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| Credit: Golden Boy Promotions |
Press
Release: By DAZN – LOS ANGELES (Sept. 13, 2019)
– 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. The event will take place Saturday, Nov. 2 at MGM Grand in Las
Vegas and will be streamed exclusively live on DAZN in all of its
nine markets, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Italy,
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.
Tickets for Canelo vs. Kovalev are
priced at $1,754, $1,254, $854, $654, $404 and $204, not including applicable
service charges and taxes. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call
888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase
at www.axs.com.
“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. There’s no better home for this than on the DAZN platform or live at
the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.”
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.”
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| Credit: Main Events |
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 2nd on 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.”
Canelo vs. Kovalev is
a 12-round fight for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title presented by Golden
Boy, Main Events and Krusher Promotions. The event is sponsored
by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy “Never
Stop. Never Settle” and Brand-New Grapefruit Crush, Knockout
Flavor. The event will take place Saturday, Nov. 2 at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN.
and DAZN.com. Follow on
Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @Main_Events, @KrusherKovalev and @DAZN_USA.
Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing,
www.facebook.com/SaulCaneloAlvarez, https://www.facebook.com/thekrusher/, https://www.facebook.com/MainEventsBoxing and https://www.facebook.com/DAZNUSA/. Follow
on Instagram @GoldenBoy, @Canelo, @Main_Events,
@SergeyKrusherKovalev, and @DAZN_USA. Follow the conversation
using #CaneloKovalev.
Material
Courtesy of DAZN/Photo Of Canelo Alvarez Credit: Golden Boy Promotions/ Photo
of Sergey Kovalev Credit: Main Events Used with permission.
For
more information about DAZN including schedules, compatible streaming
devices/platforms/Smart TVs, availability around the world, and to subscribe
please visit: www.DAZN.com
The
Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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