(Photo Credit: Alma Montiel – World Boxing Council & Eztel Espinoza – Golden Boy Promotions) MEXICO CITY (Jan. 11, 2016) – Canelo Alvarez, the current WBC, RING Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion, was presented today with his well-earned prestigious green and gold, WBC Diamond belt by Mauricio Sulaiman, President of the World Boxing Council (WBC) in a special ceremony for the new champion in Mexico City at Museo Soumaya de la Fundación Telmex – Telcel en Plaza Carso. Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, Eddy Reynoso, Head Trainer and Jose “Chepo” Reynoso, Manager and Trainer of Canelo Alvarez were also in attendance.
“I feel very honored to be here today to and receive the WBC Middleweight World Championship belt,” said Canelo Alvarez. “I am also very grateful to the WBC for granting me, my second division world title, this is a very big step in my career and I am looking forward to my upcoming fight in May.”
“We are very proud of Canelo and his accomplishments,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Canelo is now one of the most recognizable faces of boxing, and we are grateful to the WBC for their support.”
“Saul Canelo Alvarez conquered the WBC Middleweight Championship and has become the greatest attraction in Boxing through his dedication to the sport,” said Mauricio Sulaiman, World Boxing Council President. “The WBC is very proud to see him join the Diamond Belt Champions with such icons like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Sergio Martinez, and Bernard Hopkins. These are great and exciting times for Boxing.”
Canelo won the WBC Middleweight World Championship on November 21, 2015 by defeating Puerto Rico’s four division World Champion and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) via unanimous decision at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Both Cotto and Canelo went the distance with each fighter landing a fair share of thundering strikes and furious combinations along the way. Canelo’s firepower proved to be too much for the veteran Cotto as the 25-year-old Mexican superstar claimed round after round to secure a convincing unanimous decision victory, taking home the middleweight championship. The battle was one of the biggest events in the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry and one of the most successful pay-per-view events not featuring Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather since 2002, selling more than 900,000 units and crowning Canelo boxing’s next pay-per-view star.
