Canelo Alvarez Remains Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion with Trouncing of Jermell Charlo

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Canelo Alvarez has defended his undisputed super middleweight championship title once again.

The 33-year-old Mexican boxing superstar defeated Jermell Charlo on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in a lopsided unanimous-decision victory, leading to his third title defense.

Alvarez floored Charlo in Round 7 with an overhand right, the second knockdown of the challenger’s career, but there weren’t many more opportunities for a knockout.

Charlo wasn’t willing to engage and rarely threw a punch. He moved away from Alvarez’s power shots all night but never attempted to make him pay.

Two judges scored the fight 118-109, with the other tally 119-108.

“Nobody can compete with this Canelo,” said Alvarez, ESPN‘s No. 4 pound-for-pound boxer. “Two months in the mountains [training near Lake Tahoe] without my family. I still love boxing. I love boxing so f—ing much. Boxing is my life. Boxing made me the person I am today.”

Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) entered the ring the undisputed junior middleweight champion and had never competed above 154 pounds before. He was stripped of his WBO title once the fight started and said he would return to 154 pounds, where he still holds three titles. Australian star Tim Tszyu will defend the WBO belt October 14 against Brian Mendoza.

“I feel like it wasn’t me in there,” said Charlo, 33, who fights out of Houston. “I don’t make excuses. You win some, you lose some. I’m undisputed in my weight; I was daring to be great. I’m proud of myself. He didn’t knock me out; he knocked all the other guys out.”

It was clear by the way Charlo competed that he was looking to hear the final bell. Every time Alvarez closed the distance, Charlo slid over, but he wasn’t interested in engaging.

Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) appeared frustrated as he looked for Charlo to open up and afford him some counterpunching opportunities. It never happened.

Instead, Alvarez piled up points on the scorecards by expertly cutting off the ring with effective aggression and clean body punching, the hallmarks of his legendary career.

Alvarez acknowledged in the lead-up to Saturday’s bout that he wasn’t at his best in his three most recent fights and vowed to return to top form. He did just that. His movement, conditioning and punching combinations all appeared to be peak Canelo, though Charlo never presented much adversity.

Alvarez’s last inside-the-distance win came in November 2021, when he scored an 11th-round TKO of Caleb Plant to capture the undisputed super middleweight championship.

He moved up to 175 pounds for a fight with Dmitry Bivol in May 2022 and suffered his first loss since 2013, when he was outpointed by Floyd Mayweather. Four months later, Alvarez returned to 168 pounds to conclude his trilogy with Gennadiy Golovkin with a victory but faded down the stretch.

Alvarez revealed afterward that he fought Bivol and Golovkin with a serious left wrist injury and underwent surgery in October. His first post-surgery competition came in May when he returned home to Mexico for a decision win over John Ryder.

Canelo broke Ryder’s nose and scored a knockdown but didn’t finish him in a grueling fight. Alvarez conceded this week that his hand wasn’t 100% then and that he was not fully confident in his lead weapon.

After the win over Charlo, he reaffirmed that he is back to form.

“Whoever,” Alvarez said when asked whom he would face when he returns for his next fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend. “I don’t f—ing care.”

This victory was the first of Alvarez’s three-fight deal with PBC, but it was originally slated to come against Charlo’s twin brother, Jermall, the WBC middleweight titleholder. Jermall Charlo didn’t proceed with the planned fight as he dealt with a personal matter, and Alvarez quickly accepted the smaller Charlo as the new opponent.

“They look the same,” Alvarez told ESPN on Wednesday. “Same size, same everything. I don’t really care which Charlo brother it is.”

Charlo called out undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford afterward and said he was also open to a fight against the winner of Tszyu-Mendoza. Charlo was set to fight Tszyu in January before he broke his left hand in two places.

Saturday’s fight was Charlo’s first since May 2022, when he scored a 10th-round knockout of Brian Castano in a rematch to win the undisputed junior middleweight championship.

Alvarez, meanwhile, remains the face of boxing and proved without a doubt that he is still on top, quieting the critics who said he was on the decline at age 33 after more than 60 fights.

Canelo Alvarez to Fight Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas This September

Posted on July 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Canelo Alvarez has lined up his next opponent, but it’s not the person most expected it to be.

The 32-year-old Mexican professional boxer, the sport’s top star at the moment, has announced on social media that he’ll fight Jermell Charlo rather than his twin brother, Jermall, on September 30 in Las Vegas, the first meeting of undisputed champions in the four-belt era.

