September Alvarez-Golovkin Bout Chooses Las Vegas Over Texas

Posted on: June 6, 2017, 02:00h. 

Last updated on: June 6, 2017, 01:41h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

The Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin middleweight boxing match was a contest that fans had been clamoring two years for and it finally has a location.

The bout will occur September 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The date of the fight was announced shortly after Alvarez won a unanimous 12-round decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on May 6. That competition was also held at the venue that is the home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

While the public knew when the fight would occur a month ago, where it would be was a mystery. Several places were mentioned, including Madison Square Garden, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Getting an establishment nailed down was important to both camps, because of the negotiations for a Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight that is eying a fall date as well.

Oscar De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions represents Alvarez, told the LA Times that is he happy the final detail is finished.

“We wanted to secure the date because obviously there’s rumblings another fight might take place around that same time,” De La Hoya said. “We had to go to Las Vegas.”

Fight City Wins Again

Alvarez has a history with T-Mobile Arena and it made the most sense to have the fight there. Alvarez was the first athletic event at the MGM Resorts-owned facility, facing Amir Khan, winning by knock out.

The Chavez event was one of the most popular in Las Vegas history. There were more than 20,000 people who attended and pay per view purchases topped one million.

De La Hoya believes Alvarez- Golovkin can be even more successful. Being on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, concerts featuring Ricky Martin, Mana, Enrique Iglesias and Mac Anthony are planned.

“This is the real fight, the fight that everybody has been wanting to see for the last year and a half,” De La Hoya said. “We’re happy we can do it in Las Vegas and we’ll have special events around the fight.”

The home of the Dallas Cowboys was an intriguing possibility, however. The stadium can hold five times T-Mobile’s capacity, and Texas has a large Mexican-American population that would have filled the 100,000 seats.

It’s not the first time they have lost a battle for a marquee event to Sin City. In 2015, the 16,000-seat MGM Grand beat them out for Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao.

Early Line on Fight

Now with the details completed, handicappers can focus on the match itself. Golovkin is the favorite, getting odds of between 2-1 and 8-5.

The 35-year-old champ is 37-0 with 33 knockouts and has an inch and half height advantage. The 27-year-old Alvarez has a 49-1-1 record with 34 knockouts. His only loss came to Mayweather, who believes he can pull off the upset.

“Do I think Triple G (Golovkin) can beat Canelo? Absolutely not,” Mayweather said. ”I think there’s a few guys that can beat Triple G, and Canelo is on the top of the list. I believe that he’ll beat him.”