NEW YORK (March 14, 2014) – Last Saturday’s SHOWTIME PPV® presentation of “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” generated well over 350,000 buys, Showtime Networks Inc. and event promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, announced today.

The four-fight telecast, headlined by Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez’ impressive 10th-round TKO over fellow countryman, Alfredo Angulo, was a “knockout success,” according to Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®.

“We are thrilled with the numbers from Saturday’s event,” said Espinoza. “March 8 was the first time Canelo Alvarez headlined his own pay per view, and he decisively proved that he was ready to carry a pay per view card. These results are especially impressive in comparison to the pay per view performances of other boxing events over the past few months. Add in the near sellout crowd and there is no doubt this event was a huge success for Canelo, Golden Boy Promotions, MGM Grand, SHOWTIME and boxing as a whole.”

“The fans have spoken,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Canelo is without a doubt the brightest young star in the sport today. He’s been a huge star in Mexico for quite some time. Now there is no denying that he is a star in the United States as well. We’re already in discussions with Canelo to find the next opportunity to bring another exciting event to boxing fans worldwide.”

The Canelo vs. Angulo slugfest will premiere on SHOWTIME this Saturday, March 15, and open the live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. In the main event, undefeated Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia takes on Mauricio Herrera.

Following the telecast, ALL ACCESS: CANELO VS. ANGULO EPILOGUE will premiere on SHOWTIME. EPILOGUE, the third and final installment of the ALL ACCESS series devoted to “TOE TO TOE,” will feature unprecedented access from Fight Week in Las Vegas, highlights of the drama inside of the ring and a rare look inside of the minds of the fighters and their camps in the aftermath of the fight.

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ABOUT “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” was a scheduled 12-round super welterweight fight that took place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. On the PPV televised undercard, two-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz successfully defended his WBC Super Bantamweight World title against former three-time world champion Cristian Mijares, Jorge Linares outpointed Nihito Arakawa in a 10-round lightweight bout, and Sergio Thompson scored an upset 10-round decision over Ricardo Alvarez. The four-fight telecast was produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event could be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” was broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

By Bart Barry

Saturday in Las Vegas the redhead anointed by one very powerful Mexican television network as the man most likely to continue his country’s outstanding pugilistic tradition, mainly on the virtue of his unique hair color and pigmentation, victimized, via 10th round technical stoppage, a hopeless fellow Mexican in a dog collar. In preventing the man in the dog collar from fighting any further, the match’s outstanding referee did what a trainer and team of evaluating Nevada neurologists should have done long before. For this act of mercy, the outstanding referee was treated to bald derision from morons.

The redhead, of course, was Saul “Canelo” Alvarez – a prizefighter who, had he appeared on Shobox with a last name like O’Brien, Friday, instead of a Mexican-themed pay-per-view broadcast on Saturday, would not have caused more than an obligatory second glance. The man in the collar was Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo. The outstanding referee was Tony Weeks. And the morons were a myriad, though only one had a microphone.

The horse sense of the generally Mexican, generally intoxicated crowd congregated in the MGM Grand Garden Arena being what it was, the boos were misplaced, or perhaps misinterpreted, but they were an accurate reflection of what becomes increasingly plain about Cinnamon Alvarez: He is not that good. Canelo is an A-list guy in a B-list era, as was made plain by his inability to win convincingly a minute against Floyd Mayweather on Mexican Independence Day weekend, or fell a pre-ruined man like Angulo despite hundreds of clean shots to do so.

Saturday’s match was not competitive. Did Tony Weeks stop it too early? Only for sadists and those who pander them. For those interested in fair competition, Weeks might have stopped “Toe to Toe” after the second minute of its first round when, already, Angulo’s head was getting sent shoulderwards by Canelo’s hooks, and coming off his shoulder in a motion somewhat less elastic than a verb like “snap” should connote.

In the fight’s opening 30 seconds, Alvarez threw a left-hook lead Angulo did not know was coming and hadn’t an idea how to counter with any but the absorption method he and trainer Virgil Hunter apparently perfected in training camp, a method, acceptably nicknamed rope-till-a-dope, wherein a fighter allows himself to be punched hard as possible by an opponent, in the lunatic hopes striking a man repeatedly on the chin with one’s fist will be more taxing for the attacker than his victim. And the lighter the victim punches in the opening minutes, the better this method works, it appears, as Angulo moved his arms perfunctorily enough in round 1 to be salsa dancing, as if his hands were in motion to accessorize whatever his feet and hips did.

Not sure what folks said while y’all watched the fight, but round me were a trainer, a former amateur fighter, and a professional basketball player, and before 90 seconds were done in the main event, there was nothing but disbelief, expressed in phrases hopping about like “Are you kidding?” and “Really?” and “My God!” OK, the last was mine, and it came when I saw how uninhibited Alvarez was in his punching, how oblivious he was of Angulo’s volition, much less his power, as Alvarez stretched his arms wide as an eagle taking flight while throwing the hook and stepped into his cross like a pitcher delivering a full windup to the plate.

Then the second round came and Alvarez landed a right-uppercut lead, a punch that began near his right hipbone, traveled across his chest, traveled across Angulo’s chest, and struck “El Perro” flush on the inch of flesh just beneath his chin, all, before Angulo detected the punch and so much as blinked his consent. Should Tony Weeks have stopped the fight in the 10th? We’re not being serious. Boxing ought to incorporate a mercy rule like little league baseball: The moment one man is so overmatched his opponent has the chutzpah to throw, let alone land, a right-uppercut lead, the judges quietly rise from their stools and walk to the parking lot.

That a group of fans, deep in their cups, expressed displeasure with Weeks’ intervention is exactly no indictment of Weeks, and yet, there was Showtime’s postfight performer trying to get to the bottom of the malcontents’ discontent, and bless Weeks for giving Jim Gray the Major League Baseball treatment, whether it was for Pete’s sake or his own, leaving his new boss at NSAC to feign seriousness concerning Angulo’s incoherent protest afterwards. That’s not an English-as-second-language issue, either; Angulo speaks Spanish in a halting, laboring, frustrated way that argues convincingly his Saturday fight with Canelo should have been stopped in the fifth round of Angulo’s 2011 match with James Kirkland – a loss Angulo attributed to then-trainer Nacho Beristain’s distraction with training Juan Manuel Marquez.

The truth of what actually caused Angulo’s extended stay in a California immigration detention facility shortly after that Kirkland fight likely will never be known, though in our 20-minute conversation 15 months ago, he struck me as a person to whom life happens much more that what a violent criminal the detention facility was designed for. He has a nervous, high-pitched giggle, surprisingly effeminate, that disarms any inquisitor, and he’s quite good at sweet openers that lead quickly to acidic criticisms, as he did to Tony Weeks after Saturday’s match. Angulo might be punchy, but he’s far from stupid. There’s no way he or Virgil Hunter actually thinks he was on the precipice of anything but a terrible ending when Weeks’ mercy did what Hunter should have done rounds before, stopping the sort of winding-down vacuousness no fan pays to see, however much he enjoys the luxury of booing another’s consciousness afterward.

Mexico’s anointed star won by technical stoppage, Saturday, and nary a centile of Americans cared at all. Had Mexico’s anointed star put Angulo on a stretcher, in a coma, or in the ground, live from Las Vegas, today would feel considerably different for anyone reading this. Thank Tony Weeks for sparing us another such examination of conscience.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez got the victory. Got the boos, too

Alvarez won the fight, but failed to win back many of his disaffected fans with a 10th-round technical knockout of Alfredo Angulo Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Canelo’s first fight since a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September was supposed to restore his popularity among Mexican fans, many of whom weren’t sure what to think of him after he had looked so ordinary in such a one-sided defeat.

If an arena full of boos was any indication, some of their ambivalence turned into anger Saturday night.

Fans were as frustrated as Angulo at referee Tony Weeks’ stoppage at 47 seconds of the 10th. Both of Angulo’s eyes were swollen and surrounded by darkening bruises when Weeks stepped in and said no more. Angulo complained loudly. He screamed that he should have been allowed to fight on.

“The ref was wrong,’’ Angulo said.

No, he wasn’t, Canelo said.

“The referee is the marshall,’’ Canelo (43-1-1, 31 KOs). “He stopped the fight, because he knew what was going on. I was still doing my job, working my jab. Sure, I was a little tired. But I was ready to fight on. I could have gone 10 more rounds if I had to.’’

Canelo led on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Judge Craig Metcalfe had it 89-82. So did Dave Moretti. On Jerry Roth’s card, it was 88-83.

Going into the fight, there was lot of talk about whether Angulo’s scarred face could withstand sustained punishment. A grotesque welt above one eye result in him losing a 10th-round TKO to Erislandy Lara, whom he knocked down twice.

Sure enough, signs that injury would again stop Angulo were there early against Canelo. In the second round, swelling began to appear above Angulo’s right eye, which Canelo quickly targeted with a jab that landed repeatedly and with a baseball bat’s deadly impact.

Late in the third and again in the fourth, the stubborn Angulo’s persistence began to pay off with occasional bursts that seemed to stun Canelo. For a fleeting moment late in the fourth, there was a look of doubt in Canelo’s eyes. Maybe, he was suffering from the fatigue that has been one of his habitual weaknesses. Or, maybe, he was just surprised to see the sight of Angulo (22-4, 18 KOs) persistently moving forward and straight at him.

Canelo backpedaled in the fifth and again in the sixth. Angulo always followed. No matter what Canelo threw at him, or how much he busted up the right eye and then the left, there was Angulo moving forward and willing to endure more punishment. In the eighth, the crowd went wild when the junior-middleweights, fighting at an official weight of 155 pounds, stood and traded. By the ninth, it was evident Angulo would be there until the end. No matter what Canelo threw at him, there he was, like the incoming tide.

Finally, Weeks did what Canelo couldn’t.

He stopped it, sparing Angulo from further punishment and maybe much more. In time, Angulo might be able to see that and be thankful that he can see at all.

Rest of Pay-Per-View Card

Los Angeles super-bantamweight Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 16 KOs) was methodical and efficient, yet short of sensational, defending his acronym-sanctioned version of the title with a unanimous decision over Mexican Cristian Mijares (48-8-2, 22 KOs), who absorbed a variety of body shots and left Santa Cruz with a bloodied right eye from a fourth-round head butt.

Jorge Linares (36-3, 23 KOs), a Venezuelan living and training in Japan, kept himself in the mix for a shot at a lightweight title with superior speed and punishing blows for a unanimous decision over Nihito Arakawa (24-4-1, 16 KOs), a 135-pound Japanese fighter who endured and had a few moments, yet never a real chance.

The Alvarez family got off to a rough start on the card’s first pay-per-view bout. Canelo’s brother, lightweight Ricardo Alvarez (23-3-3, 13 KOs), suffered two knockdowns in losing a unanimous decision to fellow Mexican Sergio Thompson (29-3, 26 KOs), who took the fight on short notice. A Thompson left in the second sent Alvarez falling into the ropes. If not for the ropes, Alvarez would have fallen into a ringside seat. That was the first knockdown and a sign of things to come. A clean right in the eight floored Alvarez for the second time.

Pre-TV

Junior-lightweight Jerry Belmontes (19-3, 5 KOs) scored a one-sided decision over Australian Will Tomlinson (21-1-1, 12 KOs), who suffered a bloody gash over his right eye in seventh-round head butt; Mexico City junior-lightweight Francisco Vargas (19-0-1, 13 KOs) survived a spirited challenge for a unanimous, 10-round decision over Puerto Rican Abner Cotto (17-2, 8 KOs); former Olympian Joseph Diaz (9-0, 7 KOs) of South El Monte, Calif., cautiously, for four rounds before scoring a fifth-round super-bantamweight TKO of Puerto Rican Jovany Fuentes (5-4, 4 KOs); junior-welterweight Keandre Gibson (9-0-1, 4 KOs) landed a succession of punches that seemed to render Mexican Antonio Wong (11-8—1, 6 KOs) unconscious before he hit the canvas in a fourth-round stoppage; Australian light-heavy Steve Lovett (7-0, 6 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a second-round stoppage of Mexican Francisco Molina (2-3, 2 KOs).

Follow all the action LIVE as it happens when former Super Welterweight champions Canelo Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo fight in a 12 round bout. The action begins at 9 pm eastern with a 3 fight undercard which we be highlighted by a a 122 pound world title fight between Leo Santa Cruz and Cristian Mijares. Former world champion Jorge Linares squares off with Nihito Arakawa in a Lightweight bout and the card kicks off with a Lightweight fight between Ricardo Alvarez and Sergio Thompson

NO NEED TO REFRESH…IT WILL REFRESH AUTOMATICALLY

12 Rounds–Super Welterweights–Canelo Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) vs Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s)

Round 1 Canelo coming out blistering..Left to the body..right…jab..10-9 Canelo

Round 2 Big right/left uppercut…Nice left hook to the body…right uppercut…double jab..body//uppercut..right uppercut..20-18 Canelo

Round 3 canelo lands a left hook…right to the bod..left to the head..huge uppercut..right///left hook..Angulo lands a combination..Left hook from Canelo..4 punch combination..Combination from Angulo..big rights and left from Canelo..30-27 Canelo

Round 4 1-2 from Canelo..combination (left hook to the head)…left..counter left hook..2 punch combination..right…40-36 Canelo

Round 5 Canelo lands combination that snaps Canelo head back..Body shot from Angulo..50-45 Canelo

Round 6 Canelo lands a left hook…uppercut..right..double left..Angulo lands an upper..Jab from Canelo..Left hook…60-54 Canelo

Round 7 Double left hook from Canelo..combination..This is getting ugly…Combination from Angulo..Short uppercut/body from Canelo..Left from Canelo..Combo from Angulo..70-63 Canelo

Round 8Canelo lands a jab..good back and forth on the ropes…3 punch combo from Canelo..
left hook…Great action both ways..Canelo could be tired...80-72 Canelo

Round 9 Jab…right uppercut from Canelo..Hard right from Angulo..3 huge uppercuts to Angulo’s jaw…he is showing an incredible chin..90-81

Round 10 Lead left from Canelo..lead left and TONY WEEKS STOPS THE FIGHT

12 Rounds–WBC Super Bantamweight title–Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KO’s) vs Cristian Mijares (49-7-2, 24 KO’s)

Round 1 Right from Santa Cruz..10-9 Santa Cruz

Round 2 Mijares lands a jab…Santa Cruz lands a right and left..20-18 Santa Cruz

Round 3 Santa Cruz lands a a left…combination…right from Mijares…30-27 Santa Cruz

Round 4 Headbutt…Cut over right of Santa Cruz…Body shots by Santa Cruz…Body/head..right uppercut…over hand right…right uppercut…flurry…40-36 Santa Cruz

Round 5 Mijares running, making Santa Cruz miss…right from Santa Cruz..

Round 6 Hard right from Santa Cruz buckles Santa Cruz…left uppercut from Mijares..60-55 Santa Cruz

Round 7 Santa Cruz continuing to pressure..70-64

Round 8Santa Cruz lands a jab…left and right…Jab…Body..Right uppercut and another 80-73 Santa Cruz

Round 9 Santa Cruz contined to dominate…lands a 4 punch combination..blood dripping down the right side of his face...90-82 Santa Cruz

Round 10 Right over the top from Santa Cruz…sweeping right…100-91 Santa Cruz

Round 11 More of the same with Mijares resigned to surviving…110-100 Santa Cruz

Round 12 Santa Cruz lands a right…ride to head..left uppercut on inside..Good action at the bell…120-109 Santa Cruz

119-109, 120-108 twice for Santa Cruz

10 Rounds Lightweights–Jorge Linares (35-3, 23 KO’s) vs Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16 KO’s)

Round 1 Both land body shots..right from Linares..10-9 Linares

Round 2 Right from Linares..20-18 Linares

Round 3 Arakawa lands a hard combination..Linares lands a left uppercut

Round 4 right and left from body from Arakawa..3 punch combination..3 more punches…hard combinations..40-36 Linares

Round 5 left to body from Arakawa…Combination from Linares..Combination from Arakawa...49-46 Linares

Round 6 Left hook to body from Linares…Right hook from Arakawa..right to body from Arakawa..right from Linares..Short left from Arakawa…right from Linares..Cut around right of Arakawa…Right from Linares…Combination from Arakawa..straight from Linares..Arakawa lands a looping left,,,58-56 Linares

Round 7 Left from Linares..body combination..right hand..Arakawa lands a body shot..hard combo from Linares..left uppercut..left uppercut..Arakawa.. lands a lead left…right from Linares…68-65 Linares

Round 8 Linares lands a left hook..left uppercut…straight right..body and then right to the head..78-74 Linares

Round 9 Linares cut from a headbutt..exchanging body..combination from Linares..Arakawa right eye bleeding..hard combination from Linares..88-83 Linares

Round 10 Both guys coming out swinging..Linares gets in a right…hard combination..98-92 Linares

98-92, 100-90 twice FOR JORGE LINARES

10 rounds Lightweights–Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3, 14 KO’s) vs Sergio Thompson (28-3, 26 KO’s)

Round 1: Thompson lands a right that hurts Alvarez…Hard combination..Left to the body/right to the head…Hard right…10- Thompson

Round 2 ALvarez lands a body…Thompson land 2 body shots..4 punch combination..combination (Body/Head)…Alvare lands 3 uppercuts…Thompson lands a right…20-18 Thompson

Round 3 Staright right, ALvarez goes INTO THE ROPES FOR A KNOCKDOWN..30-26 Thompson

Round 4 Left to head and jab from Thompson..2 jabs from Alvarez…jab..Jab from Thompson and left hook to the body..good right to the jaw..40-35 Thompson

Round 5 Double jab from Thompson…Jab from Alvarez..left to body..Swelling from left eye of Alvarez..left from Thompson..double jab from Alvarez..49-45 Thompson

Round 6 Alvarez lands 2 uppercuts…Hard right wobbles Alvarez..straight right..uppercut..left hook and a right,..jab…59-54 Thompson

Round 7Thompson lands a jab…Alvarez lands a handful of jabs..uppercut and right..big combination…Counter right from Thompson off the ropes..uppercuts from Alvarez..double jab…jab.right from Thompson…counter combination..right to body..4 jab from Alvarez…68-64 Thompson

Round 8 HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES ALVAREZ…Left hook by Alvarez…2 jabs from Thompson..Alvarez lands a right…78-72 Thompson

Round 9 Thompson lands to the body and head…right..Alvarez lands a jab..88-81 Thompson

Round 10 Right from Thompson…Thompson gets hit in the break…Alvarez lands 2 lefts..uppercut..Thompson lands a stiff jab…Thompson lands a hard right to the nose…exchanging jabs…98-91 Thompson

95-93 twice, 97-91 for Sergio Thompson

LAS VEGAS (March 7, 2014) – As of Friday morning, Carlos Molina has officially become unavailable for his junior middleweight championship title defense against Jermall Charlo originally scheduled for tomorrow night. In light of these circumstances, the 10-round lightweight showdown between Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez and Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson has been elevated as the opening bout of the four-fight SHOWTIME PPV® presentation of “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The 32-year-old Alvarez (23-2-3, 13 KOs), a lightweight contender and brother of Canelo, will face the power punching, 30-year-old Thompson (28-3, 26 KOs) in what is expected to be a slugfest between two Mexican brawlers.

