By Allan Fox: Saul Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin 2 is rumored to be selling for $89.95 on pay-per-view for boxing fans that want to see the fight from home. If this turns out to be the case, then it’s an increase from what fans paid for the first fight between them last September. Given that the first Canelo vs. Golovkin fight ended in a controversial 12 round draw, it would be better if the fight were sold at $50 to $55.
Fans didn’t get a good deal with the way the judges scored the Canelo-GGG fight on September 15 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. A tie score is never a good thing in any sport, but especially in high profile boxing matches due to the fans having to pay so much to see the contests.
It would be in the best interest of the sport for draws to be eliminated altogether so that fans don’t become disgusted and walk away. If the fans don’t trust the judging to score the contests in a logical manner, then it hurts the sport.
”It might be different prices in different markets but I saw a commercial on TV when I was in my hotel room in Glendale, Arizona, covering the ESPN card last week,” Dan Rafael said on his chat on ESPN.com. The price advertised on that commercial in that marker was $89.95.”
Chris Algieri making a comeback at 140
Former World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Chris Algieri (21-3, 8 KOs) is making a comeback after two years out of the ring. The plan for Algieri is to get two quick wins under his belt at 140 and then get a big fight. It’s unclear what big fight that Algieri is hoping to get, because there aren’t any mega-stars at 140. Adrien Broner would be the best option for Algieri to get a nice payday at light welterweight. If Vasyl Lomachenko ever moves up to 140, he would be a good future fight for Algieri if he doesn’t get beaten before then. Algieri needs to stay away from the welterweight division and guys Regis Prograis.
The 34-year-old Algieri hasn’t fought since being blown out in five rounds by Errol Spence Jr. on April 16, 2016. Spence was too big and powerful for Algieri.
It’s going to be tough for Algieri to find a spot at light welterweight at this stage in his career. He would do well to avoid sluggers like Regis Prograis and Kiryl Relikh. Those guys punch incredibly hard, and it might be too much for the ring rusty Algieri to deal with them. Algieri should target WBC champion Jose Ramirez or WBO belt holder Maurice Hooker. Prograis is expected to capture the IBF and WBA 140 pound titles in the upcoming World Boxing Super Series tournament. The Top Rank promoted WBC light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez failed to take part in the WBSS tournament. Hooker didn’t take part in it either, and neither did Alex Saucedo.
Algieri had fought his last four fights at welterweight after capturing the WBO 140 pound title in beating Ruslan Provodnikov by a 12 round split decision in June 2014.
Algieri will be managed by Keith Connolly, and he’ll be promoted by Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia. The 5’10” Algieri will be going back down to 140 to continue campaigning in his old weight class at light welterweight. Algieri should have never left the division in the first place in 2014, but the money he received for a fight against Manny Pacquiao in November 2014 was obviously too tempting for him to resist. Pacquiao was still in the tail end of his prime at the time, and he ended up knocking Agieri down multiple times in the process of beating him by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision. Algieri then fought Amir Khan in his next fight and lost by a 12 round unanimous decision. The fight was a lot closer than the scores hand down by two of the judges, who gave it to Khan by the sores 117-111, 117-111. The third judge had it scored in an arguably more accurate manner in scoring it 115-113. Boxing News 24 had Khan barely winning the fight at 115-113.
Since Algieri stopped fighting two years ago, he’s been working as a nutritionist.
Tyson Fury still not licensed to fight in the USA
Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury made news on Friday with the information being revealed by Sky Sports about him not being licensed to fight in the U.S right now. Fury, 29, is in negotiations with the management of WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder for a fight in November in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight obviously won’t be able to happen in November if Fury doesn’t have a boxing license for America. However, this is being overblown, according to Dan Rafael. Once the Wilder-Fury fight is signed, Fury will receive a license. For a country that quickly gave UFC fighter Conor McGregor a boxing license to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017 in Las Vegas, it’s a no-brainer that Fury will be given a license to fight in the States as well. McGregor came into the fight with the unbeaten 49-0 Mayweather with a 0-0 record, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission still quickly gave him the Irish fighter a license to fight. It was a crazy move in the eyes of a lot of boxing fans for the Nevada Commission to give McGregor a license to fight a fighter with Mayweather’s record and experience, but that’s what they did. In Fury’s case, he’s an unbeaten IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion at 27-0. It’s a given that the Nevada Commission will give Fury a license to fight right away. His fight with Deontay Wilder will bring in too much money for the Nevada Commission not to give him a boxing license. Fury will get his license to fight in Nevada or wherever state the fight is staged once the match is match.
Oscar Valdez still hasn’t been given medical clearance yet
WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez (24-0, 19 KOs) still hasn’t received medical clearance to fight following his broken jaw he received in defending his title against the hard hitting Scott Quigg last March. Valdez, 27, will be meeting with a doctor soon to see about getting cleared to fight, according to ESPN. If cleared by the doctor, Valdez will be back inside the ring in December or January. Valdez’s promoters at Top Rank aren’t going to rush him back due to his broken jaw. Valdez was in a real war with Quigg. Valdez won the fight by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision, but he was hit hard many times by Quigg. If Quigg had more hand speed, Valdez would have been in bad shape and likely would have been knocked out.
The performance by Valdez showed that he’s not ready for someone with the hand speed and punching power of WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. or against a pure slugger like Leo Santa Cruz. However, Top Rank likely will never match Valdez against either of those fighters anyway because they’re not with their company, they’re dangerous and they fight on another network. Valdez will likely spend his career staying on the WBO side, defending against the contenders in their top 15.
WBO interim featherweight champion Carl Frampton is someone on the horizon that Valdez will need to deal with at some point in 2019. That’s not going to be an easy fight for Valdez. He might still win, but it will be a grueling affair for him like his match against Quigg. If Valdez beats Frampton, then he only has to worry about Mark Magsayo in terms of a tough opponent. Although the boxing public would like to see Valdez fight the likes of Russell Jr. and Santa Cruz, those fights have very little chance of ever happening due to those guys not being with Top Rank. To make Valdez a star, Top Rank needs to reach out to Al Haymon to match him against Gary Russell Jr. and Santa Cruz. However, those guys would likely beat Valdez if those fights happened right now.