Upcoming Mayweather-Alvarez Fight Breaks Live Gate record

According to ESPN.com‘s Dan Rafael, the September 14 mega fight between pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather versus Canelo Alvarez broke the record for the all time live gate record for a boxing event, with tickets selling like hotcakes less than 24 hours after they went on sale to the public.

According to sports betting site, Bodog, the all time live gate receipt recorded for a boxing event was $18,419,200, which was registered during the Floyd Mayweather-Oscar de la Hoya mega fight in 2007. Mayweather outpointed de la Hoya to add a junior middleweight title to his already then-impressive boxing resume. Rafael reported that Golden Boy Promotions head honcho Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com that the fight was set to generate a minimum of $18,647,000 in ticket sales alone and that “it could go up to a little shy of $19 million depending on the number of comps that are given out. It’s going to be the record”.

The MGM is calculating and it has to do the ticket settlement, but it will definitely be the record.” Bodog sports betting fans are eagerly awaiting to see if the fight manages to live up to the hype of a match up between two undefeated fighters seeking to unify the belts in the junior middleweight division and if the bout also manages to eclipse the pay-per-view record of 2.5 million hits/buys which the 2007 de la Hoya-Mayweather also currently holds”.

This is a very good news for the sport of boxing indeed. Not since that 2007 bout has boxing seen an event of this magnitude.  Online sports gambling aficionados and the legion of boxing fans are ecstatic about the possibilities this fight could do for the sport. Next to the dream Pacquiao-Mayweather super fight (which will probably never materialize), this is the best fight for fans of the sport available out there.

On one corner you have pound-for-pound king of the boxing world and America’s no. 1 fighter, undefeated Floyd Mayweather going up against Mexico’s best fighter and most popular champion, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who is also undefeated, an up and coming champion who is young and hungry for a shot at joining the boxing elite and achieve boxing greatness. Both bring with them their huge fan bases coming into the fight. Both also have contrasting styles, you have the youth and power of Canelo ranged against the technical boxing skills and ring experience of Floyd Jr. One of the online gambling sites, Bodog88.com, has relevant sports odds as to who will come out as the winner in this fight. I am sure wagers for the upcoming fight will be flying fast and furious, as the date steadily approaches and everyone anxious to find out which of their favorites will emerge triumphant after the final bell has rung. Mayweather and Alvarez are currently busy promoting their fight in an 11 city tour taking them across the country and generating hype and publicity among fight fans for their upcoming brawl scheduled on September 14.

Edison Reynoso, Canelo’s manager, has confirmed that Canelo will be training hard for the fight. He has said that he will present Canelo with a list of 6 fighters who have similar fighting styles to the 36 year-old Mayweather to prepare him to face the real thing when he climbs up the ring on fight night.

Canelo and his team has said that they will be holding training camp in Big Bear, California and live with ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosely’s at his mansion. Canelo has also gone on record that he will be asking a few inputs from both Mosely and his promoter de la Hoya on their fights with Mayweather. The high altitude is said to be perfect to improve a fighter’s cardiovascular health and add to his stamina, allowing him to fight harder without tiring out too quickly. While this is certainly debatable (Mosley trains and lives in Big Bear yet he gassed out against Pacquiao), the main benefit that training in the mountains of Big Bear will give Canelo will be that it will free him from a lot of distractions compared to as say, when you train in the city. He’ll be a lot more focused in training and will be able to work on his conditioning. He obviously won’t be bothered by many distractions city life training would bring in. Canelo acknowledges that this fight, the biggest of his young career, would be totally different from all of his previous bouts.

“Everything is different [from my last fight], starting with the opponent. I’ve always said that the better my opponent is, the better I am, because that would force me to go even harder in my preparation. Trout is unlike Mayweather. He was left-handed and much bigger. We need to work on a very different strategy”.

Mayweather, meanwhile, rather seems unperturbed about the challenge posed by the young Mexican champion to unseat him atop his throne in boxing. The brash, showy Floyd Jr. did not mince his words when he said that he would make Canelo regret going up against him. This is arguably the toughest fight for Canelo, who is only 22 years of age against the 36 year old pound for pound king. The online gambling world is abuzz as to whether this young kid from Mexico has the boxing moxie and the skill set to finally unseat Mayweather. Floyd seems to let off a bit of steam when he said, “They always build someone up to beat Floyd Mayweather. Every year, before every fight, they build someone up and then I knock them back down. They build these fighters up to beat me and then make excuses after I dominate…he’s too small, he’s past him prime, and with Canelo they’ll say he wasn’t ready for a Floyd Mayweather. Canelo is a good fighter, he’s a world champion, but there are certain levels in boxing and he’s never been at this level before. Fighters believe they can win [when they are looking at it from the outside] but when they get in the ring with me [they see] it’s different”.

Boxing is still alive and well and this super fight between two great champions with impressive fight credentials only proves that fact. Compared to basketball, as in the case with the NBA, an entire season (including the playoffs) runs for 9 whole months whereas in boxing, it would be considered truly lucky if boxing had a fight of this magnitude happen in a decade. Both fighters undoubtedly bring a lot to the table, both stand to gain a lot if he wins. The same logic follows if one loses, great risk equals great rewards. A lot is at stake here not only in terms of the monetary aspect but there is also the factor of the fighter’s prestige and legacy to think about. Two of the very best in boxing will meet inside the boxing ring on September 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and only 1 will walk away with the junior lightweight belts as the winner. Check the Bodog sports book to see the odds for your favorite fighter, whether you are rooting for Alvarez or Mayweather, one thing is sure: This is going to be one of the best fights of the year! Watch out for fireworks and enjoy the show on September 14 people. Now we only have to wait and see if this mega fight will break the pay-per-view record as well.