In Saturday’s main event, Mexican boxing superstar and former world champion Canelo Alvarez will face hard-hitting countryman Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo in the first blockbuster boxing event of 2014. Saturday’s live pay-per-view telecast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the PPV televised undercard two-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World title against former three-time world champion Cristian Mijares and Jorge Linares will square off in a 10-round lightweight bout against Nihito Arakawa. The four-fight telecast, which opens with a 10-round lightweight bout between Ricardo Alvarez and Sergio Thompson, will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200 and $100, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

LONDON (March 7) – Underdog Alfredo Angulo is looking to draw on his time spent locked away in a detention centre to help push him to victory over Canelo Alvarez this weekend.

The man known as ‘El Perro’ spent over seven months in ICE Detention Center in El Centro, California having voluntarily checked in back in January 2012 due to an expired Visa.

At the time the light-middleweight star was expecting to stay no more than three days until the issue was sorted but ended up spending a large chunk of 2012 away from his family and boxing.

This ordeal helped toughen Angulo and he will be looking to draw on this uncertain period in his life to overcome Canelo on the biggest stage, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday night, a place that not so long ago seemed a million miles away.

“There were a couple times when I was in the immigration detention centre that I wanted to quit,” said Angulo. “But my team of lawyers always motivated me, wouldn’t let me stay down for too long and kept telling me that justice would prevail and that I shouldn’t give up,” he said.

“I always dreamed of being a headliner on a major card, and here it is. I am so ready for Saturday.”

The man that stands in his way, Canelo, is a Mexican idol in his own right and when the pair clash live on BoxNation many expect a potential ‘Fight of the Year’ battle to be witnessed.

The 31-year-old Angulo is unfazed by the occasion and has promised to give fight fans the type of all-action affair they have grown to love and expect when he enters the ring.

“Style-wise, this is a great matchup for the fans and both of us. Fans are going to get a great fight. I’m ready to chase him or fight him like a true Mexican warrior. I plan to test him like he’s never been tested before,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone has ever hit Canelo as hard as I’m going to hit him. I’m totally relaxed and confident. Camp was amazing and I am in unbelievably great shape,” Angulo said.

The man that will be in Angulo’s corner for the fight is esteemed trainer Virgil Hunter who joined forces with the hard-hitting Mexican on his release in late 2012.

The pair quickly bonded and have created a father-son relationship, with Hunter predicting this weekend’s fight to be an extraordinary battle that will change the course of history for both men.

“This is going to be a remarkable night, I can sense that. I’ve had a couple of weeks to reflect on this fight. I know the motto has been ‘toe-to-toe’ but I just have this feeling that I don’t think both men are going to walk out that ring the same after Saturday night,” said Hunter.

“I just anticipate such a savage affair that it’s going to be taken out of my hands, out of coach Reynoso’s hands [Canelo’s trainer] and its pretty much going to be left up to both fighters,” he said.

The Hayward based trainer has also called on the men in charge to let both men fight it out, in an affair which will be a true test of heart and desire.

“I’m asking the officials and judges to just let them go because I can just sense this storm coming – just let them go. If Alfredo gets knocked down just let him get back up and go. If Canelo gets knocked down let him get back up and go,” he said.

“It’s going to be taken out of our hands. This is going to be a savage, savage affair. I’ve been anticipating this for the last couple of weeks and I can just feel it – it’s kind of bothering me.

“At the same time I hope that I can rise to the occasion and that my fighter can walk out of that ring intact with many future fights – and the same for Canelo and his team.

“But there’s just something about this fight, I really truly believe it’s going to exceed what we have probably ever seen before,” Hunter said.

Meanwhile, before the action kicks-off Stateside, BoxNation will also be showing rising star Paul Butler’s showdown with Argentine Oreste Nieva.

The duo clash for the vacant WBA Intercontinental bantamweight belt at the Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool, in a bill which also features Kevin Satchell against Isaac Quaye for the Commonwealth title and Ronnie Heffron taking on John Thain in a light-middleweight contest.

The British and Commonwealth super-flyweight champion, Butler, has his eyes on bigger prizes should he come through the challenge with Nieva, as he hopes to take on Stuart Hall in the near future for his IBF bantamweight world title.

“I would love that fight,” said Butler. “That’s what I’m working towards, getting my shot at the world title. I know that I have the style and ability to beat Hall. I’ve seen Hall at close quarters, I’ve sparred with him and the sessions have always been top class. I know if we meet it would be an instant classic – I’m sure about that,” he said.

“My aim is to get past Nieva on Saturday night and look impressive. It’s not an easy fight, and I’m sure like a lot of my fight’s it’s going to be really exciting. But when I come through that then we can start looking at taking on Hall or Martin Ward, depending on who wins their fight. I’m ready for whoever, because I know my time is coming,” said a confident Butler.

The action from Liverpool kicks off at 7pm this Saturday on BoxNation, with episode 2 of ‘All Access: Canelo vs. Angulo’ just before at 6.30pm.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo is live on BoxNation (Sky Ch.437/Virgin Ch.546) this Sunday from 2am. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-
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Canelo Alvarez 155 – Alfredo Angulo 154.5
Leo Santa Cruz 122 – Cristian Mijares 122
(WBC Super Bantamweight Title)
Jorge Linares 134.5 – Nihito Arakawa 134.5
Ricardo Alvarez 135 – Sergio Thompson 135

It’s another big live double header exclusively on BoxNation this Saturday night!

From 7pm we’re in Merseyside where local hero Paul Butler steps up to bantamweight as he eyes a summer showdown with IBF World Champion Stuart Hall. The Ellesmere Port hitman faces highly-rated Argentine Oreste Nieva with the Vacant WBA Intercontinental Bantamweight title on the line on a bill which also features Kevin Satchell defending his Commonwealth crown against Isaac Quaye and a tasty domestic duel between Ronnie Heffron and John Thain.

Then, from 2am, we’re headed to the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, where Saul “Canelo” Alvarez looks to bounce back from his first career loss to Floyd Mayweather against Mexican rival Alfredo Angulo. Three world title fights make up a super-stacked undercard, including WBC Super-Bantamweight champ Leo Santa Cruz defending against Cristian Mijares as the winner of Frampton v Cazares lies in wait, while Omar Figueroa risks the WBC World Lightweight title against Ricardo Alvarez and Carlos Molina puts his IBF World Light-Middleweight title on the line against Jermall Charlo.

By Norm Frauenheim

Canelo Alvarez hears the question more often than he saw Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s shoulder roll, roll and roll on a long, one-sided night nearly six months ago. Defeat is a lesson, says Alvarez, who really can’t say anything else about his first pro loss. If it’s not a lesson, it’s a problem. Simple as that.

Multiple-options are nice, but Alvarez doesn’t have that luxury Saturday night against Alfredo Angulo in his first bout since suffering his first loss in a September wipeout administered by Mayweather.

Win, and he leaves the ring with proof that the lesson was learned and his identity intact. Lose, and he leaves with damage to his career and agonizing self-doubt about whether he was ever the fighter who had been hyped as perhaps the brightest prospect in a new generation.

It’s not complicated. It’s just dangerous.

“This will be a savage, savage affair,” Angulo trainer Virgil Hunter said Thursday during the formal news conference at Las Vegas MGM Grand.

Hunter’s prediction probably helps boost the pay-per-view sales for the Showtime bout from the same Grand Garden Arena where Canelo lost a decision to Mayweather. Savagery, or even the promise of it, sells. It’s hard to to judge whether the always cool Canelo is buying into all the talk about a knock-down, blood-and-guts encounter between Mexican warriors. Angulo is known for his well-advertised power. He knocked down Erislandy Lara twice, Yet, he suffered a grotesque welt above one eye in losing a 10th-round TKO to Lara because of a couple of other things well-advertised:

Angulo gets hits often. His scarred face bloodies and bruises easily.

The 23-year-old Canelo (42-1, 30 KOs), seemingly wise beyond his years, must know that and even more. At the news conference, he talked about how styles make fights as if to say that, yeah, watch this one, because it will provide the violence so often promised. But Angulo’s style also seems to be perfect for Canelo’s skill-set. He couldn’t find Mayweather. But Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) figures to be there, stubbornly moving forward and providing a willing target for Canelo’s arsenal of well-executed combinations. There’s a hedge, however. There’s growing sentiment that Angulo might have a chance after all, because of lingering questions about Canelo’s endurance. He seems to tire in later rounds. The task for Angulo is to take him beyond the sixth. Perhaps, Angulo has learned how to do that in sparring with the Hunter-trained Andre Ward and Amir Khan.

“There seems to a shift going on,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said about a tide of second opinion that suddenly favors Angulo.

A patient, cautious Angulo in the early going could lead to a more tactical fight and not the one promised in the Toe-To-Toe advertising. Hunter, in a somewhat ominous tone, made it sound as if a wild, chaotic fight is the only possibility. He talked almost as if he feared for each fighter.

“I don’t think both men will walk out the same,” said Hunter, who during Thursday news conference also said: “It’s been taken out of my hands.”

Hunter sounded nervous. Perhaps, he knows that Angulo will have a hard time resisting the temptation to slug it out early, especially in the first pay-per-view fight of his career. The junior-middleweight also will be making his debut at the MGM Grand.

Canelo has been there. Has lost there.

Maybe, learned there too.

Angulo will be the first test of whether in fact he has.

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. In other PPV matches, former two-time world champion Jorge “Niño de Oro” Linares (35-3, 23 KOs) takes on offensive-minded Japanese contender Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight scrap and IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) is scheduled to defend his 154-pound crown against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs).

Molina is facing some legal obstacles, however, and as of late Thursday, his fight with Charlo was in jeopardy of being cancelled.

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions and the emcee at the final press conference streamed live at sports.sho.com, alluded to the uncertainty of Molina-Charlo and announced that, if necessary, it would be replaced with a 135-pound matchup between Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3, 13 KOs), an older brother of Canelo, and Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson (28-3, 26 KOs).

“There are some issues which Carlos Molina is facing related to some outstanding warrants,” Schaefer said. “His legal team and his promoter are currently working on trying to sort these issues out and have him ready, hopefully, for the weigh-in and ultimately for the fight. I know that Molina wants to fight and I know he has a team behind him which is going to do whatever it can to get him here in time.”

Tickets for the event promoted by Golden Boy Promotions are on sale and priced at $600, $400, $200 and $100, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Below is what the fighters, their camps and executives said at Thursday’s final press conference at The Hollywood Theatre inside the MGM Grand:

CANELO ALVAREZ:
“There isn’t much more to say – I’m ready to go. Boxing is about style and I think with his [Angulo’s] style and my style it will be a war. We are going to give you a war. I always say talk is cheap so we’ll see what happens on Saturday night.

“It is a big responsibility to headline on pay-per-view. It shows the end result of everything I’ve done in the gym.

“I’m going to give it my best. I’m going to get the victory.

“Angulo is a very dangerous opponent. He doesn’t mind getting hit as long as he can hit back. It’s a fight that can change in one punch on either side.

“I’m calm and tranquil because that’s part of the preparation for this fight.

“I know I’m strong, I know what I have to do. I will follow my game plan and come out with the win.

“Angulo keeps coming forward, breaks you down and keeps coming. It’ll be challenging to get a knockout against a guy like Angulo, but you can’t blame me for trying.”

JOSE “CHEPO” REYNOSO, Canelo’s Manager:
“At this point, there is not much to say except that all of us in Canelo’s camp are ready. Both fighters are ready to fight. Saturday, the world will see a great fight between two Mexican warriors.”

EDDIE REYNOSO, Canelo’s Trainer:
“We’ve had a great 10-week camp. It’s always tough to be away from our families, but this is our job. We are well aware that Angulo is a dangerous puncher who can change everything with one punch. That being said, we’re ready for him, whether he wants to stand or to box. Canelo also has a punch. On Saturday, Canelo is going to give his fans a great victory.”

ALFREDO ANGULO:
“I want to thank everybody – Golden Boy Promotions, SHOWTIME, MGM Grand, all those working on this event, my team – for this opportunity and for their faith in me. I’m ready.

“I’ve been working very hard for this fight, and I could not be in better condition.

“Between Canelo and me, this is going to be a great fight, a really, really great fight.”

VIRGIL HUNTER, Angulo’s Trainer:
“This is going to be a remarkable night. It’s going to be a savage affair. I sense a storm coming. There’s something about this fight that has me thinking, anticipating that it is going to exceed everything we’ve been expecting and be something we’ve never seen before.”

LEO SANTA CRUZ:
“This is my first time on pay-per-view and to be the co-main event is very exciting. Thanks to everyone who got me to this place.

“I just feel 100 percent ready. I know Mijares is a great fighter. I watched him fight when I was growing up and getting my career started so I know this is going to be the hardest fight of my career. But that’s why we trained really hard – to give a great fight to all the fans and to make the fight of the night.

“It’s going to be really hard [to be the fight of the night] because Canelo and Angulo are great fighters so we’re going to have to work really hard to beat them. But we’ll try our best and give our fans a great fight.”

CRISTIAN MIJARES:
“I don’t have much to say. The fight is almost upon us. Like Leo, I can guarantee that his is going to be a war on Saturday night. It’s almost time. I just want to make weight. I’m definitely ready to fight.”

JERMALL CHARLO:
“I’m 17-0, 23-years-old and fighting on the big stage at MGM. I definitely feel I belong with Canelo and all of the other young fighters. I’ve been on weight for a month.

“Obviously, I want the fight to happen. If it doesn’t, I will fall short of my goal. I know I’m ready, my team is ready, and the city of Houston is ready for me to bring home that world title. I’m going to continue to train and think like it is happening.

“I’m sure I will be very, very disappointed if it doesn’t [happen]. When I was first told that something was up with Molina, I thought they were playing with me, figuring here I am, on the eve of being on boxing’s biggest stage, there’s no way we don’t fight. But it was not a joke.

“If we don’t fight, I’m just going to work that much harder.”

JORGE LINARES:
“I’m very grateful for this opportunity. This is going to be an important fight and it’s going to be a very, very tough fight. Obviously, my opponent is a very tough fighter. It’s a big stage on pay-per-view so I’m ready for this. It’s going to be a tough challenge but that’s what it’s all about.”

NIHITO ARAKAWA:
“I have prepared myself very well for this fight. I thank Golden Boy Promotions for giving me this opportunity, just like they did last year. I may not have the most experienced record on this card, but I can assure you that I will give 100 percent of myself for this. I’m looking forward to a great fight the day after tomorrow.”

RICARDO ALVAREZ:
“My fight with WBC Lightweight Champion [Omar Figueroa Jr.] fell out, but I’m still here, I’m still ready to fight. We all know accidents happen in boxing, but I’m happy to be here on this big stage. I’m here and I’m ready to fight.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions:
“There seems to be a shift going on. More and more fighters, trainers and media members are starting to say, ‘You know what, I’m changing my opinion. I think Angulo is going to knock Canelo out.’ And I think it is this kind of sentiment that shows you what we want to do – we want to put on great fights. Of course, each guy wants to win and they know how important it is for them, their fans and Mexico. Both Canelo and Angulo don’t need any extra motivation. They know it’s a very dangerous fight.

“Talking about warriors and TOE TO TOE action, it doesn’t get any better than the fight between Leo Santa Cruz and Cristian Mijares. Leo is one of the most exciting fighters in boxing and Mijares is a former world champ who wants the belt back. Neither fighter is afraid of anyone.

“If I could watch Nihito Arakawa every day I would. He is the definition of a modern-day gladiator. He fights with hearts, guys and he is everything a fighter should be. We’re all looking forward to watching him and Linares in what should be a war.

“We believe Ricardo Alvarez is ready to fight for a world title. He has to do a little detour because of the injury to Omar Figueroa Jr., but he’s facing an extremely tough fighter in Sergio Thompson.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vic President General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports:
“Over the last year, SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME PPV have become the premier destination for big-time boxing. SHOWTIME has given boxing fans more live fights, more replays of classic fights and more total hours of boxing programming – and we’ve done it with state of the art technology like the 4K cameras and super slo-mo replays and social media integrations, things our competitors aren’t doing. We are committing more resources to boxing programming than anyone else in the sport today – and the viewers have responded enthusiastically, as our audience share has increased by leaps and bounds.