Alvarez holds all four super middleweight titles while Charlo owns all four belts at 154 pounds. The bout, which is expected to be a Showtime PPV event, will be contested at 168 pounds for Alvarez’s undisputed championship, per ESPN sources.

Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) was lined up for a fight with Jermall Charlo, the WBC champion at 160 pounds, after he met with PBC founder Al Haymon in the Cleveland area earlier in June.

But earlier this week, Alvarez’s team was informed that Jermall wouldn’t be available to fight in September, sources said. The sides pivoted to Jermell, who sits just outside ESPN’s pound-for-pound list but has never competed above 154 pounds, and the matchup was finalized on Friday, sources said.

ESPN Deportes reported earlier Friday that Jermall needed more time to get in shape because he has not fought since June 2021, when he scored a unanimous decision win over Juan Macias Montiel. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said last month that Jermall’s inactivity is due to mental health.

Alvarez, a future Hall of Famer from Mexico, struck a three-fight deal with PBC earlier in June, with the other two fights expected to take place on Cinco De Mayo Weekend and Mexican Independence Day Weekend in 2024, sources said.

Alvarez’s preferred September 16 date wasn’t available in Las Vegas due to a UFC event on the same night at T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over John Ryder in May in a Mexico homecoming in Guadalajara. The win was Alvarez’s first fight since he underwent left wrist surgery in October.

In May 2022, Canelo moved up to light heavyweight but was routed by Dmitry Bivol in his first loss since he faced Floyd Mayweather in 2013. He returned in September to defeat his rival, Gennaidy Golovkin, in a trilogy fight.

Alvarez is ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer and has captured titles in four weight classes.

Last month, Alvarez was No. 5 on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Athletes list at estimated earnings of $110 million in 2022.

Jermall Charlo was one of two finalists for the Alvarez bout when Canelo ultimately selected Bivol last May. He could land his shot next May if Alvarez defeats his brother.

Jermell Charlo, a 33-year-old who fights out of the Houston area, captured the undisputed 154-pound championship last May when he knocked out Brian Castano in the 10th round of a rematch. The two fighters had previously battled to a highly controversial draw in July 2021 after Castano appeared to do enough to earn the decision.

The only defeat of Jermell’s career came in December 2018, a disputed decision loss to Tony Harrison. Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) also avenged that blemish on his record, scoring an 11th-round knockout of Harrson one year later.

Jermell was set to defend his four titles against Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, in January before he suffered a broken left hand.

Canelo Alvarez Will Defend Undisputed Super Middleweight Championship vs. John Ryder in May

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Canelo Alvarez is going on the defensive…

The 32-year-old Mexican professional boxer, the sport’s top star, will defend his undisputed super middleweight championship versus John Ryder on May 6 in Jalisco, Mexico, the fighter has announced.

The Alvarez-Ryder bout will take place at Akron Stadium, a soccer venue with a capacity of nearly 50,000.

It will be Alvarez’s first in Mexico since 2011, when he defeated Kermit Cintron to retain his 154-pound title. That event was in Mexico City. Alvarez hasn’t competed in Guadalajara since 2010, before he won his first championship.

Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will step inside the ropes for the first time since he underwent left wrist surgery in October. The procedure followed Alvarez’s win over Gennadiy Golovkin in September to close out the trilogy.

“I feel really happy to be coming back in May, because following my surgery, I was unsure of when I’d be coming back,” said Alvarez, ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer. “Returning to the ring and coming back to fight in Jalisco, where I’m from, makes me especially happy. And in John Ryder, I’m facing a very competitive fighter.”

The injury also hampered Alvarez in an upset loss to Dmitry Bivol in May at 175 pounds, Alvarez’s first defeat since he was routed by Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

Ryder, a 34-year-old Londoner, will be a major underdog in his second world title opportunity. He was on the wrong end of a controversial decision when he challenged Callum Smith for his 168-pound title in 2019.

Since the defeat, Ryder has won four straight. His most recent two victories came against Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker last year, in February and November, respectively. The victory over Jacobs was a tight decision, while Parker retired on his stool with a broken hand following Round 4.

Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) won the vacant WBO interim title when he defeated Parker, so Alvarez could be in position to fulfill one of the obligations for the four 168-pound titles he possesses. Ryder, a pressure-fighting southpaw, is ESPN’s No. 4 super middleweight.

“There’s no denying that Canelo is one of the greats, and I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s achieved in the sport, but I fully believe this is my time [to] fulfil my dream of becoming a world champion,” Ryder said.

“I’m not going over there for a holiday. For me, this is purely business, and my full focus is on going into his backyard in Guadalajara on May 6 and bringing those belts back with me to the U.K.”

