ‘The deal is off the table.’ Said Cotto went past 5th deadline last night. #boxing,” Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported earlier today.

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Canelo looking at plan B option, Arum offering Tim Bradley

01/17/2015 Jeff Sorby

Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) has about run out of patience in waiting on his opponent WBC middleweight champ Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) to sign the contract for a fight against him. Canelo, who is kind of used to getting his own way in negotiations, has told his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, that he wants to have him start looking for another opponent for him to fight. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is saying that Tim Bradley is a possibility for Canelo to fight next.

Bradley is a considerable step down from Cotto, both in size and popularity. Canelo-Bradley isn’t a fight that would be near big enough for the 24-year-old Canelo to boot Floyd Mayweather Jr from the May 2nd fight date that he has his eyes on, so Canelo would need to have an open mind about moving off that date. Canelo has insisted for the past month that he plans on fighting on May 2nd, the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo.

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Canelo determined to fight on May 2nd, says De La Hoya

01/05/2015 T.Baker

Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) is doggedly determined to fight on the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, even if means that he won’t be facing WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs). The two fighters are still negotiating a fight for that date, but there’s no way of knowing if they’ll be able sign for the fight.

Canelo’s promoter Oscar de La Hoya says that Canelo will still be fighting on that date if the Cotto fight doesn’t happen. This means that unless Canelo gets a really good opponent to face him like James Kirkland or Gennady Golovkin, he’s not going to be able to bump Floyd Mayweather off the date.

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Canelo: The fans of the world want me to face Cotto

01/03/2015 Jeff Sorby

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) isn’t shy about letting people know how badly he wants a fight against WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) on Cinco de Mayo on May 2nd. Canelo believes that a fight against the 34-year-old Cotto is something that all of boxing wants to see. He may be correct to a certain extent.

There are a lot of fans who want to see that fight take place. However, there are still major question marks about Canelo’s talent level after his three step up fights against Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Even if Canelo beats Cotto, he’s still going to have a lot to prove against other fighters like Gennady Golovkin.

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2014/2015 – Reviews & Previews: Mayweather, Pacquiao, Cotto, Canelo, Bradley, Golovkin, & Khan!

12/31/201412/30/2014 Vivek Wallace

FLOYD MAYWEATHER

2014 will end as one of Mayweather’s more intriguing chapters of his 18 year career. After closing out 2013 with an amazing performance over Mexico’s Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Mayweather entered 2014 on a high. Unfortunately, a love life gone bad, assisted by other personal drama’s would only serve as a small subplot compared to what would unfold on the night of May 3rd, 2014. Mayweather would dig deep and create a path to victory, but a rugged performance by Maidana proved that even the great ones have reason to fear ‘father-time’.

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