“Our success has been the result of two key factors: (1) We work with first-class partners such as Golden Boy Promotions and the MGM Grand and (2) is the quality of our fights. We put on great fights, competitive fights and this card is a great example. It’s an entire card of pay-per-view-action fighters that is guaranteed excitement.”
# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, two-division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World title against former three-time World Champion Cristian Mijares and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. The four-fight telecast, which opens with a 10-round lightweight bout between Jorge Linares and Nihito Arakawa, will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

LONDON (March 6) – Canelo Alvarez is using the story of ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali to help inspire him to make his own boxing history starting this weekend.

The cinnamon haired superstar will be going toe-to-toe with countryman Alfredo Angulo as they lay their Mexican machismo on the line in front of a packed crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this weekend.

It is a significant fight for both men, particularly the 23-year-old Canelo, who will be under close scrutiny to see what effect his first defeat last September against pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather has had on him.

Hotly tipped as the man to take over the throne of Mayweather, Canelo was soundly beaten over twelve rounds but is refusing to let that setback stop him from following in the footsteps of his idol Ali and becoming one of history’s very best.

“I consider myself a person with a strong mindset and that’s how I moved on from the loss against Mayweather. I always train to win, like everybody else and unfortunately last September that was not the case,” Canelo recalled.

“I’m training to make history and to be one of the best in boxing history. One defeat is not everything. The biggest boxers in history have been defeated. For instance, Muhammad Ali was defeated and he came back and made history.

“So, here I am, making history, moving forward. I fight to make boxing history. That is why I fight,” said Canelo.

The former WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine light-middleweight world champion has jumped right back in at the deep end and refused to take an easier comeback fight than the one the hardened Angulo presents.

Having knocked out 18 opponents in his 22 wins, the 31-year-old Angulo has earned a reputation as one of boxing’s most exciting and dangerous fighters.

Canelo is under no illusions, however, and knows he will need to be on top of his game to tame the man known as ‘El Perro’ – ‘The Dog’.

“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,” Canelo said.

“Obviously a knockout would be beautiful; that’s what the fans like, an impressive knockout. But I never go into a fight looking for a knockout. If it comes, it comes.

“Everyone says Angulo is the stronger guy, but I think I’m the strongest,” said a confident Canelo.

A fan favourite himself, inside and outside the ring, Canelo is keen to build on his budding reputation having broken pay-per-view records in his last fight with Mayweather.

The attractive eye-catching style of Angulo was one of the main reasons that Canelo opted to take the fight in a bill that has quite aptly been dubbed ‘Toe-To-Toe’ due to the exciting all-action affair many are expecting.

“Of course that was very important [the style of Angulo]. What the fans want to see is attractive fights, very good fights, and that was a big reason for doing this fight,” said Canelo.

“It’s a very, very different style [to Mayweather]. So the whole camp has been different, the sparring partners have been different. But it’s a style that’s going to be attractive and it’s going to make for a very good fight,” he said.

BoxNation viewers can see the premiere of episode two ‘All Access: Canelo vs. Angulo’ this Saturday at 6.30pm. Before live boxing action from Liverpool where rising bantamweight star Paul Butler faces tough Argentine Oreste Nieva for the vacant WBA intercontinental title.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo is live on BoxNation (Sky Ch.437/Virgin Ch.546) this Sunday from 2am. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £10* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky, at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £10 one off registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.

LONDON (March 5) – Alfredo Angulo will be looking to seize his opportunity when he battles fellow Mexican star Canelo Alvarez in a fight set to be an edge of the seat thriller.

The 31-year-old originally from Mexicali, in Baja California, the twelfth largest state in Mexico, battles his countryman Canelo this weekend on BoxNation at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in a fight which is expected to go down as one of the very best this year.

A likeable and affable character outside the ring, Angulo has graduated from the school of hard knocks and has fought tooth and nail for the opportunity which presents itself on Saturday night when he will look to humble one of boxing’s glamour boys.

“Every fight is important, but this one is more special because all of the fans in Mexico will know that the winner of this fight is the number one Mexican fighter,” Angulo said. “It’s a huge fight for Mexico and it’s a huge fight for Canelo and me. Everyone can have their own opinion on who will win the fight. My fans know what I do in the ring and they know what to expect on Saturday night.

“My hand will be raised. I’m ready now and I will give the fans my best performance against Canelo. You will see the best Alfredo Angulo on Saturday,” he said confidently.

The light-middleweight star joined up with esteemed trainer Virgil Hunter in 2012 and the pair have looked impressive together, with Angulo giving Erislandy Lara, the man many regard as the best 154 pounder in the world, his toughest fight to date in his last bout.

Canelo himself is looking to bounce back from defeat in his last fight to pound-for-pound ace Floyd Mayweather but Angulo is determined to make it two miserable nights in a row for the 23-year-old star.

“Canelo has gained a lot of experience the last couple of years, he’s a fighter that has fast hands and he can also box if he wants to, so those are maybe some of the attributes, some of the things that I have to look out for,” said Angulo.

“All I do is fight, and I let my fighting do the talking for me. Canelo knows that I’m a good fighter. I’m just glad that I have Virgil on my side to help me construct a game plan and figure out the styles,” he said.

“I am happy that I’m facing another Mexican, because as all the fans know, everybody knows when two Mexicans get in the ring it’s a guaranteed show, it’s a guaranteed exciting show. And March 8th, don’t expect anything different,” Angulo stated.

‘El Perro’, or ‘The Dog’, as he is affectionately known, has lived in the shadow of his Mexican foe Canelo since forging his professional career, but he knows victory in his upcoming fight will allow him to step out of that in the hope of finding sunlight against boxing’s best.

“God willing, it’s going to be that way [getting in the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes]. That’s what I want, that’s what I’m working for, and it will happen that way [by beating Canelo],” said Angulo.

“But as far as who I want to fight next, I’m not thinking about that. I’m just thinking about Canelo Alvarez right now, that’s on my mind, and it’s not up to me. It’s up to my team. It’s up to Golden Boy, Richard Schaefer, to decide who I’ll fight next. I’m not worrying about that. The most important thing for me right now is Canelo Alvarez,” he said.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo is live on BoxNation (Sky Ch.437/Virgin Ch.546) this Sunday from 2am. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £10* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky, at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £10 one off registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.

LAS VEGAS (March 5, 2014) – Mexican boxing superstar and former world champion Canelo Alvarez, hard-hitting countryman Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo and “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” pay-per-view undercard fighters worked out in front of a throng of media and adoring fans on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena lobby.

Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KOs) and the dangerous Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) will square off in what is expected to be a slugfest in the 12-round super welterweight main event this Saturday, March 8, LIVE on SHOWTIME PPV® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Undefeated two-division world champion and current WBC Super Bantamweight titleholder Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend his title against former three-time world champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (48-7-2, 22 KOs) in Saturday’s co-feature. In the second world title fight of the evening, IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will defend his title against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs).

A 10-round lightweight fight between former two-time world champion Jorge “Niño de Oro” Linares (35-3, 23 KOs) and exciting Japanese contender Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16 KOs) will open the pay-per-view telecast. Lightweight contender Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3, 13 KOs), brother of Canelo, will face late-replacement Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson (28-3, 26 KOs) on the non-televised undercard after WBC Lightweight Champion Omar Figueroa Jr. pulled out due to injury.

Tickets for the event promoted by Golden Boy Promotions are on sale and priced at $600, $400, $200 and $100, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Below is what the fighters said at Wednesday’s workouts:

CANELO ALVAREZ:
“My main concern when we are this close to a fight, is always my weight and making the weight. Although I’m on weight and it will not be a problem, that is always my concern this close to a fight. All of the hard work in the gym is done.

“Between the fans, my family and myself, I’m always motivated for my fights. The support I get has always motivated me. I fight for them, on behalf of them. Everything I have is because of the fans. I know I’m young and they have so much faith in me. I can just be who I am and continue to work as hard as I can.

“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 win and that’s what I am going to do on Saturday.

“Obviously a knockout would be beautiful; that’s what the fans like, an impressive knockout. But I never go into a fight looking for knockout. If it comes, it comes.

“Everyone says Angulo is the stronger guy, but I think I’m the strongest.”

ALREDO ANGULO:
“Style-wise, this is a great matchup for the fans and both of us. Fans are going to get a great fight.

“I’m ready to chase him or fight him like a true Mexican warrior.

“I plan to test him like he’s never been tested before. I don’t think anyone has ever hit Canelo as hard as I’m going to hit him.

“I’m totally relaxed and confident. Camp was amazing and I am in unbelievably great shape.

“There were a couple times when I was in the immigration detention center (January-August 2012) that I wanted to quit. But my team of lawyers always motivated me, wouldn’t let me stay down for too long and kept telling me that justice would prevail and that I shouldn’t give up.

“I always dreamed of being a headliner on a major card, and here it is. I am so ready for Saturday.’’

LEO SANTA CRUZ:
“This is going to be a great fight, a war. I have a lot of respect for Mijares, who was a great champion and is still very fast. His style can be complicated which is why I’ve been working in the gym with southpaws who are like him.

“I feel [Cesar] Seda was stronger, younger and faster than Mijares.

“I never enter the ring thinking I’m going to lose, so if he says he can see something in me that indicates that, well, he is very wrong. I am going to stop him.’’

CRISTIAN MIJARES:
“This is such a great opportunity for me. I totally feel like I’m catching Leo at the right time. He’s a great, young champion and I know this is going to be a difficult fight. But I have too much experience for him, too much overall speed.

“I think Leo found out in his last fight that he is vulnerable. I can see in his face, the look in his eyes, that he’s going to lose on Saturday. I am very confident.’’

JERMALL CHARLO:
“This fight is a stepping-stone in my career. In order to be the champion that I want to be, I have to get past this obstacle. He has the title, he has what I want.

“It’s going to take hard work, guts and determination. It’s going to take everything I’ve prepared for to stay in there and battle with him. I need to stay focused and be able to deal with everything that he brings into the ring – the shots behind the head, low blows, I’ll be ready for everything. We’ve all seen Molina fight and I’ve prepared in a way that he can’t surprise me with anything.

“I’m not fazed by the spotlight or the world championship. This is where I belong. I trained hard and will leave it all in the ring.

“I already feel like a world champion and I’m here to prove that I’m ready for this level. I’m going to show everyone that I’m here and that I’m going to be here for a long time.”

JORGE LINARES:
“The battle has already started; we just haven’t shot the first bullet yet. But we are both ready for war. We need to be.

“It’s difficult to knock him down but it’s not impossible. He certainly won’t fall with one punch, and that’s why I’ve prepared for 10 rounds of action..

“You can’t compare my style with Figueroa Jr. We are completely different fighters. I have to break him [Arakawa] down with my speed and intelligence. I can’t fall into his territory and fight his fight.

“I think there is a better chance that the ref stops this fight than it ending in one punch. I’m going to break him down little by little.

“This is the biggest opportunity for me at this point in my career. My mind is just set on winning. It’s been a long time coming so I know I need to be ready for this opportunity. Whoever they put in front of me I can beat.

“Fighting here at MGM pumps me up even more. It gives me a little something extra every time I fight in Las Vegas. I won my first title here in Vegas [at Mandalay Bay], but the difference is now people know who I am and they give me respect.”

NIHITO ARAKAWA:
“I’m not looking at this as a personal challenge but as a challenge as a Japanese boxer and for all Japanese boxers. I’m representing my country, I’m representing Japan.

“[In my last fight] I just did what was natural, which is to fight until the bell rings. I didn’t win but I fought my fight. I’m going to fight with the same style and aggressiveness, but this time I will get the win.

“I’m very happy to get the nickname ‘The Japanese Rocky.’ It’s an honor to earn a reputation like that after just my first fight in the United State. It’s an honor to represent my country with this nickname.

“Spirit-wise, I won’t change. I will fight until I win. I’ll fix my defense and the issues I had against Omar [Figueroa Jr.] to ensure that I get a win. I have a huge opportunity and I’m going to take advantage of it.”

RICARDO ALVAREZ:
“[On the injury to Figueroa Jr.]: That’s the way boxing is. These types of things happen. But I’ll be fine. I’m just happy to be able to fight on this card.

“I always work hard. Whenever the world title opportunity comes up I will be ready. I’ll just keep working hard and the world title shot will come.

“In my last fight, I had a fighter that was moving a lot. It probably wasn’t’ the best for my style, but you learn each time you step in the ring. This time, I’m going to move forward and be aggressive. I’ll keep my style that I’ve always had to satisfy the fans.

“Omar and Sergio [Thompson] have similar styles so the late change doesn’t bother me that much. I’ve prepared for a world title fight so I’m ready for everything.

“There is some sense of pride [fighting on the card with my brother]. I’m so happy for him and all of his success. But it’s important for me to break away from that and fight my own fight. At the end of the day, Canelo will not get in the ring with me.”

# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, two-division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World title against former three-time World Champion Cristian Mijares and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. The four-fight telecast, which opens with a 10-round lightweight bout between Jorge Linares and Nihito Arakawa, will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200 and $100, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

LAS VEGAS (March 4, 2014) – As hundreds of fans and media stood in lines that stretched from the sidewalk outside the main doors to the make-shift ring inside the lobby of MGM Grand in Las Vegas, popular Mexican boxing superstar and former World Champion Canelo Alvarez, his opponent this Saturday, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo, and five-of-the-six other fighters who’ll compete on “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,’’ made their official entry into the hotel Tuesday afternoon.

In what’s expected to be a slugfest in the main event this Saturday, March 8, on SHOWTIME PPV® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KOs) will face the double-dangerous Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) in the 12-round super welterweight main event.

In world title fights that precede Canelo vs. Angulo, undefeated two-division world champion and current WBC Super Bantamweight titleholder Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend against crowd-pleasing, former three-time world champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (48-7-2, 22 KOs) and IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will defend against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs), who missed the arrivals, but was due at MGM Grand later on Tuesday. A 10-round lightweight fight between former two-time world champion Jorge “Niño de Oro” Linares (35-3, 23 KOs) and exciting Japanese contender Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16 KOs) will open the telecast.

All of the fighters were welcomed enthusiastically by the appreciative fans, but the biggest and loudest cheers were for Canelo, who entered MGM Grand lobby wearing sunglasses and a smile. He was quickly surrounded by fans and media as cameras clicked and TV cameras rolled. Each boxer signed autographs, posed for photos and completed press interviews.

Tickets for the event promoted by Golden Boy Promotions are on sale and priced at $600, $400, $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Below is what the fighters said upon their arrivals on Tuesday.

CANELO ALVAREZ:
“I had a very relaxed camp, but, at the same time, I was very anxious to get back in the ring.
“More than the style difference [between Mayweather and Angulo], I’m just happy to be back in the ring. It’s a tough fight, but I’m very confident.

“I learned a lot from fighting Floyd, but I’m ready to get back in the ring to maintain the path that I was on before. This is what I love to do. I live to fight and we’re ready for Saturday.

“I’m fully concentrated on this fight. What happened in September is in the past. I’m focused on Saturday and Angulo.

“I’m here for the fans. That’s what I fight for.”

ALREDO ANGULO:
“Every fight is important, but this one is more special because all of the fans in Mexico will know that the winner of this fight is the No. 1 Mexican fighter. It’s a huge fight for Mexico and it’s a huge fight for Canelo and me.

“Everyone can have their own opinion on who will win the fight. My fans know what I do in the ring and they know what to expect on Saturday night.

“My hand will be raised. I’m ready now and I will give the fans my best performance against Canelo. You will see the best Alfredo Angulo on Saturday.

“Amir [Khan] and Andre [Ward] told me that I’m ready. They told me this is my time.”

LEO SANTA CRUZ:
“I’ve been in the gym training really hard so when fight day comes I can give them my best.

“It’s a huge motivation to be fighting in a big co-feature on a pay-per-view event like this. It would be a dream come true for me to fight in a main event. But I need to win to get that opportunity.”

CRISTIAN MIJARES:
“Leo is a great fighter, but in this sport you win some and you lose some. Come Saturday, I’m coming to win.

“It’s a great honor to be on this card with this Canelo and Angulo. We’re going to do our best to put on a show.”

CARLOS MOLINA:
“I’m more eager and hungry than I’ve ever been for a fight in my life. I can’t wait to walk in that ring. This is what I’ve worked for, this is what I live to do.

“This guy is undefeated, but he’s never faced anyone like me. I’m still the champion and I’ll still be the champion on Saturday.”

JORGE LINARES:
“This reminds me of 2007 when I won my first world title, the only difference is that was at Mandalay Bay instead of MGM Grand.

“I respect Arkawa’s game. I respect what he did with Omar [Figueroa Jr.], but I’m a different fighter. The ‘Asian Rocky’ won’t last very long on Saturday night.”

NIHITO ARAKAWA:
“I’m grateful to be back in the United States and this time I’m going to win.

“My last fight was a war, but I didn’t come out with the win. This time, we’ll put on another war, but the result will be different.”

# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, two-division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World title against former three-time World Champion Cristian Mijares and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. The four-fight telecast, which opens with a 10-round lightweight bout between Jorge Linares and Nihito Arakawa, will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @CaneloOficial, @elperro82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @DinamitaAB, @YeyoThompson, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @mgmgrand, @SHOSports and @Swanson_Comm, follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

LAS VEGAS (March 4, 2014) – In addition to the recently announced lightweight battle between Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez (23-2-3, 13 KOs), older brother of Canelo and hard-hitting Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson (28-3, 26 KOs), of Cancun, Mexico, the March 8 undercard for “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will feature five more can’t-miss bouts for those in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

In a junior lightweight fight scheduled for 10 rounds, unbeaten Australian star “Wild” Will Tomlinson makes his United States debut against Texas’ Jerry “The Corpus Christi Kid” Belmontes. Plus, two more rising stars from the 130-pound weight class face off when Mexico City’s Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas battles Puerto Rico’s Abner Cotto. 2012 U.S. Olympian Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz Jr. takes on Jovany “El Cepillo” Fuentes in an eight-round super bantamweight bout preceded by a six-round junior welterweight bout starring unbeaten Keandre Gibson against Antonio “Tony” Wong. In the opening match on March 8, Australian prospect Steve Lovett faces an opponent to be announced in a six-round light heavyweight contest.