Alvarez, meanwhile, could face Bivol in a September rematch, but this time at 168 pounds for his undisputed championship. Bivol has expressed a willingness to drop down in weight, so the bout could materialize once Alvarez pushes past Ryder as expected.

Alvarez is a promotional and network free agent, but he’ll be fighting for Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing on DAZN for the third consecutive outing.

Starz Order Pilot of Documentary-Style Format Interview Series from Fat Joe

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Fat Joe is seeing Starz…

Starz has given a pilot order for an interview series with a documentary-style format from the 52-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American hip hop star and television personality and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Produced by SpringHill, founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter), the pilot will feature Fat Joe sitting with celebrities and high-profile guests as the show’s host.

“We’re about to create the biggest and most culturally-relevant series on television,” said Fat Joe in a statement. “With Puff, LeBron, the incredible team at Starz, and myself teaming up, you have a dream team that is guaranteed to produce TV gold. Hosting a show has always been a dream of mine and I’m thankful for everyone who helped make it a reality. I promise you that we’re going to push the envelope, deliver compelling interviews and provide pure entertainment. Do remember – you don’t know who I know!”

“I’m excited to partner with Starz and bring these cultural giants together to create the No. 1 show on television,” added Combs. “Fat Joe is a very authentic and respected voice in the culture that deserves a platform to bring these important conversations to a global audience on a major network.”

Fat Joe continues to expand in the television space with various projects on the horizon.

A pilot is currently in development from Starz and BET Studios titled The Book of Jose about the rapper’s life from Fat Joe, Kenya Barris and Jorge Reyes.

On the hosting front, he launched The Fat Joe Show, a nightly Instagram Live talk show where he interviewed politicians, musicians, athletes, actors, entrepreneurs, and influential personalities like Dr. Anthony Fauci, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Floyd Mayweather, Dwyane Wade, Jamie Foxx, and Alicia Keys.

He also recently served as a guest host for both The Wendy Williams Show and the official recap for Triller’s Verzuz platform.

“Time and time again, Fat Joe has delivered outstanding, insightful interviews with legendary personalities who define the zeitgeist, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Starz family,” said Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming, Starz. “Fat Joe, Sean Combs, and LeBron James are inspirational icons, and we can’t wait to get started on this incredible journey.”

Miguel Cotto Named to International Boxing Hall of Fame

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Miguel Cotto entering the hall…

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican former professional boxer will be enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, alongside Roy Jones Jr. and James Toney.

Cotto, Jones and Toney highlight the Boxing Hall’s Class of 2022, as revealed on Tuesday.

They’re joined by female champions Holly Holm and Regina Hamlisch, alongside publicist Bill Caplan, journalist Ron Borges and historian/producer Bob Yalen.

When they’re all inducted on June 12 in Canastota, New York, the group will be accompanied by the previous two classes. Because of the pandemic, fighters from those classes — such as Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward and Wladimir Klitschko — have yet to be enshrined.

Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs) retired at age 37 following an upset loss to Sadam Ali. One of the most accomplished boxers from Puerto Rico, Cotto routinely fought before sellout crowds at Madison Square Garden, thrilling the masses with his ferocious body punching.

Cotto won titles at 147 pounds and 154 before he upset Sergio Martinez for the middleweight championship. Cotto competed with three Hall of Famers during his career: a win over Shane Mosley and losses to Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Cotto was also defeated by future Hall of Famer Canelo Alvarez.

Cotto’s loss to Antonio Margarito in 2008 is a welterweight classic. He later avenged the defeat.

Canelo Alvarez Nearing Deal to Fight Caleb Plant to Crown Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Canelo Alvarez is closing in on the biggest fight of his career…

The 31-year-old Mexican boxer is nearing a deal with Caleb Plant for a November fight that would crown an undisputed super middleweight champion, according to ESPN.

A fight between Alvarez and Plant was agreed to last month for September 18, sources said, and officials were simply awaiting signatures when the deal fell apart at the 11th hour.

After talks collapsed, Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) turned his attention to a 175-pound title fight with Dmitry Bivol. When that matchup couldn’t be finalized in time to stage the fight on Mexican Independence Day Weekend (Sept. 18), Canelo decided to delay his return until November.

Now boxing’s top star is deep in talks with PBC for a one-fight deal that would feature him on Fox PPV, sources said.

The prospect of a fight between Alvarez, ESPN‘s No. 1 pound-for-pound-boxer, and Plant, an undefeated 168-pound titleholder, was dead just two weeks ago. With Alvarez and PBC’s Al Haymon locked in a stalemate, Alvarez moved on to talks with Bivol. When the Mexican star decided to forgo Sept. 18 and instead fight in November, the possibility of Plant returned to the table.

