Canelo pays Angulo $100,000 To Move Weight Limit from 154lbs to 155lbs

06 Canelo and Angulo IMG_1624(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Rocky Esposito: With a fight card that is having many weird last minute turns and twists, ESPN 2 just reported that former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) paid Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) $100,000 to push up the weight limit up from 154lb to 155lbs for their fight tomorrow night on Showtime pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

To be honest, I thought both fighters looked a little drained at the weigh in earlier today. (I am being kind). But, I am shocked at Canelo. Not to be too hard on him, but this is very important fight for him. If he were to suffer two losses, back to back, I assure you that he would not be head-lining another PPV main event this year.

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Canelo and Angulo make weight

03 Canelo and Angulo IMG_1620(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Dan Ambrose: With the weight being increased at the last minute, both Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo were able to make the 155 lb weigh-in limit on Friday for their fight tomorrow night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

An emaciated Canelo came in right at the weigh-in limit at 155 lbs, and looked like he couldn’t take anymore weight off without leaving himself too weak to fight on Saturday. Angulo looked a lot better at 154.5 lbs, and appeared like he would have taken more weight off without it draining him.

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Predictions: 2014 Could Be The Year Of The Upset

canelo9(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Chester Rivers: We are barely 2 months into 2014 and the boxing scene is already heating up. With 4 high profile fights already set for the first half of the year 2014 could be the year of the upset.

The first upset will come on March 8 when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez takes on Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo. I believe this fight will tell the tale of Alvarez. This is the biggest puncher Canelo has ever faced. After the first clean body shot the corner of Canelo will go into panic mode much like the corner of Adrien Broner. Many have forgotten that Angulo was touted as the next great Mexican superstar before his legal battles with U.S. Immigration. For some strange reason I get the feeling this is the wrong fight for a young Canelo coming off his first loss.

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Hunter sees Canelo-Angulo fight being a savage bout that will change them

canelo135(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Dan Ambrose: This Saturday night’s fight between former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) and Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) could see both or one of the fighters ending up depleted from the beating they’re going to take in this fight, says Angulo’s trainer Virgil Hunter. He thinks this is going to be a really brutal affair as long as the referee doesn’t jump in and halt the fight before it finishes playing out.

It could end up being a really grueling fight, but for that to happen, Angulo is going to need to be ready to cut off the ring on Canelo and force him to fight, because he’s likely going to be on his bike for much of it. He’s not going to come after Angulo the way he’s done with the welterweights that Golden Boy Promotions has matched him up against. Angulo is a real junior middleweight with power, and that’s going to change how Canelo fights because he’ll be getting hit back with hard shots for the first time in his career.

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My Two Cents: Alvarez vs. Angulo

canelo5(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Jay McIntyre: Showtime’s next PPV card on Saturday March 8th will be headlined by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) and Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Both men are coming off of tough losses, but both are primed to deliver in what expects to be an entertaining scrap. While the odds according to some bookmakers have Alvarez as a -800 favourite and Angulo as a +500 underdog, I find this disparity quite suspect and would like to analyze what both men bring to the ring in this latest installment of “My Two Cents”.

Saul Alvarez

Praise: power in both hands, sticks to game plan, clever use of punching combinations
Concern: has not shown much ability fighting while going backwards, doesn’t feint enough, takes time off during rounds

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Canelo: Me an Angulo are going to give you a war

LAS VEGAS (March 6, 2014) – The fighters and their camps stayed classy and soft-spoken yet confident during Thursday’s final press conference for “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” taking place this Saturday, March 8, live on SHOWTIME PPV® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from MGM Grand Garden Arena.

In Saturday’s 12-round super welterweight main event, popular Mexican boxing superstar and former world champion Canelo Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) faces game and aggressive, upset-minded countryman Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs).

Exciting, unbeaten two-division world champion and current WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend his 122-pound belt against former three-time world champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (48-7-2, 22 KOs) in the co-main event.

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Canelo will in a boring unanimous vs. Angulo

canelo400By Bob Smith: I have gone back and forth as to whether or not Alfredo Angulo has the chance to pull off the upset in this fight. Surely, it is true that whatever skill Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has he is still overrated; surely, it is also case that he has been carefully sheltered by Golden Boy to ensure an impressive record, yet it is one that is devoid of a single junior middleweight with solid punching power; and of course it is annoying to hear the so-called experts heap praise on him as if he were one of the best boxers in the world or the future of boxing.

While all of this may be true, it does not mean that Angulo has a sufficiently strong chance to upset Canelo. It is interesting that the odds for Angulo to pull this off have changed – from +650 to +450, in only one day, so clearly some individuals are willing to wager that he will expose Canelo.

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Canelo: I think I’m stronger than Angulo

canelo632By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) has been hearing nonstop for the past couple of weeks how the bigger Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) is stronger than him and the harder puncher, but Canelo isn’t ready to agree to that. Canelo believes that it’s he and not Angulo that is the harder puncher of the two, and he intends on proving that on Saturday night when they meet each other at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Everyone says Angulo is the stronger guy, but I think I’m the strongest. Angulo presents a difficult challenge because he’s a fighter who can punch and take a great punch. I know I have to prepare and establish my game plan early. But you know how it can be with game plans. Sometimes, once a fight starts, you have to do what you have to do to win and that’s what I am going to do on Saturday.”

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The Break Down – Canelo vs. Angulo

By Rocky Esposito: Before every major fight, I have a routine where I’ll re-watch each of the fighters last few bouts the weeks leading up to Fight Night. (Thank God for DVR). I also give Showtime a ton of credit. In a world were each major cable movie network has easily over 10 channels to choose from, Showtime does a great job by re-airing all of their fights (present ones and past classics) on basically a nightly basis via Showtime Extreme. And with All Access, we Boxing Fans are truly spoiled as we get a real chance to get inside each fighter’s Training Camp.

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Stop kidding yourself; Canelo is going to win

001_Canelo_with_fans(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Hector Gonzalez: Many fans are using the Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) vs. Erislandy Lara fight as an indicator of what’s going to happen this weekend between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) vs. Angulo. These fans are saying that Angulo looked good against Lara, almost stopped him and therefore Canelo is in big trouble. In my opinion these fans either just want to see Canelo lose and using selective reasoning to justify their claim, or they might not be educated enough about Angulo’s abilities. I’ll say it now, Canelo is going to beat Angulo, possibly even KO him.

It’s important for readers to erase what happened between Angulo vs Lara for a second and think about what happened between Angulo vs Jorge Silva, the 19 year old kid that was giving Angulo a run for his money just 6 months before Angulo faced off against Lara.

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