In addition to the exciting main event on “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs Angulo,” there are three more fights on the SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View portion of the card: undefeated two-division world champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title against former three-time world champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (48-7-2, 22 KOs); “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will risk his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs) and former two-time World Champion Jorge “Niño de Oro” Linares (35-3, 23 KOs) will take on exciting Japanese contender Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16 KOs).

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

A native of Sydney, “Wild” Will Tomlinson (21-0-1, 12 KOs) was an amateur standout who competed in the 2007 World Championships before becoming a professional boxer in July 2008. Winner of several pro titles, including the Australian, New South Wales State, WBO Asia Pacific, WBO Oriental and IBO Inter-Continental belts, the 27-year-old won the vacant IBO super featherweight crown in November 2011 by defeating Alan Herrera. Tomlinson has successfully defended his title three times, most recently against Malcolm Klassen on May 16, 2013.

On a quest to get back to his winning ways after tough decision losses to fellow prospects Francisco Vargas and Andrew Cancio, Jerry “The Corpus Christi Kid” Belmontes (18-3, 5 KOs) has everything to gain this Saturday when he tackles Tomlinson. The exciting 25-year-old up-and-comer hopes he can get his year off to a rousing start with a victory in his first Las Vegas appearance since 2008.

A representative of the 2008 Mexican Olympic team, Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (18-0-1, 13 KOs) stepped up in a big way in 2013, scoring victories over Ira Terry, Cristian Arrazola, Brandon Bennett and Jerry Belmontes that proved that he was ready to make his push for a world title in 2014. That push begins on March 8 against Abner Cotto.

Owner of 235 wins as an amateur, Caguas, Puerto Rico’s Abner Cotto (17-1, 8 KOs) has done the family name proud ever since he put the gloves on. The cousin of Miguel and Jose Cotto, 26-year-old Abner has won all but one of his professional bouts, most recently stopping Daniel Ruiz in four rounds in September 2013. On Saturday, it’s a pivotal meeting against Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas.

Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz Jr. (9-1, 6 KOs), of South El Monte, Calif., continues to impress with each victory and despite being a pro for less than a year, the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team member has shown poise way beyond his years. Fresh off a seventh-round technical knockout over Carlos Rodriguez last December, the 21-year-old will look to show the continuing evolution of his fight game against Bayamon, Puerto Rico’s Jovany Fuentes (5-3, 4 KOs), a potent puncher who has won three of his last five bouts.

St. Louis’ Keandre Gibson (8-0-1, 3 KOs) will look for his ninth win as a pro against Tijuana, Mexico’s Antonio “Tony” Wong (12-6-1, 7 KOs). A 2006 National Golden Gloves champion and Junior Olympics Bronze medalist, the 23-year-old Gibson is seen as having world championship potential, but he will be put to the test by Wong.

In the opening bout of the card, 28-year-old New South Wales native, undefeated Steve Lovett (7-0, 5 KOs) puts his unblemished record on the line as he makes his United States debut against an opponent to be announced.

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, two-division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World title against former three-time World Champion Cristian Mijares and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. The four-fight telecast, which opens with a 10-round lightweight bout between Jorge Linares and Nihito Arakawa, will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast on over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @CaneloOficial, @ElPERRO82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @DinamitaAB, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @yeyothompson
@MGMGrand, @SHOSports and @Swanson_Comm follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

LONDON (March 4) – Amir Khan has backed stablemate Alfredo Angulo to upset the odds when he clashes with fellow Mexican star Canelo Alvarez this weekend.

The pair will meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in front of what is expected to be a sold out arena, with Canelo being tipped as the favourite in the fight which will be broadcast live and exclusive on BoxNation.

Khan, who has trained with Angulo ever since the pair joined forces with esteemed trainer Virgil Hunter back in 2012, has rallied behind his light-middleweight companion and backed him to produce the goods this Saturday night.

“Alfredo has looked great in the gym and you can see an intensity in his eyes that he’s ready for this,” said Khan. “It’s not going to be an easy fight against Canelo because Canelo is a slick boxer and moves quite well but Angulo showed against Lara how good he is at cutting off the ring. Angulo might be seen as the underdog but under Virgil you’ve seen the progress he’s made and you can be sure he’ll force Canelo to work every minute of every round,” he told BoxNation.

“Alfredo has shown he can follow instructions and stick to the game plan and I’m sure Virgil has devised the right strategy for this fight. It’s not going to be easy but I know Alfredo is ready and can get the win,” Khan said.

The former unified light-welterweight star has seen firsthand the damage ‘El Perro’, or ‘The Dog’, can dish out having sparred with him on a number of occasions.

“There’s a close bond between everyone at Virgil’s gym and we all get fully behind whoever has a fight coming up. I’ve sparred with Alfredo to help get him ready for this one and we’ve done some great work over the last few weeks,” he said.

“Sharing the ring with him I know what he’s bringing to this fight and believe me it won’t be an easy night for Canelo. He’ll have to win Alfredo’s respect in there because this guy keeps coming forward and doesn’t take a back step,” said Khan.

Canelo is coming off a dominating points loss last September to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.

Nevertheless, Khan is refusing to underestimate Canelo and believes that the Mexican icon with the movie star looks will be motivated to get back to winning ways, which has seen him lose only once in his distinguished career.

“Neither of these guys will want to lose because of what is at stake with them both being proud Mexican’s. It’s going to be an excellent fight because they’re both at the top of their game. I know Canelo is coming off the loss to Mayweather but he’s still a great fighter who’s looking to bounce back and show he’s still one of the best out there,” said Khan.

Angulo also is looking to return from a loss in his last fight, which came in much more controversial circumstances against Erislandy Lara after he was unable to continue due to damage to his left eye, which Angulo’s team claimed was the result of being ‘thumbed’.

The 31-year-old had had twice floored the Cuban and was beginning to exert his will in the fight before it was stopped in the 10th round.

But this opportunity against Canelo represents one Khan believes Angulo has been waiting for since he started boxing.

“With Alfredo this is the chance he’s been waiting for his whole life. He wants to prove that he’s the best Mexican fighter out there and he has the style to make any fight he takes part in exciting to watch. I know what this means to him and I think that’s going to drive him on to prove to everyone how good he really is,” said Khan.

“I’m expecting Alfredo to be the aggressor in the fight and for Canelo to try and counter and use his boxing skills. Alfredo’s skills are underrated and you don’t really get an idea of the subtle things he does well until you get in the ring with him. He’s got serious power in either hand and has the ability to knock Canelo out,” added Khan.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo is live on BoxNation (Sky Ch.437/Virgin Ch.546) this Sunday from 2am. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £10* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

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Omar Figueroa will not be able to defend his Lightweight title this Saturday against Ricardo Alvarez on the Canelo Alvarez – Alfredo Angulo Pay Per View card in Las Vegas due to a hand injury according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“It’s the same thing he did to the hand in the last fight against (Nihito) Arakawa,” said Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez. “He injured it and when he woke up (Saturday) morning and it was still swollen and he was in a lot of pain. There was no way he could fight next week.”

“He really wanted to be on this big stage in Las Vegas on a Canelo undercard. This was the biggest fight of both of their careers. So now we have to regroup and eventually the fight will happen. It’s just not going to be next weekend. Now we have to determine when Omar is going to be back, but we have some (Showtime) dates in April and May.”

Verona, N.Y. (Feb. 27, 2014) – The six boxers who will fight on ShoBox: The New Generation tomorrow, Friday, February 28, live on SHOWTIME® (9:30 p.m. ET/PT, immediately following ALL ACCESS: CANELO VS. ANGULO, delayed on the West Coast) from Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y., all made weight on their first attempts at Thursday’s official weigh-in.

Headlining the show will be undefeated super middleweight contender J’Leon Love against Vladine Biosse in a 10-round bout. In other televised action, Badou Jack will meet Derek Edwards in a 10-round super middleweight bout and undefeated Chris Pearson will face Lanardo Tyner in an eight-round middleweight bout.

Attending tomorrow evening’s event will be its promoter, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, the 10-time World Champion. SHOWTIME Sports’ analyst Steve Farhood will speak with Mayweather during the ShoBox telecast.

# # #

ABOUT LOVE vs. BIOSSE:
Love vs. Biosse is a 10-round super middleweight bout promoted by Mayweather Promotions this Friday, Feb. 28 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY. The ShoBox: The New Generation telecast will air live on SHOWTIME® immediately following the episode 1 premiere of ALL ACCESS: Canelo vs. Angulo at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) live on SHOWTIME®.

Tickets priced at $60, $35, $25 and $15, plus applicable taxes, fees and service are available at the Turning Stone Box Office, by calling the box office directly at 1-877-833-7469 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Kelly Swanson
Thanks, everybody for joining us today. We’re very excited to feature the star of the Saturday, March 8fight, none other than Canelo Alvarez and his entire team: Ricardo Alvarez, his brother; Chepo Reynoso and Eddie Reynoso, both his trainers; and also Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions.

Before I introduce Richard, I would like to say that this is our last press event before we head into fight week, and everybody please look for your fight week media schedules. We have great events planned for fight week and we hope to see you there. If you can’t make it to the fight, keep an eye on your inbox because we will be sending you all sorts of press materials to help your TOE TO TOE coverage, including live streams embedding codes, quotes and photos. As always, we appreciate your continuing support.

At this point, I’ll turn it over to Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.

Richard Schaefer
We have about a week and a half until the excitement of “TOE TO TOE” hits Las Vegas and fight fans around the world. It is an unbelievable card. It’s one of those cards as Golden Boy has become accustomed to for really top-to-bottom entertainment and great fights.

We have some young, rising stars on the non-televised portion, and I was just actually adding up the records. If you look at the record of the guys they are fighting, it’s very similar with 185 wins and like 20 losses. So it’s very evenly matched, meaningful fights.

We have the Olympian Jo-Jo Diaz fighting. We have Francisco Vargas, Will Tomlinson, Keandre Gibson, so a lot of great fights. And then we’re going to be moving into the first fight that will be televised on the free view, which is Jorge Linares against Nihito Arakawa, which is going to be nonstop TOE-TO-TOE action. We know that Arakawa is always an exciting guy and of course Linares is as well.

Then, we go into the pay-per-view. Prior to the main event between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo we’re going to have three world-title fights – yes, three world-title fights. Opening up the telecast is going to be another junior-middleweight title bout, which is going to be Carlos Molina from Michoacan, Mexico against Jermall Charlo from Houston, Texas. He is going to be challenging Carlos Molina for the IBF junior middleweight world title.

Then next up is going to be Saul’s brother, Ricardo Alvarez, from Guadalajara, Mexico. He’s going to be challenging Omar Figueroa from Weslaco, Texas for the world title. Ricardo is excited, and in a minute you’re going to hear from him.

Then we have one of the most exciting fighters irrespective of weight class, Leo Santa Cruz, defending his WBC super bantamweight world title against a true Mexican warrior, former world champion, in a very tough fight, Cristian Mijares, and finally, of course, we are going to go to the one we’ve all been waiting for, Saul Alvarez and “El Perro” Angulo.

The fight, as you know, is at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There are going to be some great fight-week activities planned. It’s promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions, and I’d like to think our sponsors as well, Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. There are still some tickets available. I do anticipate a sellout. I think we are like at 12,000 tickets sold, and I think the capacity is like 14,270, so a couple thousand tickets are left. The $25 seats are sold out. There are some left at $50, so make sure your readers and listeners know to snap up these tickets. There are also a few left at $600, $400, and $200.

We are really excited to have Canelo back in a big night, and the man, the team I would rather say, who have been working with Canelo from a very early, Eddie Reynoso, his trainer – Canelo’s trainer and Ricardo Alvarez’s trainer – and Jose his father, Jose “Chepo” Reynoso, who is the manager for both Canelo and Ricardo and, as we all know, for many other former Mexican greats and world champions.

It is a pleasure now for me to introduce first Eddie Reynoso who is going to give you guys some information as it relates to the training camp.

Eddie Reynoso
Good afternoon to everybody. Thank you for being here. Everything is going well. Training has gone very well, and we’re just waiting for the date of the fight.

R. Schaefer
Now I’d like to ask Chepo – Jose “Chepo” Reynoso – to say a few words about the camp. How is Canelo feeling? How is Ricardo feeling? How are they looking forward to this card?

Chepo Reynoso
Good afternoon to everybody. Thank you so much for being here. It’s been an intense camp. It’s been a lot of hard work because we know the significance – both Canelo and Ricardo know the significance of this bout and how important it is to them, and we’re just ready and looking forward to March 8 and putting on a great performance. Thank you.

R. Schaefer
So now, without further ado, I’d like to introduce to you the current WBC Continental Americas 140-pound champion. He’s the older brother of Mexico’s icon, Canelo. He made his U.S. boxing debut last December in San Antonio on the Dec. 14 card with a win over Rod Salka. He has been waiting for this opportunity. He is excited to be fighting in the boxing mecca of the world, Las Vegas, and of course having a shot at the WBC world champion Figueroa. Please welcome Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez.

Ricardo Alvarez
Thank you very much to everybody. Good morning. Well, we’re ready. We’re looking forward to fight night to get up in the ring and show everybody the hard work and everything that’s been realized throughout the camp, and ready for victory – ready to come back with the win.

R. Schaefer
Now here he is the one superstar from Mexico. I told you guys before already the ratings for his last fight set an all-time TV record in Mexico.

He is exciting. He has that will and that fire to win. He has been a pro since 2005 when he was just 15 years old, he is without any question Mexico’s biggest boxing superstar, but really has clearly transcended here in the United States as well, has a huge following – and yes it has a little bit to do with his looks and the red hair and so on. He is a handsome guy, but at the end of the day it really is his fighting style and his charisma.

He picked an opponent he knows who’s a tough guy, a big puncher who comes toe-to-toe, but that’s what Canelo wants. Canelo realizes that boxing is entertainment, and he is the ultimate entertainer. Please welcome Canelo Alvarez.

Canelo Alvarez
Well, thank you very much to everybody. Thanks for all the support, for being here, and I just want to let you know that I’m very excited. I’m very happy. We’re less than two weeks away, and I’m just looking forward to getting back in the ring and getting back on that victory road. Thank you.

R. Schaefer
Just a quick little side note about the excitement of this fight week and this particular fight as well. I got some information from the MGM and from SHOWTIME as well, they’ve been running contests – the same contest they ran when Canelo fought Mayweather – and the participation rate is almost as big as when he fought Floyd Mayweather.

So we anticipate a big pay-per-view. We anticipate big excitement in Las Vegas in the venue as well, so really looking forward to that one. Having said that, I’d like to open it up now to the media, and you can ask questions from any of those participants.

K. Swanson
As we’re waiting for our first question, I do have a program note that ALL ACCESS: CANELO vs. ANGULO episode one premieres this Friday night, 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on SHOWTIME.

Q
Canelo, I am wondering what was the lesson learned in the fight against Mayweather, and what will you bring from that fight into the ring, if anything, against Angulo?

Canelo
Well, I can’t pinpoint one thing because I learned a lot in that fight, so it wasn’t just one thing. But we did gain a lot of experience, and that will be noted in my fights in the future once I step into the ring to bring that out, and you will see that.

Q
I’m trying to get a sense from both the siblings as to the difference in excitement knowing that you’re both going to be fighting on the same night.

I guess my first question is for Ricardo. Ricardo, for you this is completely new. You’re fighting on the undercard of your younger brother. Can you talk about generally about the excitement of that?

R. Alvarez
I’m very excited. I’m very motivated. I’m very happy to be fighting the most important fight of my life. This is the biggest and most important fight of my career at this point. Not only that, to be fighting in the arena that I’m going to be fighting, the MGM where everybody wants to fight, and of course to be on the undercard of such a great main event and be under my brother – it all contributes to my motivation and my excitement. I’m very happy to be here.
Q
Ricardo, from a standpoint of taking pointers from your brother or vice versa, could you kind of put me in a conversation between the two of you when you talk about fighting a certain fighter or in particular these guys you’re fighting? You’re fighting Omar; he’s fighting Angulo. Do you talk about the styles and the excitement of what it’s going to be like that night?

R. Alvarez
Yes, definitely. We’ve been training together. We’ve been in camp together. So there are moments where we give each other advice and work on techniques to help each other versus our opponent, and yes we’re both very excited. We know what the meaning of this, for both of us, coming out with a victory and what the significance of it is. So yes, we’re very happy, the both of us.

Q
Ricardo, do you see Omar as being – along the same lines, do you see him as being a similar fight to the one that your brother is going to have to fight with Alfredo, and have you also heard some of the comments that Figueroa has made about trying to stop you early in the fight and, in fact, getting a knockout?

R. Alvarez
Yes, the styles are very similar. When you have fighters with these characteristics of going forward and looking for fights and toe-to-toe you’re going to have two similar bouts. As far as the comments made by Figueroa, I congratulate him. He’s training well. He has confidence, and he believes in what he’s done, but I also believe in what I’ve done.

I’m also a fighter that doesn’t look for a step back. I go forward, and I’ve prepared myself very well. I’m used to it. It’s part of boxing, people talking and making those types of comments. That’s part of boxing. But you know what? My talking will be inside the ring where it should be done.

Q
Canelo, what general advice or counsel are you giving your brother about being on a big card like the one he was on in December, and he was successful. This one stands to be bigger. He stands to be in a tougher fight. Is there any general advice that you’re giving him or counsel you’re doing him going into this fight?