It’s the fight Canelo wanted all along. After Alvarez stopped Billy Joe Saunders in Round 9 of their May fight, picking up his third 168-pound belt, he issued a message to Plant: “I’m coming, my friend.”

Becoming undisputed champion has long been Canelo’s goal, a feat he hasn’t accomplished despite a Hall of Fame résumé that includes titles in four weight classes. Alvarez was set to earn upward of $40 million guaranteed — a career best — in the proposed deal for Sept. 18.

Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) was slated to make $10 million-plus, also a career high. The original pact disintegrated, Plant told ESPN last month, over last-minute “ridiculous requests” from Team Alvarez.

“One that is absurd: If I get injured or sick, then he gets a late replacement for the same amount of guaranteed money, but if he gets sick or injured, then we gotta wait for him,” Plant, ESPN’s No. 3 super middleweight, said after the deal fell apart. “… His bark is bigger than his bite.

“We’ve been waiting for him to get done with his wedding, shooting his TV show, his golf tournament and now have tried to give him everything he wants and more to make this fight,” the Nashville native added. “I’m more than willing, able and ready to fight Canelo Alvarez on any date.”

Those issues could be ironed out now, it appears. This is the third consecutive year Alvarez won’t fight on the coveted September date, a holiday he starred on against bitter rival Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and ’18. Another drawn-out negotiation in 2019 forced Alvarez to instead fight in November, a KO victory over Sergey Kovalev.

If he can strike a deal with PBC, it will mark Alvarez’s return to pay-per-view, a platform he has headlined nine times since his fight with Shane Mosley in 2012. Those bouts included a megafight with Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and a pair of matchups with GGG.

Alvarez signed a landmark 11-fight, $365 million deal with DAZN after the GGG rematch, but following four fights, he sued his then-promoter, Golden Boy, along with the streaming platform. After the lawsuit was settled, Alvarez remained with DAZN for a December 2020 win over Callum Smith, then linked up with Matchroom‘s Eddie Hearn on a two-fight deal. The contract for that partnership expired after the Saunders win, opening the door for Alvarez to seek a one-fight deal with Haymon’s team and a chance at undisputed status.

Canelo and Plant were training to fight each other when talks came to an abrupt halt — Alvarez at his San Diego gym and Plant in Las Vegas. This time, the hard work in the gym might lead to what they both want: a showdown for super middleweight supremacy.

Anderson Silva In Talks to Box Logan Paul

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

He’s not a boxer by trade, but Anderson Silva isn’t let him stop him from hitting the ring…

The 46-year-old Brazilain mixed martial artist, a former UFC Middleweight Champion who holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days, could next fight Logan Paul.

The UFC legend and the YouTube star are discussing a boxing match that would take place later this year, Paul’s manager, Jeff Levin, tells ESPN.

Paul, 26, competed in an exhibition boxing event with Hall of Fame fighter Floyd Mayweather in June, a Showtime pay-per-view special that was a tremendous commercial success.

The bout, which was an unsanctioned fight with no official winner, lasted the scheduled eight rounds.

“I’ll be putting on prizefights,” Paul said following the event when asked what was next. “I’m sure there’s a list of opponents on Twitter, people chirping, saying this, saying that. I’ll pick one, make ’em get f—in’ embarrassed.”

Paul’s weight limit for that meeting was 190 pounds; Mayweather’s was 160.

There’s no determination if a bout with Silva — assuming a deal is completed — would be a sanctioned boxing match or a novelty exhibition.

“We just haven’t got there yet,” Levin said.

Paul is 0-1 as a pro fighter, his loss coming via decision against fellow social media personality KSI in November 2019. Since then, Paul has pushed beyond the social media sphere with an appearance at WrestleMania 37 in April, followed by the exhibition with Mayweather.

His younger brother, Jake, is 3-0 as a professional fighter and is starting to gain some traction in the boxing world. The 24-year-old scored a first-round knockout of former UFC fighter Ben Askren in April. He’s set to face former UFC champion Tyron Woodley on August 29 in Cleveland, a hometown fight for Paul on Showtime PPV.

Silva scored an upset of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last month in Guadalajara, Mexico. Chavez, a former middleweight boxing titleholder, is well past his best days, but considering Silva’s age and limited boxing experience (third pro fight), it was an impressive achievement.

