Canelo's big win over Miguel Cotto a shot in the arm for Golden Boy, boxing
LAS VEGAS - Nobody could have been happier with Canelo Alvarez's dominant victory over Miguel Cotto Saturday night than Oscar De La Hoya.
The founder, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, a Hall of Famer and former champion himself, and Canelo's boss, needed this victory from his meal ticket. Badly. Maybe desperately.
And Canelo delivered in a big way. In front of a partisan, sold-out crowd of 11,274 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, the red-headed Mexican superstar proved that his vicious knockout of James Kirkland in May was no fluke.
This time he outdueled future Hall of Famer and lineal middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in every way over 12 grueling rounds Saturday to win a unanimous decision that was closer than the judges' scores indicated.
MORE: Canelo tops Cotto, is Golovkin next?
De La Hoya could finally relax and breathe easily after a tense lead-up this week to the fight, which culminated in Cotto being stripped of the WBC middleweight title for not paying the sanctioning fee. He knows what this means for business, especially coming off consecutive knockout losses for two of his biggest names, Lucas Matthysse and David Lemieux.
"Of course it's big. It's huge. It's huge," De La Hoya said. "But it's much bigger than just for Golden Boy Promotions. This is huge for boxing. And it represents a new era in the sport.
"And get used to this right here. Exciting fights, and fights fans want to see. That's what we're going to deliver."
It's hard to argue that it's as big for the sport in the post-Mayweather-Pacquiao hangover as it is for GBP because it was a pay-per-view fight that delivered the goods for those who laid down their money to watch. But it clearly was GBP that had the most to gain.
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"Yes, it was huge for Golden Boy Promotions," De La Hoya added. "I was crossing my fingers every single second of every single minute of every round, believe me. But you win some, you lose some. That's what happens when you fight the best.
"I'm sometimes confused when a lot of people tell me, 'well, why did you put him against that tough guy?' Don't the fans want to see good, competitive fights? We're going to continue doing what we're doing, and that's pleasing the fans."
De La Hoya announced that Canelo would fight again in May, around Cinco de Mayo, and September, around Mexican Independence Day. Once again, the company that lost many of its top stars in a power struggle with Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions, was looking ahead to a future that is brighter today than it was yesterday.
Canelo is now a champion in his second weight class, even though he won his middleweight title at a catch weight of 155 pounds, a single pound more than his junior middleweight title.
Though Canelo never shows much emotion, it was easy to see there was a tremendous weight off his broad shoulders. He knows what he means for the company.
"Yes there was a lot of pressure in the beginning, but it's a great experience for me," he told Paste BN Sports. "I feel like I delivered and I feel proud to represent a company like Golden Boy."
De La Hoya said this fight would take Canelo to a whole new level. And awaiting on that new level is the mandatory challenger, Gennady "Triple G" Golovkin, the Kazakhstani knockout machine who has 21 KOs in a row and is the most avoided man in boxing.
"These are the types of fights you must have to give you the kind of experience to continue facing the very best," De La Hoya said.
Even Freddie Roach, the trainer for the vanquished Cotto, who chose not to address the media in the post-fight press conference, likes a potential Canelo-Triple G matchup.
"The more I think about Canelo and Triple G, that's a great fight," Roach said. "Two tough guys, two strong guys, both guys can punch very well. I'd like to see that fight."
Canelo was confident and giddy enough to tell the media he was ready for Triple G, any time, anywhere.
If it happens on Cinco De Mayo, it would be a victory for boxing and Mexico, in that order. It's more likely to take place in September.
Either way, Golden Boy comes out a winner.