Canelo
Yes, of course. The advice I’ve always given him and will continue giving him is to concentrate on the fight, to concentrate on himself in the ring, to for the moment block off the people, the fans, the TV, the big arena – to block that out and concentrate just on what’s in front of him and for that moment just feel like you’re at home just like always. You’ve always been there. So that’s the advice I give him.

Q
What are your thoughts on Angulo saying that he sparred with Andre Ward who he feels is bigger and more technically sound than you are. In fact, he thinks he is superior. What are your thoughts/comments on that?

Canelo
That’s awesome. That’s great. I’m grateful that he’s preparing himself very well, and I’d let you know that I’m preparing myself very well too, and that just guarantees that when we come up in the fight we’re going to have fun and we’re going to give a great fight.

Q
I’m wondering what your thoughts are about having to go up against one of your countrymen? Do you like that, or do you prefer to fight, like when you fought Mayweather, an American or some other – when you fought for the title or when you fought a British fighter. Do you like Mexican fighters as opponents, or would you prefer not to fight Mexican opponents?

Canelo
I always like fighting fighters from all over the world, from different parts of the world, and that’s always what I like. But in this particular case we crossed our path. This was destiny. This was the fight that made sense, and we’re going to be there.

The only thing I can tell you is the good thing is whenever you have a Mexican versus a Mexican it’s a guaranteed great fight, and that’s what we’re going to bring you March 8.

Q
Canelo, I don’t know if you actually watched the fight between Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara. If you have, I’m interested to hear what your opinion was about the way that fight went and the way the ending of the fight went.

Canelo
Definitely he showed tremendous heart. He did great. I mean, whether at that moment or if it would’ve gone to decision I think he would’ve won the fight – that he was winning, and that he would’ve won the fight if he continued.

You never know what kind of pain goes through him or went through him and made him decide to stop the fight at that moment. It’s unknown. But at that moment if the fight would’ve continued or if it would’ve ended, he was winning, and would’ve won the fight in my eyes.

Q
I’m wondering how much desperation is there in you to make sure you don’t lose a second fight in a row which could be considered disaster by some people, and then, by the way, the same thing for Angulo. How much desperation will there be for you also to win this fight?

Canelo
You know what? I’m prepared. I’m just very excited to get back in the ring, and we prepared really hard, and we always prepare for victory and to win, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.

Q
People have a lot of positive things to say about your next opponent, Alfredo Angulo. There are also some negatives, people talking negatively about it. Do you think that the fight is getting the credit it deserves for the opponent that you have in front of you?

Canelo
Look, there are always going to be critics. There’s always going to be people that have something negative to say. But at the same time, there’s always going to be fans and supporters that are going to be coming out in full-fledge, and as you see tickets are showing it, the sales. But the most important thing here is we have to train with full conscious of what we have in front of us, of how dangerous Alfredo Angulo is and can be during the fight, and that’s the important thing.

R. Schaefer
Let me just add something to that as well. Canelo could have fought one of those 154-pounders, and he could have fought for a world title, and it would have been a dance festival. But Canelo doesn’t like dance festivals. Canelo wants to entertain, and I can assure you – I can assure you that this fight March 8 between Canelo and Alfredo will be the most exciting, the most exciting fight, from all those upcoming pay-per-view events. Canelo means excitement. He’s explosive. Alfredo means excitement and is explosive. And if you put those two together it’s can’t-miss TV.

Q
Obviously we know that the characteristics of Angulo, what he brings. What are you going to bring? What are the changes that you’re going to do – and if Eddie and Chepo can answer as well – what are you bringing differently into this fight to adjust to Angulo’s pressure?

Canelo
Yes, we’re doing everything necessary. We’re training for what we have in front of us. We have the sparring, the adequate sparring partners that are very similar to him, and we’re doing the adjustments, and obviously the experience is going to come out. We have the experience, and at the end of the day we’re going to go in there and win the fight.

Q
Can you give us your thoughts on Floyd Mayweather versus “Chino” Maidana that’s coming up in May?

Canelo
It’s a very interesting fight. We’ve got to see. We’ve got to wait and see.

Q
Canelo, was there somebody who helped you to overcome the defeat against Mayweather?

Canelo
I have a lot of family. I have a lot of support, friends, and my team, and I’m very strong-minded. I’m very strong-minded. So yes it was a loss, but I learned a lot from it, and I just move on. I just – I gained experience and move on. But again, I’m strong-minded. I don’t dwell on the past. Now I look forward to the future.

Q
Chepo, what do you tell trainers like Virgil Hunter that criticized Canelo’s corner during the last press conference for not making the necessary changes during the fight against Mayweather?

C. Reynoso
From a distance it’s very easy to criticize. You’re not in the corner. You’re not knowing what is being said. You’re not knowing what is being told. In front of us we had one of the most talented fighters there is.

Yes, there was plan B, plan C, and a variety of different things that we were telling Saul, but it was the opponent in front of us who – again, I repeat one of the most talented – and he didn’t let us do it. So again, it’s very easy to criticize from a distance.

Q
Canelo, you’re listed by some odds-makers as being a 9-1 favorite, and being the fact that this is your first time headlining a pay-per-view I’m just curious how you feel about the expectations that are being put upon you for this event, and do you feel any extra pressure?

Canelo
No, I’m very happy. It’s a big responsibility, a great responsibility. But I thrive on it, and I’m very honored, honored to be headlining and to show the world that not only fighters from other countries can headline events like this but also the Latinos, the Mexicans. We can do it as well. So again, it’s a big responsibility but I thrive on it, and I enjoy it, and with hard work we’re here.

R. Schaefer
By the way, the odds they mean nothing. Look at the last fight a few months ago, Danny Garcia against Lucas Matthysse. Danny Garcia was a 9-1 underdog, and we all know what happened. That’s the beauty of boxing. When you have two guys who come to fight who have that will to win you just don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s why it’s so exciting.

Q
Canelo, you mentioned being a Mexican fighter and you’re proud of that. I’m curious, for yourself how does it feel holding that torch right now as pretty much the premier Mexican boxing star, the future of Mexican boxing?

Canelo
That motivates me more even to work harder, because you’ve got to remember Mexico is rich in history when it comes to Mexican fighters, and that motivates me and makes me work harder. I’m very honored.

Q
Here you’re facing off against Angulo who’s a straight-ahead, straightforward guy. I’m just curious are you just looking forward to fighting somebody that has that type of style, and do you think it’s going to live up to the hype of being toe-to-toe?

Canelo
Yes, definitely – definitely a different style. Obviously he’s a fighter that comes forward, that hits hard, that can take a punch, and that’s what’s going to make the fight live up, and that’s what the people want to see. They want to see action, and that’s what they will see March 8, a lot of action.

Q
Canelo, you prefer exciting fights. Do you feel boxing judges unfairly favor defensive tactics like the kind Mayweather employs?

Canelo
No. No. No. Definitely they recognize him. He’s a great fighter, and they know that. He’s a boxer. But the fight, the fans also love to see action. They love to see knockouts. They love to see wars, and that’s what we want to give them.

Q
Canelo, are you now less inclined to face defensive-minded fighters like Mayweather and Lara in the future?

Canelo
No, I’m open to fight whoever and wherever. It’s just time will tell and dictate who, and we’ll see in the future. But right now I’m concentrating on what I have in front of me, and that’s Alfredo Angulo for March 8.

Q
In the Austin Trout fight, Canelo, you showed you can box. You have a lot of slick movement, and you can box and move out. Is that something you’re going to implement in this fight with Alfredo, more boxing, or do you plan on going toe-to-toe and go to war?

Canelo
No, I fight both ways. I can box, and I can go toe-to-toe, but we’re going to do what is more convenient for me, and that’s what we’ll impose once we’re in there.

Q
Of all the fighters that have beaten “El Perro,” the one more similar to you is James Kirkland because he’s also a pressure fighter. Did you watch that fight as a way to know how to beat Angulobecause Lara and Cintron boxed him, but Kirkland went to war with him and was able to wear him down. Do you expect to be able to do that same thing?

Canelo
Yes, I did see the fight – two different styles, two styles totally different. I know what I have to do. We’ve been training. We’ve been working hard. We’ve been working on different things. Once we get into the ring we’ll see what he brings and what we have to do and make the adjustments necessary to do whatever needs to be done to get the win.

R. Schaefer
As I said, we have a week and a half to go up until the excitement of “TOE TO TOE” – mano a mano in Spanish. It’s going to be invading Las Vegas. We have an exciting fight week starting on Tuesday with the fighter arrivals.

On Wednesday we have open media workouts, and open to the public as well, from the MGM Grand Garden. And then on Thursday we have the press conference, the final press conference, followed on Friday by the weigh-in, and then of course fight night on Saturday, March 8 in Las Vegas from the MGM. Make sure you let your readers and listeners and the public know that there are some tickets left.

The $25 tickets are sold out. There are some $50 seats left, so please go and get them before they are gone. It’s going to be, as I said, an exciting night in Las Vegas because with all these fights on the card it’s fireworks, and fireworks it will be on March 8 in Las Vegas. Thank you all, and I will see you there.

# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, Two-Division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title against former Three-Time World Champion Cristian Mijares exciting young star Omar Figueroa will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo Alvarez and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @CaneloOficial, @elperro82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @OmarFigueroaJr, @DinamitaAB, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @mgmgrand, @SHOSports and @Swanson_Comm follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

SAN DIEGO — (Feb. 25, 2014) – Several dozen television camera crews, newspapers and web reporters, photographers, (video) bloggers and fans were on hand to watch popular former WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez during his media workout at House of Boxing on Tuesday in San Diego.

With Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya looking on, Canelo worked out for a little over an hour. He shadow-boxed, hit the mitts, did calisthenics, worked the speed bag, smacked the heavy bag, did stretching exercises, posed for photos, signed autographs and conducted copious amounts of interviews, some in groups and others one-on-one, as traditional Mexican music blared in the background.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out today,” said the humble yet confident Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KOs), who leaves Southern California for Las Vegas on Monday. His showdown against Mexican compatriot Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) will take place Saturday, March 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena live on SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). “I am very thankful and appreciative to all of the media and fans here. They provide me with my motivation.”

In three world title fights on the PPV undercard, undefeated two-division world champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight title against former three-time world champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (49-7-2, 24 KOs); unbeaten Omar “Panterita” Figueroa Jr. (24-0-1, 17 KOs) will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez (23-2-3, 14 KOs) and “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs).

Tickets are on sale and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Below is what Canelo, his manager Eddie Reynoso, his trainer Chepo Reynoso and Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya said Tuesday:

CANELO ALVAREZ

(“What are your thoughts on what figures to be a slugfest with Angulo?)

“There are hard fights and there are difficult fights; this is going to be a very hard fight, a grueling fight. I know Angulo is training like he never has before.”

(If victorious, who do you want to fight next?)

“I am not thinking of any other fighter or any future fight. My only focus is on Angulo and March 8. This is a really tough fight and it is the only fight I think about.”

(How is this camp different than your past camps, or is it different at all?)

“I learned a lot from the Mayweather fight, not only physically, but mentally. It was a great learning experience. This camp may not look that different, but I’ve been applying everything I learned into this camp and trying to refine some of the things I do.”

(How have you managed to handle the media scrutiny throughout your career?)

“I don’t think about it. This performance is going to regain everybody’s confidence in me.”

(Did you ever think you’d reach these heights as a professional fighter?)

“No, never. I always just tried to be the best fighter I could be, the best in the world. All of this notoriety and popularity is a plus but I’m just a normal person trying to succeed and reach my goal.”

(Is Angulo made to order?)

“His style is one that I enjoy because I know he loves to trade punches so I won’t have to go looking for him.”

(Do you consider yourself a superstar?)

“I do not and would never consider myself a superstar. I leave that up to the fans and media to decide.”

(Any advice for fighters coming up?)

“Work hard and stay in the gym. If you stay disciplined, good things will happen.”

(Is there a fighter you’ve faced that reminds you of Angulo?)
“I think that if I had to name one fighter it would be Carlos Baldomir, because I fought him when I was so young and he was so strong at that point in his career.”

(Is it important for you to win by knockout, or just to come out victorious on March 8?)

“I never go into a fight looking for a knockout. I just want to win convincingly, although there’s no doubt our styles will make for an exciting fight.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Golden Boy Promotions President

“I’m very excited about this whole event and, of course, especially the main event. It’s going to be an exciting fight, a helluva fight. It’s going to be a shootout.

“With two Mexican warriors in the ring, you may go in with a game plan, but once one of them gets hit, well, Viva Mexico. It’ll be bombs away.

“You really don’t want to miss this event. From top to bottom, there are great, action-packed fights. Last year I thought we put on the most exciting fights and we’re continuing that with our first pay-per-event in 2014.

“I want to thank the fans for all their support and for supporting Golden Boy Boxing.”

CHEPO REYNOSO, Canelo’s Manager

“It’s going to be a very interesting fight because the styles complement each other. Angulo is an aggressive fighter who comes forward. That’s the tailor-made style for Canelo to make a very exciting fight.”

EDDIE REYNOSO, Canelo’s Trainer

“It’s going to be a hard fight. We’re up against a very strong fighter in Angulo and that’s why we’ve been training so hard.

“Training has been going very well. We’ve been training very hard and effectively and that’s why we expect to have Canelo get his hand raised on March 8.”

# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, Two-Division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title against former Three-Time World Champion Cristian Mijares exciting young star Omar Figueroa will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo Alvarez and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast in over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @CaneloOficial, @elperro82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @OmarFigueroaJr, @DinamitaAB, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @mgmgrand and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

Kelly Swanson
We’re excited to be joined today by one of the main event contestants in the “TOE TO TOE Canelo vs. Angulo” pay-per-view event Saturday, March 8. On today’s call is Alfredo Angulo, former WBO Interim Junior Middleweight World Champion; also, Virgil Hunter, Alfredo’s trainer and Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez to translate.

And of course now to make further introductions and talk a little bit more about the show is Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions.

Richard Schaefer
This is going to be the first pay-per-view of the year here in the United States, and it is an all action card, it is “TOE TO TOE.”

I was looking this morning again at the card, and even the non-televised fights I think are just great match ups and exciting fights. It’s definitely one of those cards where you want to be early at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and see all these fights. I saw Jo Jo Diaz is going to be on there, Avery Gibson at 8-0 is going to be on; Francisco Vargas against Abner Cotto, what a great match up that is; the recent signing of Will Tomlinson from Australia, Junior Lightweight, 21-0, against Jerry Belmontes; and then of course Jorge Linares against Nihito Arakawa. Some of those fights will be on the SHOWTIME preview, so they’ll be available to a large audience as a lead-in to the pay-per-view.

And then you get to the SHOWTIME PPV card with Carlos Molina and Jermall Charlo for the IBF Junior Middleweight World Championship; you have Omar Figueroa against Ricardo Alvarez for a WBC Lightweight World Championship, and then you have Leo Santa Cruz against Cristian Mijares for the WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship. I mean, it’s just an unbelievable night of boxing and I think it will be very well received by the pay-per-view audience here in the United States. It is distributed internationally as well, of course, and if the ticket sales are an indication I think this will be a home run. We have over 12,000 tickets sold. Some of the categories are sold out, but there are still tickets available, $600, $400, $200, $150, and I do expect a complete sell out at the MGM Grand.

I want to thank our colleagues at MGM. I want to thank our sponsors as well, Corona, AT&T, and Casamigos Tequila. The Carlos Molina-Jermall Charlo fight is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The fight of course is going to be distributed live on SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. Pacific, and it can be heard in Spanish as well using a secondary audio programming.

So, without any further ado I’d like to thank Virgil, and I’d like to thank Alfredo Angulo as well, for making themselves available today. I’ve got an update from camp, and I hear Alfredo is looking sensational. This is exactly the kind of fight one gets up for; where you will see without any question the best Alfredo Angulo we have seen. And we know Alfredo Angulo, with a record of 22 wins, 2 losses, and 18 KO’s, when Alfredo is at his best it’s very, very difficult for anyone to beat him. So he not only has heart but he has that iron will to win.

The man who gets him in shape to get him ready is the 2011 Boxing Writers of America Trainer of the Year, Virgil Hunter, who is obviously one of the most respected trainers in the world and trains many, many stars, including of course Andre Ward and Amir Khan. So, I know he’s very confident in Alfredo, and I’d like to turn it over now to Virgil to make some opening comments and talk maybe a little bit about training camp.

Virgil Hunter
I agree with Richard, Alfredo is very much up for this fight and into this fight. That’s not to say he wasn’t in any other bouts that he did, but we understand the magnitude of this opportunity and we intend to make the most of it.

I’m very pleased with the camp situation. We’re fortunate to have several of the guys in camp doing mini camps and conditioning, and because of that we’re able to provide Alfredo with a lot of different looks in sparring, which I feel complements the style that he has and he has the opportunity to pick up on various things that the styles offer.

Everything’s going great, no injuries, no setbacks, we’re right on schedule, we’ll be on target on everything, and you’re going to have a very determined fighter now, Alfredo Angulo, on March 8, and it’s going to be a fight that I don’t think the world, anybody in the boxing world should want to miss. I think everybody should tune in.

R. Schaefer
You mentioned the word “opportunity” and I agree with you, I think in boxing a lot of it has to do with opportunity. There are a lot of talented fighters, there are a lot of hungry fighters, but it is about creating these opportunities, and when Alfredo talked to me and really wanted a fight with Canelo, obviously there are a lot of fighters out there who would love to have this fight because Canelo is one of the superstars of the sport. When you are the kind of fighter like Alfredo is, a warrior, always looking for the biggest and best challenges, then that is exactly what he wants.