“I love fighting and boxing is my dream for many, many years,” Silva said after the eight-round split-decision victory, a bout contested at 182 pounds. “I need to prove my respect for boxing.”

“The Spider” made his pro boxing debut in 1998. More than seven years later, he competed in the boxing ring again, this time scoring a second-round KO in 2005. The Brazilian made his UFC debut the following year.

Canelo Alvarez Soundly Defeats Rocky Fielding for a Secondary Super Middleweight World Title

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Canelo Alvarez may have moved up one weight class… But he hasn’t lost his winning ways.

The 27-year-old Mexican professional boxer, the unified middleweight world champion and boxing’s biggest star, moved up one weight class and destroyed Rocky Fielding with a heavy body attack to take his secondary super middleweight world title by third-round knockout in his first non-pay-per-view fight since 2015.

Alvarez knocked Fielding down four times, much to the delight of the raucous pro-Canelo crowd of 20,112.

The fight was Alvarez’s first in New York, a place he had always wanted to fight, and it represented the first bout of the record-breaking contract he signed in October with new sports streaming service DAZN. Looking for a franchise athlete, DAZN lavished Alvarez with a five-year, 11-fight, $365 million deal to take him off pay-per-view in hopes that he would help drive subscriptions to the $9.99-per-month service.

Alvarez had been under exclusive contract to HBO and was the biggest pay-per-view star of the post-Floyd Mayweather era, but that contract expired in September, and HBO made no move to retain his services because it decided to dump boxing coverage, which it concluded last week after 45 years of covering the sport at the highest level.

Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) moved seamlessly to his new outlet and shined in his debut against an overmatched opponent in Fielding, whom virtually nobody gave a chance to win or even compete.

The fight was as big of a mismatch as most expected, and Alvarez tortured Fielding to the body.

“That was the plan in the gym, to hit the body and then move up [to the head], and that’s the result. You see the result here,” Alvarez said through an interpreter.

Alvarez was coming off the biggest win of his career in September, when he narrowly outpointed Gennady Golovkin to win the unified middleweight world championship in the biggest fight of the year, a rematch of last year’s controversial draw. Alvarez wanted to fight once more this year after a failed drug test cost him the GGG rematch in May because of a suspension.

He took the opportunity to cherry-pick a titleholder at 168 pounds in Fielding and won a belt in his third weight division, despite the title being a second-tier version.

Nicky Jam Becomes Hublot’s First Latin Music Ambassador

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Nicky Jam is having a Hublot time…

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American reggaetón star has joined Hublot’s ambassador club, as the brand’s first Latin music ambassador.

“It’s an immense privilege for me, as a real watch enthusiast, to become the ambassador for a Swiss watchmaking brand like Hublot,” Nicky Jam said in a statement. “In Latin America, Hublot is an absolute reference thanks to the technical quality and incomparable aesthetics of its watches.”

Nicky Jam joins a select group of Hublot “ambassadors” that includes Usain Bolt,Eli Manning and Floyd Mayweather.

Only two of the ambassadors Hublot has listed on its website are music artists: pianist Lang Langand Depeche Mode. And only two others have Latin American roots: soccer star Peléand Arturo Fuentecigars.

“Nicky is driven by a talent that has made him into a global star, with his hits getting the whole world dancing,” said Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, in a statement. “A positive energy leading to success, a value shared by Hublot. And we will certainly commemorate this Football World Cupby celebrating with his music!”

Guadalupe was referring to the fact that the FIFA World Cupanthem “Give It Up!” is performed by Nicky Jam, with Will Smithand Kosovar singer Era Istrefi.

That song, however, is not the only Nicky Jam hit on Switzerland’s charts: “X,” his hit with J Balvin, landed in the country’s top 20.

Mariah Carey Gives Vogue Magazine Tour of Her High-Style Closet

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey isn’t afraid to show off her high style…

The 48-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer recently posted a clip on Instagram of the closet tour she gave Vogue, confessing she has a more upscale style while holding a monogrammed champagne glass.

Included in the clip are vast arrays of high heels — seemingly color-coordinated in shades of pink, black, purple, gold, orange and everything in between — and high-end handbags perched next to swaths of glittering dresses and skirts.

“I’m a shoe fanatic,” Carey says. “I don’t know, I can’t even believe these are my shoes, whatever.”

Carey also points out a bright pink purse, explaining that it’s a gift from Floyd Mayweather and that “he told me every time somebody asks to make sure they know it’s a gift from Floyd, so… It’s from the champ.”

Thank you @voguemagazine for coming by ! 👠 👢👡👗👜

A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Aug 29, 2017 at 1:53pm PDT

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