(OCT 11) Exciting news in
women's boxing, when on November 2, 2019, at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Marlen Esparza will be
fighting Seniesa Estrada. This should be a barnburner of a
fight between these two.
Also on the undercard, Ryan
Garcia, Bakhram Murtazaliev, and many others will be featured on
this high-profile card.
Tickets for Canelo vs. Kovalev are priced at $1,754, $1,254,
$854, $654, $404 and $204, not including applicable service
charges and taxes.
In a press release on Golden Boy
Promotions, they said the following: Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 34 KOs), the face of boxing
and the king of the middleweight division, will take on a new
challenge as he moves into the 175-pound weight class in a
12-round bout against champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (34-3-1,
28 KOs) for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title.
"We promised to make this fight happen, and now we are
delivering it," said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of
Golden Boy. "Historic fights have been a hallmark of this
company, and we are pleased to once again live up to the high
expectations we've set for our fans. The best pound-for-pound
fighter is also boxing's biggest star. Few fighters in boxing's
history can claim to be both like Canelo Alvarez. Now, he'll
look to become a four-division world champion against one of the
most dangerous fighters of recent years, and I'm certain that he
will stop him.
Canelo, the 29-year-old native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico,
became the face of boxing by taking on some of the biggest names
in the sport. At 154 pounds, Canelo captured several world
titles and defeated the likes of Austin "No Doubt" Trout, Sugar
Shane Mosley, Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo, Erislandy "The American
Dream" Lara and Liam "Beefy" Smith.
At 160 pounds, Canelo defeated Gennady "GGG" Golovkin and Daniel
"Miracle Man" Jacobs to establish himself as the king of the
middleweight division. And, shortly after signing a
groundbreaking partnership with global sports streaming giant
DAZN, Canelo moved into the 168-pound division by stopping Rocky
Fielding in three rounds to become the WBA Super Middleweight
World Champion.
Canelo will now look to make history once again by becoming the
second Mexican boxer to hold a world title in the light
heavyweight division, a feat only done by Julio Cesar Gonzalez
in 2003. The pound-for-pound king will at the same time join an
elite group of four-division world champions from Mexico.
"The second phase of my career is continuing just as we had
planned, and that's why we are continuing to make great fights
to enter into the history books of boxing," said Canelo Alvarez.
"That's also why I've decided to jump two weight classes against
one of the most feared champions of recent years. Kovalev is a
dangerous puncher, and he's naturally the bigger man, but that's
the kind of challenges and risks that I like to face."
On November 2nd, Kovalev, 36, will participate in his
17th consecutive world title bout and the most lucrative fight of
his career against the biggest star in boxing. A Russian
knockout artist and three-time light heavyweight world champion,
"Krusher" is no stranger to fighting in hostile territory. He
captured the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title in 2013 when he
traveled to Wales and scored a stunning knockout of Nathan
Cleverly. Kovalev traveled to Atlantic City to meet future Hall
of Famer Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins near his Philadelphia home
to unify the WBO, WBA and IBF titles with a lopsided unanimous
decision victory in 2014.As unified champion, "Krusher"
successfully defended his titles twice against current WBA
Interim Light Heavyweight titleholder Jean Pascal in Pascal's
hometown of Montreal, scoring a stoppage victory both times.
Kovalev suffered two controversial losses to former Olympic Gold
medalist Andre Ward (in 2016 and 2017) and a surprise upset to
Eleider Alvarez last year, but quickly regained his WBO Light
Heavyweight Title each time. In August, the road warrior finally
got the chance to fight in his own hometown of Chelyabinsk,
Russia, stopping undefeated mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde
in a sold-out arena.
When asked about this fight, Kovalev said, "In order to be the
best you have to beat the best. I have always tried to fight the
toughest opponents in my division, but many have ducked me
throughout my career. Canelo wanted to fight me; to step up to
higher weight and challenge for my belt. I will be ready on
November 2nd. Thank you, Main Events, Kathy Duva, Egis Klimas,
DAZN and Canelo for making this fight happen."
"Canelo is to be praised for asking to challenge Sergey Kovalev,"
added Main Events' CEO Kathy Duva. "Win or lose, he will make
history and Sergey is extremely pleased to get the chance to
test his mettle against another future Hall of Famer." She
continued, "Anyone who cares at all about the Sweet Science
should circle November 2ndon their calendar. I have a feeling
that this will be one for the ages."
"Canelo vs. Kovalev is a fascinating matchup between champions
that will highlight our entire season of premium fights on DAZN
over the next several months," said DAZN Group Executive
Chairman John Skipper. "Simply stated, this is the best schedule
in boxing history."
Richard Sturm, President of Las Vegas Live Entertainment and
Sports, said, "We look forward to hosting this tremendous
matchup between Canelo and Kovalev at MGM Grand in November.
These two great fighters always put on a fantastic show and we
are confident they will, once again, provide boxing fans
worldwide a thrilling fight when they return to Las Vegas."