For us here at Golden Boy I like to get these kinds of opportunities and then it is up to Alfredo to have the right motivation, we know he has the talent and we know he has the desire to get up and show on March 8 who is the best 154 pounder. With Alfredo, I got to know him a bit outside of the ring as well. He truly is one of the kindest and nicest people outside of the ring I have ever met, and a stark contrast with the person in the ring, where he is just a vicious warrior and always on the attack, and I think that’s why he has so many fans all around the world. When Angulo fights, people watch, and there’s going to be no exception on March 8.

It is a pleasure now for me to introduce to you one of the most exciting fighters, his battle in 2011 with James Kirkland was a candidate for Fight of the Year. He is originally from Mexicali, Baja California, fighting now out of Los Angeles, record of 22-2 and 18 KO’s, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo.

Alfredo Angulo
Hi, guys. I really appreciate everybody being here and I really appreciate the opportunity for this conference call. Thank you so much to SHOWTIME and Golden Boy for this opportunity, it’s very exciting to be on this pay-per-view. Thank you so much for this opportunity, I really appreciate it, and I have been working really hard for this fight and will put on a really great fight for the fans.

R. Schaefer
OK, gracias, Alfredo. We are going to open it now to the media for questions; if you have any questions for Alfredo or for Virgil Hunter, they’re both on the line.

Q
Richard you talked about opportunity for Alfredo, obviously he’s getting some special treatment and respect being on this call by himself, it’s a great opportunity for him, but can you characterize what happens if he wins and what happens if he loses.

R. Schaefer
Well, I think you don’t just get the opportunity, you earn the opportunity, and I think Alfredo has earned that in the way he fought and the way he fights. Boxing has really moved away, I think, particularly in the last couple of years or so, where excitement, win or lose, is being more rewarded than it used to be and fighters don’t really have to go back in the line if they lose in an exciting fashion, and sometimes an exciting loss these days is, frankly, more valuable than a boring win. I will give you an example, like a Rigondeaux, and I don’t mean to knock in any way or shape Rigondeaux, I respect him, I admire his talent, he’s one of the best fighters in my opinion, but crowds like to be entertained, and Alfredo has that style. So I think he has earned this through his hard work and dedication to the sport, and of course a win, nobody wants to lose, but you know, Alfredo is must-see TV, and I don’t think anything changes in that regard.

Now, if you beat somebody like Canelo and you are in the 154-pound weight class, there are of course many big names and opportunities out there, and I don’t need to tell you who the biggest name is, we all know that, that of course is Floyd Mayweather. So I am not going to go and make any statements or promises and so on now, ‘if you win you’re going to get Floyd or so,’ but there are other big names there whether it’s Miguel Cotto or so on, so the door certainly would open and it would lead to mega-fights. I think Alfredo knows that, but Alfredo is a veteran, and he was actually telling me that at the L.A. press conference, he’s not thinking ahead of that. His only task at hand is Canelo Alvarez, and I think Alfredo would be foolish, which I know he is not, to look past Canelo Alvarez. So, his focus is on Canelo and let’s see what happens.

Q
I talked to Andre Ward yesterday and he had some really specific things to say about Angulo’s punch placement and his pursuit, his ability to cut off the ring. He also said that he anticipated sparring with Alfredo for a second time last night. What do you take from Andre’s comments and also did that sparring session take place again last night and what have you gained from it.

A. Angulo
First of all I’m not sure if I’m going to be boxing any more with Andre or not, it’s not up to me, but the times that I did box with him, he’s a very good fighter. He’s got a lot of talent, experience, and he’s got a lot of qualities that are superior to Canelo. So I know that it’s helping me, and to be able to be in that ring with Andre Ward, it’s a plus for me and it’s a positive. I’m very grateful to him for the work, for the nice comments, because he knows how important this fight is to me.

Q
Alfredo, this is a huge opportunity, as Richard has said, and you realize it. What is at stake for you, given the fact that you were chosen over some pretty tough competition for this fight, and are you going to sell out and really just probably fight your best, hardest fight ever?

A. Angulo
Yes, you know, I’m very grateful. I want to thank, once again, Richard Schaefer and the entire team at Golden Boy Promotions for this opportunity, for having the confidence in me so that I can be in this kind of fight. But at the same time I feel that I won my spot, I won my spot through my hard work and my style of fighting. I’ve always given 100 percent up in that ring, and I’ve given it my all, so I kind of feel that I won my spot, and there’s a reason why I’m in this fight. This is a very, very big opportunity for me and I want to take full advantage.

Q
Virgil, you said there have been no injuries, obviously, he suffered an eye injury in the last fight, can you characterize that? And also, what are the benefits that you see in him having sparred with guys like Amir Khan, who’s smaller and quicker, and obviously Andre Ward, who’s bigger and the complete package?

V. Hunter
Just to the injuries on his eye, other than swelling, wasn’t what people assumed it was, and it was unfortunate because the diagnosis that night was done in the ring before he even stepped out, and it wasn’t by a doctor it was speculation by someone else. The injury was definitely an abrasion on the cornea, what the ophthalmologist felt was pretty much like a poke or something like that, and we’ll leave it at that.

The sparring with the different guys is that I never changed his style because that’s him, and I wanted him to naturally gravitate towards other things that would mesh with his style, and by doing that and showing him different looks, different styles of boxing. Then, as he and I talked about when he was training in Los Angeles and pretty much sparring against one type of style, he stays locked in that style, but now because he’s been exposed to different styles, different looks, very fast and quick styles, he’s been picking up and adapting to these things naturally and naturally integrating them into his style without being force fed, without being mind fed. It’s come along naturally through his participation and observation. So that to me was the benefit and the purpose of different looks and styles. But we do also have sparring partners in camp simulating the style of Canelo also.

Q
Alfredo, do you think you can win the fight if it goes the distance, or do you feel you have to stop Canelo in order to get the victory?

A. Angulo
Well, sincerely it’s hard to answer that. I really can’t say. I’m training to win. I’m training to win whatever happens, whether it goes the distance, or if the knockout comes, I’m training to win. So, I can’t really answer that.

Q
Are you driven by your underdog status? You seem to almost be, if you win this it’s definitely kind of a Rocky story come to life. Does that fact drive you at all, or do you just try to keep emotion out of it?

A. Angulo
You know, I really don’t think about that. I really don’t care. I’ve been the underdog most of my career, I’ve gone against the current and I just do my job and I work hard. But I really don’t think about that.

R. Schaefer
I just want to add to that, last I checked his nickname is actually not the underdog, it’s “El Perro,” the dog. He is not the underdog. He is the dog.

Q
Virgil, does Canelo’s power and style concern you at all?

V. Hunter
Of course his style concerns me. Anybody that Alfredo, or any other fighter in the stable, who he goes up against concerns me. He’s a good fighter. He’s proven that. And he’s not anybody to be playing with in the ring, so of course his style concerns me.

Q
At the last fight with Canelo and Floyd you made a comment that you felt that maybe Saul didn’t have enough experience to be able to beat Floyd. In this fight do you feel that you have the experience to beat Saul?

A. Angulo
I’ve been in the ring with good fighters, talented fighters. I also have an extensive amateur background, so I have plenty of experience. But, you know, Canelo’s also been getting better, he’s been getting better and he’s had some good experience in the last few years, so that’s what’s going to make this fight very interesting. It’s going to be an interesting fight, and we’ll see what happens.

Q
There’s obviously other fighters that were being mentioned as possible opponents for Canelo, but for some reason you were chosen. Why do you think you were chosen?

A. Angulo
I think the reason that Canelo decided to fight against me is because he’s a smart fighter and he knows that he wanted to prove to his fans that he’s ready to fight a good fighter, a fighter that’s very strong, and most importantly, a fighter that makes exciting fights. I know that I’ve proven throughout my career that I always give exciting fights, and I think that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to make a good show and we’re going to put on an exciting fight.

Q
Virgil, how difficult is it to train a fighter that’s very, very aggressive and to get him to be disciplined and to have other attributes, possibly defensive attributes?

V. Hunter
Alfredo’s not a difficult fighter to train. The difficult fighter to train is the one who doesn’t want to train, that’s the difficult one. So he’s not a difficult fighter to train. My intention, it’s obvious, is that I don’t teach the style that Alfredo was taught, but I believe that if you’re going to be a good coach that you should subject yourself to the various styles that these champions possess so you can learn. Two years from now I might have another Alfredo and I’ll know even more what to do. Defense is something that I do very well, and within his style we continue to work on this, and I see the improvement daily.

So, it’s a pleasure working with him, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, because he gives it his all, he doesn’t play around, he doesn’t kid around, and any fight that he goes in he’s in that fight. He got an opportunity to win that fight and proved in his last outing (Erislandy Lara) against what some consider the best 154 pounder in the world, and certainly was the best amateur that ever existed, so going into a fight with Alfredo Angulo I’m always going to go in confident because I know he’s always going to have an opportunity to win that fight.

Q
Alfredo, in your last fight against Lara, it was a tough, competitive fight, it was back-and-forth, you knocked him down twice. I’m just curious from your perspective what did you take out of that performance, and do you have any regrets at all about the way that fight ended?

A. Angulo
I learned plenty in that fight. But most importantly I feel that I demonstrated that I can adapt to any style and I can fight pretty much any style boxer. I’m working hard every day with Virgil, I’m learning every day, and that’s the most important thing, that I’m learning and I’m ready to put on a good show, all the time.

Q
Alfredo, since you faced a southpaw last time out and someone that has a Cuban amateur background that Lara has, are you looking forward to facing someone like Saul Alvarez who is the complete style contrast, a guy that will go out there and give you a war?

A. Angulo
You know, basically, I’m happy to fight. That’s my job, I’m supposed to be fighting, and I’m happy to fight, and it’s my job to figure out styles. I’m just glad that I have Virgil on my side to help me construct a game plan and figure out the styles. I am happy that I’m facing another Mexican, because as all the fans know, everybody knows when two Mexicans get in the ring it’s a guaranteed show, it’s a guaranteed exciting show. And March 8, don’t expect anything different.

Q
There’s no title on the line in this fight against Saul Alvarez, but being the fact that he had the biggest fight ever with Mayweather in his last fight do you see this as a title fight, just being on this big grand stage and fighting someone that is well known, like Saul Alvarez?

A. Angulo
You know, I pretty much consider all my fights like world title fights. Yes, I know that in this fight it’s not going to be for a title, but my motivation, my world title is the fans, winning over the fans, making sure that they’re happy with my performance. That’s my motivation, and I consider that kind of like winning a world title if they’re happy.

Q
What do you consider the most dangerous attribute that Canelo has that he’s going to bring to the fight? And how do you classify him, what level do you see him and how do you classify yourself?

A. Angulo
Canelo has gained a lot of experience the last couple of years, but he’s a fighter that has fast hands and he can also box if he wants to, so those are maybe some of the attributes, some of the things that I have to look out for. As far as myself, categorizing myself, I really can’t say. I don’t pay attention to that. All I do is fight, and I let my fighting do the talking for me. Canelo knows that I’m a good fighter, and that’s basically all I can say.

Q
Alfredo, Canelo’s coming off of a loss just like you are. Whose loss was more valuable in experience to the defeated fighter and why?

A. Angulo
Both fights were very, very different. Canelo is coming off a loss to Floyd Mayweather, the pound for pound No. 1 fighter in the world, and in that fight he hardly touched him. My fight, I’m coming off a loss to one of the best fighters in the world, and that is Erislandy Lara, and in a fight that arguably I was winning. It was a very, very entertaining fight, a very exciting fight, and I was possibly winning the fight. So, both fights were very, very different.

Q
Alfredo, have you noticed the recent trend of A-side Golden Boy boxers getting upset by rugged Latino fighters in need of career defining wins; for example, Maidana did it against Broner, Jhonny Gonzalez beat Abner Mares and Victor Ortiz was knocked out by Luis Collazo. What do you think about that?

A. Angulo
Yes, yes, I have noticed. But that’s the beautiful thing about boxing, it goes to show that you can be the best fighter in the world but if you don’t train and you let your guard down, anybody can come and beat you. That’s why you’ve got to be ready at every turn and you have to train hard.

Q
Would you continue this trend, Alfredo, and upset Golden Boy’s Canelo to earn your signature victory? And if you win, what would you like to do next, Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes perhaps?

A. Angulo
God willing, it’s going to be that way. That’s what I want, that’s what I’m working for, and it will happen that way. As far as who I want to fight next, I’m not thinking about that. I’m just thinking about Canelo Alvarez right now, that’s on my mind, and it’s not up to me. It’s up to my team. It’s up to Golden Boy, Richard Schaefer, to decide who I’ll fight next. I’m not worrying about that. The most important thing for me right now is Canelo Alvarez.

Q
You spoke very respectfully of Lara, Alfredo. He beat you and he beat Austin Trout, can he beat Floyd Mayweather? How good is he?

A. Angulo
Well, you know I really can’t say. They both have very similar styles. I think if they ever fought each other, I know for sure it will be a boring fight because all they do is they worry about their defense, or they try to do a lot of defense, or they turn their backs a lot, so I know that for sure. I know that it would be a boring fight if they ever fought each other.

R. Schaefer
All right, I’d like to thank Virgil and Alfredo to be on the call. I’d like to thank all the media members for their support of this great top to bottom, “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” and all the other great fights.

Just a few fight week activity updates, we’re going to have, on Sunday, March 2, at Olvera Street in Los Angeles a fan rally sending off the fighters. We have Canelo there, Alfredo there, Leo Santa Cruz, Cristian Mijares, Omar Figueroa and Ricardo Alvarez. On Tuesday, March 4 is the official arrival at the MGM in the afternoon, starting at 1:00, of all the fighters.

On Wednesday it’s going to be an open workout in the MGM Grand lobby, open to the public, with all the fighters participating. Then on Thursday March 6 we have the final press conference for the full card. On Friday of course is the weigh in, and then on Saturday it’s Fight Night, March 8t, live from the MGM Grand. Make sure you tell your readers or listeners that tickets are still available, we do anticipate a sell out, and I’m excited to see you all in Las Vegas on March 8h. Thank you very much.

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, Two-Division World Champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KO’s) will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title against former Two-Time World Champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (49-7-2, 24 KO’s); exciting young star Omar “Panterita” Figueroa (24-0-1, 17 KO’s) will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez (23-2-3, 14 KO’s) and “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KO’s) will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KO’s). Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast on over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

JERMALL CHARLO, Top Junior Middleweight Contender

“I’m super excited to bring the IBF title back to Houston. It’s been a long time coming for me and my twin brother Jermell. On March 8, I’m going to give it all I got.

“This is like a regular fight to me. I work hard for every fight. Carlos Molina, he is just the stepping-stone and I just have to get past this obstacle. Once my team gets past this, I feel like we’ll be at the top forever.

“This fight is big. It’s major. I’m 17 -0 right now. I haven’t even clinched 20 fights and I’m fighting for a world title. I feel like an elite fighter. I have an elite team behind me. So, it’s just a matter of time.”

[On working with trainer Ronnie Shields]
“It’s great. I feel like it can’t get any better. Having a team like this led by Ronnie Shields, it doesn’t get any better than this.

“This is like any other fight I’ve ever had. In 2013 none of my opponents had been knocked out. I knocked them out. I face top guys and it’s just another day in the office for me.

“My team gets me ready and it’s not about just me. My team got me prepared and ready with what I can do in the ring. Ronnie Shields has been with top-class athletes in the sport of boxing. I’m the next one.”

[On the work to get to this point in camp]
” We all have one big goal to accomplish. With my team behind me like they’ve been behind me, I couldn’t ask for anything better. Not only my team, but I have the whole city [of Houston] behind me. It’s just in a matter of time. Training with Brian Vera, training with my twin brother, those guys push me to be where I am. I know I have a lot to prove so, on March 8th I’m going to give you all I have and bring that IBF title back to this city.”

RONNIE SHIELDS, Charlo Trainer

[On what he is doing to prepare Jermall Charlo for his upcoming fight]

“We aren’t doing anything different then what we’ve already been doing. The thing about us is, we train hard every day. We don’t skip a beat on anything because on certain fights people might not think what we are doing is that important. Every fight is important. So you have to be ready for every fight. This is what we’ve always trained for.”

[On Jermall’s growth as a fighter]
“At the end of 2012 we were 10-0. So I called Al Haymon and I said ‘Look, you have to sign this kid.’ I said ‘this kid is going to be champion of the world for a very long time. He’s young and he’s strong. He’s got everything that it takes.’ So he said OK. I said we’ve just got to keep him busy. So, seven fights later, seven knockouts, now here it is and he’s fighting for a world title.”

# # #

“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, Two-Division World Champion Leo Santa Cruz will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title against former Three-Time World Champion Cristian Mijares exciting young star Omar Figueroa will risk his WBC Lightweight Title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo Alvarez and Carlos Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast on over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

The first two Saturdays in March are a window that will provide a look at whether two heavily-hyped fighters, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Canelo Alvarez, have retained their popularity among their loyal fan base.

Chavez comes off controversy on March 1 in a rematch of his hotly-debated decision over Bryan Vera. Then, Canelo tests his Q rating on March 8 against Alfredo Angulo in his first bout since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a decision seen as one-sided by everybody but a judge, C.J. Ross, who scored it a draw.

Chavez and Canelo may never share the same ring because of all the usual divisiveness in boxing’s balkanized business. Still, they are linked, almost like a couple of rival politicians, in an ever-shifting race for allegiance among Mexican and Mexican-American fans. If presented a ballot these days, some of those fans might be tempted to vote none-of-the-above. Neither distinguished himself in his last outing.

Of the two, however, Chavez suffered more damage to his reputation and legendary name than Canelo sustained in a predictable loss. The difference: Chavez did it to himself. Canelo had it done to him.

Chavez appears to be closer than ever to losing a nation of fans who revere his dad, yet have grown ever more exasperated with the son’s apparent sense of entitlement and lack of maturity. Chavez continued to make a mockery of making weight and training before he got a gift on the scorecards against Vera in September. They booed him.

“I owe the fans,’’ says Chavez, a brand new father.

Is Chavez just talking or serious about sustaining a commitment to his craft this time around? It’s fair to wonder about that. Ratings for his HBO rematch at San Antonio’s Alamodome with Vera will say a lot about whether fans have given up on him.

That said, fans also might decide to wait-and-see. It will take more than one good fight from Chavez to win them back. If he is in shape, he figures to beat Vera easily. But the real proof would be in what he does over the next couple of fights. After a victory, he too often gets comfortable, falls off the wagon and into a lifestyle with no discipline. Roadwork consists of midnight laps around the couch and to the fridge.

For Canelo, there’s a different kind of skepticism. His pound-for-pound credentials took a big hit when he was so out-classed by Mayweather in September. Not to worry, Canelo promised in a conference call.

“I learned a lot from that fight,’’ he said. “I learned a lot from the Mayweather fight. He’s got a style that’s very complicated. He’s got a style that’s very intelligent and he fights intelligently. I think that his whole purpose is just to win. But I learned a lot. I learned a lot about the fight itself inside the ring and outside the ring as well.’’

In Angulo, Canelo took a fight he figures to win. Still, it’s dangerous. Angulo is tough and heavy-handed. He knocked down accomplished Erislandy Lara twice in June, before losing 10th-round stoppage. He also might have learned some valuable new tricks in sparring with Andre Ward. Virgil Hunter trains both Angulo and Ward.

Let’s put it this way: Angulo has better shot at scoring an upset than Vera does.

Yet, Golden Boy Promotions is betting that Canelo will emerge with his career and popularity intact. Canelo’s Showtime-televised comeback against Angulo at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand is a pay-per-view bout.

“I have loyal fans and I’m very grateful for that,’’ Canelo said. “They’re always going to be with me. I feel that they’re going to support me through thick and thin. They’re going to follow me in this Pay-Per-View.’’

If they don’t, only Canelo will pay.

NEW YORK (Feb. 20, 2014)—SHOWTIME Sports will offer a robust block of programming across cable and digital platforms in advance of the SHOWTIME PPV presentation of “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a live four-fight pay-per-view event on Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

More than a week’s worth of live and taped programming will be available on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, CBS Sports Network, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, on mobile devices via SHOWTIME ANYTIME®, and the premium network’s website at SHO.com/Sports before March 8.

The blitz of programming begins with the premiere of ALL ACCESS: Canelo vs. Angulo on Friday, Feb. 28, on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT) and concludes with Canelo vs. Angulo: COUNTDOWN LIVE on Saturday, March 8, a 90-minute live preview on SHOWTIME featuring at least one live undercard fight (7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT). The eight-day marathon includes live coverage of the Final Press Conference and Official Weigh-In, full fight replays and a SHOWTIME EXTREME ‘Roadblock’–four continuous hours of programming on Fight Day beginning at 10 a.m. ET/PT.

ALL ACCESS: Canelo vs. Angulo
The critically acclaimed original series returns as SHOWTIME Sports chronicles the preparation of the fighters for the first boxing blockbuster event of 2014. Episodes 1 and 2 take viewers behind the scenes in training camp and into the lives of Canelo and Angulo, the power-punching Mexican countrymen as their intensity builds towards their 12-round super welterweight showdown. The final episode of the series, titled Epilogue, provides viewers unprecedented access to Fight Week, the drama between the ropes during the main event matchup and into the fighter’s minds in the rarely seen aftermath of world-class prizefighting.
Ø Episode 1 premieres on Friday, Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

Ø Episode 2 premieres on Wednesday, March 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

Ø Epilogue premieres on Saturday, March 15 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME immediately following the live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING presentation of Danny Garcia vs. Mauricio Herrera.

CBS Sports Network will air encore presentations of Episodes 1 and 2 following respective SHOWTIME premieres, and all episodes of the series will be available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND, SHOWTIME ANYTIME and online at SHO.com/Sports.

In addition, all three episodes will be produced in Spanish and premiere on FOX Deportes. For more information regarding the schedule for FOX Deportes, please visit http://www.foxdeportes.com/tvschedule.

LIVE FIGHT WEEK COVERAGE
SHOWTIME Sports will offer live coverage of both the Final Press Conference and the Official Weigh-In from the MGM Grand. The events will be streamed live on SHO.com/Sports with the weigh-in televised live on CBS Sports Network.
Ø Final Press Conference: Thursday, March 6, live from the Hollywood Theatre at MGM Grand beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.

Ø Official Weigh-In: Friday, March 7, live from MGM Grand Garden Arena beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

FULL FIGHT REPLAYS
Beginning March 3, encore presentations of memorable bouts featuring Canelo Alvarez, Alfredo Angulo, Omar Figueroa and Leo Santa Cruz will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME, CBS Sports Network, SHO.com/Sports, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and SHOWTIME ANYTIME. The bouts and their SHO Extreme replays are as follows:

Select SHO Extreme replays are as follows
Monday, March 3
Ø Canelo’s memorable win over Austin Trout in front of nearly 40,000 excitable fans at San Antonio’s Alamodome from April 2013 (10:30 p.m. ET/PT, SHO EXTREME);

Ø Angulo’s thrilling battle with Jorge Silva from LA Memorial Sports Arena, Dec. 2012 (11:30 p.m. ET/PT, SHO EXTREME).

Tuesday, March 4
Ø Canelo’s SHOWTIME debut versus upset-minded Josesito Lopez from Sept. 2012 (10 p.m. ET/PT, SHO EXTREME);

Ø Angulo’s courageous performance versus Erislandy Lara from June 2013 (10:30 p.m. ET/PT, SHO EXTREME);

Thursday, March 6
Ø Fight of the Year candidate between Omar Figueroa and Nihito Arakawa from July, 2013 (10:30 p.m. ET/PT, SHO EXTREME);

Ø Leo Santa Cruz vs. Alexander Munoz from SHOWTIME PPV in May, 2013 (11:30 p.m. ET/PT, SHO EXTREME);

Select CBS Sports Network replays are follows:
Monday, March 3
Ø Canelo vs. Lopez (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

Ø Angulo vs. Silva (7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

Ø Figueroa vs. Arakawa (8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

Ø Angulo vs. Lara (9 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

Tuesday, March 4
Ø Canelo vs. Trout (8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

Ø Santa Cruz vs. Munoz (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

SHOWTIME EXTREME “ROADBLOCK”
On Fight Day, March 8, SHOWTIME EXTREME will air four continuous hours of programming beginning at 10 a.m. ET/PT in support of the evening’s live pay per view event. The programming block will feature Episodes 1 and 2 of ALL ACCESS plus the aforementioned encores of Canelo vs. Trout and Angulo vs. Lara.

“CANELO vs. ANGULO: COUNTDOWN LIVE”
The 90-minute pre-pay per view show “Canelo vs. Angulo: COUNTDOWN LIVE” features live interviews, special features and a live, 10-round lightweight bout between two-time world champ Jorge Linares and Japanese brawler Nihito Arakawa. The SHOWTIME telecast begins at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT and runs until just prior to the start of the SHOWTIME PPV presentation of “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. “COUNTDOWN LIVE” is hosted by Brian Kenny and features SHOWTIME sportscasters Al Bernstein, Paulie Malignaggi, Steve Farhood, Mauro Ranallo and Brian Custer.

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ABOUT “TOE TO TOE: CANELO VS. ANGULO”:
“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,” a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In world title fights on the undercard, two-division World Champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight title against former three-time World Champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (49-7-2, 24 KOs); exciting young star Omar “Panterita’’ Figueroa (24-0-1, 17 KOs) will risk his WBC Lightweight title against Canelo’s brother Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez (23-2-3, 14 KOs) and “King” Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight Championship against undefeated Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs). Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be broadcast on over 400 select movie theaters across the country.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @CaneloOficial, @elperro82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @OmarFigueroaJr, @DinamitaAB, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @mgmgrand and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com. Movie theater tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

ABOUT SHOWTIME
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

Kelly Swanson
Thanks, everybody for joining us today. We’re very excited to be talking about the fantastic undercard of the Canelo vs. Angulo pay-per-view event, which is taking place Saturday, March 8 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and live on Showtime PPV®. Today joining us will be Leo Santa Cruz, Cristian Mijares, Omar Figueroa, Carlos Molina, Jermall Charlo and Eric Gomez, who will be running the call.

We’re going to start with Jermall Charlo and Carlos Molina and then work our way up to the other fighters. So, without further ado I’m going to turn it over to Eric to give the notes and make the introductions for the fighters. Eric?

Eric Gomez
Great. Thank you, Kelly. Thank you very much to all the media that’s on the call. We appreciate you guys being on. The co-feature, Leo Santa Cruz vs Cristian Mijares is a 12-round WBC Super Bantamweight followed by Omar Figueroa vs. Ricardo Alvarez, the for the lightweight world championship. Opening up the pay-per-view telecast will be Carlos Molina, the IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion against Jermall Charlo.

Saturday, March 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions, sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. The show is going to be produced and distributed by Showtime PPV, beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and 6:00 p.m. Pacific.

The event can be heard in Spanish using Secondary Audio Programming, SAP. Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $200, $150 and as low as $25, not including the service charges, taxes, available to be purchased at www.mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

“Toe To Toe: Canelo vs Angulo” will be broadcast to nearly 400 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.fathomevents.com.

Okay, after having said that let me introduce to your first our first fighter participating on the undercard. He’s a young, undefeated American fighter, 17-0 with 13 knockouts out of Houston, Texas, first started boxing in September of 2008, has won his last four within the division, including the fifth round knockout of Joseph De Los Santos in December. He’s a twin brother of the unbeaten also contender, Jermell Charlo. He is 23-years-old and this is his first world title fight against Carlos Molina. So, if I can please introduce Jermall Charlo to say a few words.

Jermall Charlo
How is everybody doing? I’m just pleased to be on this card fighting in Las Vegas for the second time at MGM Grand on March 8 against the IBF World Champion Carlos Molina. This is going to be a test night for me. I’m prepared for it. As of right now, today, I’m probably nearly just 10 pounds over the weight. I feel strong.

Carlos Molina is a great fighter. He’s a world champion. I give him all the credit for even just choosing me to fight him and giving me the opportunity. I’m going to be well-prepared, well-disciplined in the ring when it’s time to go. I just want to give the fans an exciting toe to toe match-up that they’ve been waiting for.

E. Gomez
That’s great. Thank you very much, Jermall. Now, I want to introduce the World Champion, Carlos “King” Molina with a record of 22-5, two draws, six KOs, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. Now he’s living in Chicago, Illinois. He’s the World Champion. He’s 30 years old. Carlos is probably the most avoided champion out there. It’s incredible. He’s the toughest guy out there and he won the title by beating Ishe Smith in probably one of the biggest Pay-Per-Views in recent history.

But, you know what, he’s stepping up to the plate again to defend his title and looking for bigger, better things in the division. So, Carlos, can you please make a few comments?

Carlos Molina
Thanks to everybody for being here. I feel great. The training camp has been going good, top shape, I feel good. I just want to fight and defend my title as often as I possibly can. Like I said before, I just want to keep fighting and I plan to get those bigger fights and decided to take this fight with an undefeated fighter like Jermall Charlo and just whoever they put in front of me, I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to run.

Q
Jermall, when you got this fight it caught maybe some people by surprise because your brother, who is also undefeated and was moving along, at this point has a few more fights than you professionally, has maybe fought a little bit better competition than you. Was there anything within the family between you and your brother that was sort of like, oh man, that he said to you that you got this title fight before I did, even though the view was that maybe he fought a little bit better at this point because he had had a few more fights than you had?

J. Charlo
Yeah, of course, you know, me and my brother we stick by each other’s side and he called me with just a little bit of laughter in between like, wow, you made it, like this is it right here. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I’m going to make my best to get this opportunity to fight Carlos Molina out of nowhere and just like they doubted my brother, they’re doubting me. So, it’s only making me try harder and it’s only making me grind to my maximum potential where I’m going to shut Carlos Molina out.

Q
I believe it was Eric that talked about Carlos is not a guy that a lot of people want to fight because he’s really good and he’s really got a difficult style to fight. You really have to be on your technical game to beat a guy like Carlos Molina.

I’m wondering when you look at the way he fights whether it was when he fought against Erislandy Lara a couple of years ago in a draw that many people thought he got robbed in or the fight when he won his title against Ishe Smith not too long ago, what do you see in his style that makes you believe that your boxing skills are going to be good enough to, like you said, shut him out or win a very clear decision against him?

J. Charlo
The thing is Carlos Molina, yeah, he’s fought great competition; I don’t feel like Carlos Molina lost against anyone he lost to. I feel like he’s an undefeated fighter at heart. But he’s never fought anyone with my size, my power and my skill, so I’m giving Carlos Molina something he’s never seen before and I want to see how he can deal with it. I mean, he’s the most feared fighter in our division right now that has a title and all of the good things, but I’m going to give him something that he’s never seen before, just like he’s going to give me something that I’ve never seen, but I’ll be more prepared than he will be.

Q
Your brother just got a big win against Rosado a couple of weeks ago. He’s still undefeated. If you beat Carlos Molina and you become the IBF Champion is there ever a scenario where you and your brother would fight each other in a world title fight?

J. Charlo
No. Our belts are going to hang up together. A lot of people ask that and I mean, I don’t think anyone would even want to see my brother and me fight each other. They want to know about it, but it’s not going to happen.

Q
Carlos, they’re taking you, sticking you in the ring against an undefeated guy who a lot of people think very, very highly of. What’s your perception of the way that your first title defense came about?

C. Molina
I mean this is what I wanted. I want full fights, you know. And this was a fight that was also available to me right now at the time and I jumped right in to fight. And, like I said before, I wanted to fight in December and I couldn’t fight Victor Ortiz because they didn’t sanction it, but I’m just very excited. I don’t usually vacation, I don’t need time off or stuff or anything like that. I’m just ready to fight the best and I’m ready to fight for this.

Every month if it was available to me, I’d be fighting every month. Whatever they give me I’m willing to fight.

Q
Carlos, do you look at the main event and think how will it be? Obviously, a big fight for you to fight the winner, particularly if it was Canelo Alvarez, I mean knowing the kind of fans and money that he brings to any kind of event. Is that really part of the motivation for taking this fight on this card?

C. Molina
Well, no, no, not the motivation for it. That was not the motivation. I train hard fight no matter what because if I don’t win I don’t get to advance. And I don’t care what card I’m in or who’s fighting on the main event, to me I’m not going to be kicking around Canelo if I can’t get the fight. I’m just ready to fight if can. If I can’t get the fight, I’ll fight Jermall Charlo then I’ll fight his brother also. That’s what I want, I just want to fight.

Q
First of all, can you reflect on your brother’s performance and how does that motivate you going into a big fight like this, obviously, your biggest opportunity of your career, in terms of the way he handled it and how that rubs off on you?

J. Charlo
Gabriel Rosado, as everybody knows he’s tough and he has nothing to lose, just like Carlos Molina. I know Carlos Molina has his world title that I’m so hungry for. He has nothing to lose fighting me, the way I feel about it. He is the storm. Just like my brother weathered the storm, I’m going to weather the storm also.

Q
Okay, is there anything about his style that you find particularly difficult, pretty much everybody he’s fought has found it to be hard. He’s rugged, very sneaky, he can brawl at times. Do you characterize his style and what it takes to beat somebody like him?

J. Charlo
Carlos Molina is a beast and I’m taking nothing away from Carlos. Everything he wants to do in the ring, he knows how to win, obviously. He’s the world champion. I don’t want people thinking that I’m thinking that Carlos Molina isn’t what he is and I know he’s a monster in the ring so I’m not necessarily worried about his style, I’m not necessarily worried about what he’s going to do. It’s all my God-given attributes that will display the victory for me.

Q
Carlos, obviously, it’s been referenced already over your career the hard luck you’ve had to get in this position, how close your fight was and almost unlikely it was for you to win the title against Ishe Smith, which you did. Given what you’ve been through can you characterize how motivated and determined you are to keep your title?

C. Molina
I mean, it was a tough road. But I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me or anything like that. That made me a better fighter and I wouldn’t have it any other way, winning my title the way I did. I’m always motivated. I know how hard I’ve worked to get to this point and I’m just, I’m so focused in every fight.

Every fight I treat the same. I treat every fight equally because without winning I wouldn’t be here, so every fight to me, I train like a championship fight, so this is no different. I’m just going to be in top shape and ready to fight.

Q
You’re fighting a very young, talented, big, athletic fighter. Other than his youth, what are the things that are different, if at all, about him than anyone else you’ve fought?

C. Molina
I mean, it’s hard to tell. It’s always hard to tell until you get in the ring and experience it for yourself. We’re just going to give ourselves; I would picture him being even better than what he is right now so that when you go into the ring you’re ready for anything. So, you know, he’s got that jab, he’s got that height and that’s what he uses real good, so we’re just going to take that away from him.

Q
Carlos, people have alluded on this call that basically you have a very awkward style and people find you hard to fight. Obviously, it makes you pretty avoided. How would you describe your style if you had to describe it?

C. Molina
They always say awkward. They say awkward because I feel like they can’t figure it out. So, if you can’t figure it out they just call it awkward. But if anything my style is just smart, sneaky, aggressive, just never do the same thing, always adjusting. And that’s what I do and I’m always thinking no matter what. You’re not always going to see the same fighter under every fight because you’ve got to fight different fighters different.

With this fight it’s no different. I’m just going to adjust to whatever he brings and whatever he does and I’m ready.

Q
Do you think it’s more how you train or is it you as a person, it’s natural for you to be awkward and just have your movement in the ring? Is it something that you consciously make an effort for, I guess, not able to be adjusted to?

C. Molina
Well, yeah, you’ve got to look at who you’re fighting and what they do the best, and then what they do the best, you try to neutralize that. And you just go off that. If he edges up, then I edge up again. It’s always, it’s like a chess match.

They think I’m awkward or a certain style is there. The next thing you know, you take it away from them and you just keep adjusting. You never do the same thing over and over again.

Q
Jermall, have you been sparring with Erislandy Lara or have you been claiming to do that? And has he given you any advice on what to expect with Carlos Molina, seeing that he’s basically the only person to have actually beaten Lara?

J. Charlo
No. His fight with Molina was not advice for me. I’m trained by the great Ronnie Shields. He has a great game plan for Carlos Molina. Ronnie Shields actually lost to Carlos Molina twice, so I don’t think a third time it’s going to happen and we’ll just see how the fight plays out once we get in there.

Q
Was it Carlos who chose you or you did you guys kind of come together and start negotiating from the table because you wanted to fight each other?

J. Charlo
Every fighter, 154 pound division that’s trying to rise to the top where the fighters at the top kind of know what’s going on with each other. At heart, Carlos Molina got turned down by the sanction when he was going to fight Victor Ortiz, which I would have thought he’s the guy. I’m actually further down in the rankings and it’s a lot of guys that really wanted to fight.

And I’m working with Al Haymon, who is the best in boxing and he manages my card and every time I fight he tells me, look, you’re only getting better and better, smarter and smarter, keep trying it and one day we’re going to get that big shot. And sure enough, it happened.

E. Gomez
Before we introduce the next fighter, if we can have a closing statement from the champion, Carlos Molina. Can you just make a closing statement, please?

C. Molina
Yeah, I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity and letting me be as successful as I’ve been in the sport that I love. And I’m ready to put on a show on March 8th and I bring the fight to Jermall Charlo and I’m ready.

E. Gomez
And the challenger now, Jermall, can you please make a closing statement?

J. Charlo
My closing statement is just I want to thank God for just giving me this opportunity. And, Carlos Molina, can you hear me?

C. Molina
Yeah.

J. Charlo
I’ve got a lot of respect for you, man, but when it’s time to fight I respect no party.

C. Molina
Yep, same here, man.

E. Gomez
So, now we’ll introduce the next fighter.

He’s the newly crowned WBC Lightweight World Champion out of Weslaco, Texas. He’s a hard punching fighter, exciting, he’s only 24-years-old. Figueroa, he’s undefeated and he’s going to be in a tough fight come March 8th. He’s fighting Ricardo Alvarez, who is Canelo’s brother, and in one of his most recent fights Figueroa won a unanimous decision in what many people consider, including myself, as one of the best fights ever.

These guys threw so many punches. It was a fight of the year candidate against Nihito Arakawa, and he needed to take a little time off after that fight it was such a grueling fight. It was an exciting fight and now he’s back March 8th to defend his title.

So, Omar, are you on the line? Yes, if you can make a couple of opening statements and then we’ll open it up for questions. Omar?

Omar Figueroa
For sure, we’ll start off saying thank you, guys, at Golden Boys for the opportunity I’m in, my team, everyone making it possible, the WBC. I know I just lost strength, again, but it’s a strong organization, staying at the top of boxing for a while, so I know it will get back to where it was at. But other than that I’m grateful, I’m excited and I’ll be ready come March 8th.

Q
I want to ask you about, going back to, Eric mentioned the fight you had with Arakawa last summer. First of all, if I remember correctly, you hurt both hands in that fight, right?

O. Figueroa
Yes, sir.

Q
How are they now? Because it’s been, you’ve had now a number of months to rest them and make sure that everything is okay. How are those hands?

O. Figueroa
The hands will be all right come March 8. That’s not going to be a worry. Whether they feel fine or whether they don’t, either way the fight is going to happen. And if I mess them up during the fight, it’s going to be the same thing as what happened to me in the Arakawa fight.

I can’t stop, I won’t stop and not my hands, not anything like that. So, you’re still going to get a good show regardless.

Q
Okay. A lot of people thought that was, in fact, the fight of the year last year, like Eric was saying. It kind of came out of nowhere. I think a lot of people knew Omar Figueroa and the kind of style you bring to the ring, but most people were not familiar with your opponent.

When that fight was over, what was it like over the next few weeks, few months, when you would see boxing fans? Can you describe sort of the reaction you would get when people would come to you and talk to you or ask you about that fight? Because it sure made a big impression on a lot of people it seems to me.

O. Figueroa
Yeah, there was certainly I couldn’t expect it; me and my team did not expect that. We honestly felt like we were going to get him out of there in two or three rounds. And it was headed that way until I hurt my hand. It’s like Carlos was saying, it’s a chess game in there. And as soon as I hurt my hand, everything changes, a million things goes through one’s mind.

And, like he said, you have to adjust to whatever, adjust better in the ring and more than likely you’re going to be the winner. I feel like that’s the reason I fight and that’s the reason I fight and what I do because when it comes to thought or movement, I can do that and I do that well when I’m in training camp.

Training gets a little heavy and a little tiring and I do take some days off and on those days I box and I avoid getting hit or I avoid mixing it up. It just gets boring to me. So, the reason I don’t like to do that is because it gets boring. And I know I look like I got hit a lot or like I took a lot of punishment, but in reality I didn’t.

Q
Now, Arakawa is fighting on the undercard also against Linares, so when you guys see each other, say, at the press conference or when you’re maybe in the hotel, do you think you guys will have like a, I know the language barrier is there, but I know you guys have a lot of respect for each other; do you think you’ll have a little bit of a high five or handshake or hug or something in memory of that great fight you had?

O. Figueroa
Definitely. It’s an honor, it was an honor to be in one of those fights, especially for me. I look up to the guy, I admire the guy because he has tremendous work and will. He has balls of steel and the heart of a champion. To be able; because we know how hard I hit, I know how much damage I dealt and for him to be able to take that and smile and remember where we were at because other fighters didn’t remember where we were at, he’s just, I don’t know, an amazing human being when it comes to in relation to boxing.

So, yes, definitely he’ll get a hug, a high five, a handshake, whatever it takes. I’m grateful to have fought him.
Q
When you fought that fight you ended up with the interim title. And then when Adrien Broner decided to stay as a welterweight and was stripped of that title because, obviously, he hadn’t fought a lightweight for quite a while and then you were moved up to the WBC’s full champion. Did it take away anything that you weren’t able to; you won the fight in the ring and they gave you the belt, but you know you were the interim champion. Does it take anything away for you to get it sort of like with a letter or a phone call or a message as opposed to standing in the ring hearing Jimmy Lennon call you, “and the new World Champion”? Does it in any take away from your enjoyment and what you feel about your accomplishment?

O. Figueroa
In reality, it doesn’t really phase me because I don’t really fight for titles. I don’t fight for belts. I fight for something like what you saw on July 27, which is that kind of fight, like knowing that you were in that kind of fight, the reaction I got from the people, the respect that I earned from my opponent and just the fact that everybody, even the casual boxing fans, everybody loved that fight. And that’s what I fight for.

I could care less for titles. I mean, yes, they mean more money, but other than that it doesn’t mean anything nowadays because it’s so, I don’t know how to explain it. But it didn’t matter. Whether I was the champion or now, I’m still going to train the way I train the way I train. I’m prepared for every fight and I’m just willing to go out there, balls out, and try to give the fans the best show they can possibly see. So, title, it doesn’t really matter to me.

Like I said, at the end of the day it means more money, but other than that, a title is just a title. I think the boxers need the belt and I’m going to try to make the best of that belt.

Q
Omar, great fight last time, the kind of fight that Mexican fans like and, obviously, if they’ve seen that fight that’s probably what they’re going to expect this time. Having said that, you’re also going to be in against the brother, the older brother, of a Mexican icon and there are going to be a lot of Mexican eyeballs on this telecast.

What does that mean to you by extension with your being a Mexican-American and knowing that they’re going to be watching your fight, possibly more because of him, but maybe also as much because of you and your style?

O. Figueroa
Like I said, that doesn’t really faze me when it comes to fighting. It won’t change the outcome of a fight or it won’t have any effect on a fight whatsoever. But I’m going to perform like I’ve always said. I’m going to go out there and give 150% and whatever it takes to win, that’s what I’m going to do.

And the main reason we took this fight was because it did represent a good opportunity in the sense of the fan base and the people that would be watching and the amount of people watching. So, other than that, it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s just numbers.

Q
Can you talk more about your thought process when you talk about the fan base and the amount of people and am I wrong in referencing the fact that there are going to be a lot of Mexicans watching this?

O. Figueroa
Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean we have the biggest Mexican fighter right now fighting on that card, so yes, definitely there’s going to be maybe 80% of people watching the fight are going to be Mexican and then to have his brother, have his name out there against me, so that just represents a great opportunity. It’s perfect for me. It’s a perfect platform for me to get my name out there and whatever and I know that the WBC is the Mexican organization, so knowing that it just passed and that for the amount passed and that was given to me and everything, so people are definitely going to be turning out for that fight.

Q
Is there a part of you that kind of pinch yourself for the way things have kind of worked out, that your fight wound up being the interim title and that the WBC belt is based in Mexico and that you are fighting on this card? It just seems like it’s, I don’t know what to say, more than coincidence, but it just seems like you said, perfect.

O. Figueroa
No, sir. This may be a dream come true, but it’s something that I envisioned myself in. I saw this coming a long time ago. And I guess it’s something that you have to, to be great you have to think great thoughts and you have to feel great. You have to train like you’re great. Everything has to be like you’re the greatest and that’s what I’ve been doing.

I’ve been preparing like I’m the greatest. I’ve been training like I’m the greatest. So, I guess you can call it power of suggestion or whatever you want to call it, but it’s just a mentality that you have to have. So, no this doesn’t feel surreal. It just feels like it came in due time. So, I guess other than that, it just came in due time and I’m just going to keep grinding and keep working as hard as I’ve been working.

Q
What do you think about what Ricardo is trying to do? He’s trying to become the third brother, which would make history, in one family to become a world champion?

O. Figueroa
I’m very thankful and gracious for this opportunity to be on this card and to be fighting and defending my title. Obviously, I know that Ricardo, my opponent, is going to be motivated. He’s going to be motivated; he’s trying to make history. He’s trying to be the third brother in the same family to win a world title.

But, obviously, I’m the world champion and I’ve got a lot of say and I’m going to do my part so that that doesn’t happen and I’m going to be well prepared because I know that he’s coming and he’s motivated. And if he saw my last fight he’s in for a tough fight and he’d better be in shape for 12 rounds because I’m going to be in shape for 12 rounds and I’m going to defend my title.
Q
I had a conversation with Joel Diaz, who is your trainer and Joel seems to think it’s going to be a fight that’s going to end, it’s going to end before five rounds, that the way you are training right now, the way you’re looking, he should be able to get a quick knockout and knock him out within five rounds. Omar, do you believe that? Do you think that you’re capable? I mean, you’ve had a long layoff. The last fight was a tough fight. Do you feel that you’re in position to deliver on that kind of a statement that Joel Diaz is making?

O. Figueroa
Joel has some validity to what he’s saying. He’s the one that’s training me, he’s the one that’s watching me and he notices everything I do and the hard work I put into my training camp and my craft.

Most of the time, most of my fights, the majority of my fights, have ended within two or three rounds and it just happened to be that in the last fight I hurt my hands and I didn’t hold up, but I was still able to go 12 hard rounds and that’s what I’m preparing myself for. I’m preparing myself to give it my best and to be in the best shape and to give a good fight and, obviously, yes, I am going to be looking for the knockout.

But if it doesn’t come, if the knockout doesn’t come and if I happen to hurt my hand again, then I’m mentally strong and I can adjust and I know that I’m going to be ready to go 12 rounds and do what I have to do so I can win this fight. So, I’ll be ready. I’ll be ready regardless.

E. Gomez
Okay, great. Thank you very much. Omar, thank you, once again for being on the call. I know that you’re busy in training camp. So, if you can just make a couple of closing statements before you hang up.

O. Figueroa
Yes, definitely. Again, I’m just thankful and grateful for this opportunity. I’m definitely not going to disappoint my fans when it comes to effort. That’s one thing I make sure of and that’s one thing I train to make sure that I don’t do. So, I would just expect the best Omar Figueroa and I would expect a good show. Best of luck to all these fighters and may God protect them during the rest of their training camp, my opponent and everyone, have great training camps and make it safely to the fight.

E. Gomez
All right, so now to introduce our last two fighters on the call. This is the co-feature, Leo Santa Cruz is going to be on the line as well as the challenger Cristian Mijares. This is going to be a 12-round WBC Super Bantamweight World Title. Obviously, Leo Santa Cruz is the Champion. He’s going to be defending his title against the former Champion and challenger from Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico. He’s a former three-time World Champion. He’s 32 years old, Southpaw, one of the best fighters in Mexico.

Cristian Mijares is 14-1 in his last 15 fights, dating all the way back to November of 2009. His only defeat came in a world title fight and it was a split decision, controversial split decision against Victor Terrazas and he’s looking to give Leo Santa Cruz all he can handle on March 8th.

So, I want to introduce to you Cristian Mijares. Cristian.

Cristian Mijares
I would like to say hi to all the press. Thank you for being on the call. I’m very happy and motivated to be on this fight card and to be fighting against Leo Santa Cruz for the title once again. Obviously, Leo is a very good fighter and I’m excited to be fighting him and ready to get my chance at the title to become a world champion again. So, thank you all for being on the call.

E. Gomez
Now, I want to introduce the World Champion. Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz. He’s undefeated, 26-0, 15 knockouts, originally from Michoacán, Mexico, now he’s living in Los Angeles. He’s widely recognized as one of the highest volume punchers in the game today, broke on to the international scene June of 2012 when he won the IBF Bantamweight World Championship.

Last year he mowed through Alex Munoz in May, earned the Super Bantamweight World Championship after knocking out the Champion, Victor Terrazas in August. And in December he had a very tough fight against Cesar Seda, but was able to win the fight and convincingly.

So, now he’s facing a mandatory challenger, Cristian Mijares, which promises to be a very, very good co-feature and very good fight. So, Leo, if you can please say a few words.

Leo Santa Cruz
Good afternoon, everybody. I want to thank to Golden Boy, Richard Schaefer and my manager Al Haymon for this opportunity, always putting me in great card. I will try really hard not to disappoint.

Q
Three quick questions for you. One, two years ago Oscar De La Hoya said you were the best kept secret in boxing and since then you’ve fought on network TV on CBS, you fought on Pay-Per-View on Showtime. Do you think you are no longer the best kept secret in boxing?

L. Santa Cruz
Hopefully, that’s what I want to be, a good fighter. And I’ll leave it up to the people and if they think I’m a great fighter, I can’t say it for me, I can’t really say that, I guess. But I think I’m doing my job, I’m training hard to become that and if people say it, then it will be fortunately so. I’m going to keep on working hard, training, so that people can be talking good about me and think that.

Q
Do you think people have a better idea and know who you are now more so than they did maybe two years ago?

L. Santa Cruz
I thank God for bringing Al Haymon, my manager, into my life, Golden Boy and Richard Schaefer. And Showtime, because for them they were the ones that gave me the foot here, they were the ones giving me this big undercard. If it wasn’t for all the people like that, nobody would know me because I wouldn’t be on Showtime, I wouldn’t be on this undercard Pay-Per-View like I am now. So, I think I owe that to my manager, to my promoter and Richard Schaefer and Showtime.

Q
My second question is since you became Bantamweight Champion a few years ago and now you’ve become a Super Bantamweight Champion, two weight classes. How is it different for you when you go into the ring knowing that you’re the hunted rather than the hunter when you were pursuing that first title? Is there a different mindset about the way you go about your business in the ring, knowing that you’re defending titles rather than chasing titles?

L. Santa Cruz
No, it feels great. I say that to myself that I’m doing a great job. Before I was the one chasing and now when I hear that people want to fight me, they ask people who do you want to fight and then they say Leo Santa Cruz, it shows that I’m doing something good because they want to fight me, so it just makes all the hard work I’ve been doing and just staying up to really; at the same time it gets me more motivated. It keeps me training harder and trying to learn more. A lot of outsiders are trying to fight me to take that away from me.

Q
My last question, Leo, is as you’ve fought a few experienced fighters the last couple of years, guys with a lot of time in the ring, what will make fighter Mijares different than fighting some of the other guys you’ve faced who have had a lot of experience?

L. Santa Cruz
I think that as I’ve been watching his videos, he’s being trained by, he has a lot of trainers that I see a really good fighter. He’s fast and everything, but everything like that tells me I started working in the gym. So, I think that all the experience, like I sparred with people with great experience, Ponce De Leon, all those Mexicans, a lot of fighters with great experience. So I think in the gym is where I’m learning and when I go out there in the fight I just go and do my job and try to do everything like they tell me and just go out there and give the best, do a great job.

Q
It’s a little easier for you to fight more experienced guys now than maybe it was a couple of years ago when you were still kind of learning, right? You’re much more comfortable fighting older, experienced fighters now, aren’t you?

L. Santa Cruz
Yeah. Those are the fighters I like to fight, they’re more experienced, they adjust more to my style better than fighting like a wilder fighter because they come in, they’re wild. When you fight those experienced fighters your timing is better, everything you do, better punching, everything is better. So, I think those are the fighters that make me work harder.

Q
Leo, you have said in the past that you’ve had fighters whose style you idolize or at least try to emulate. Can you name a few of those fighters? I believe you had said Julio Cesar Chavez was one of them and, if so, what about your style is reflective of theirs do you believe?

L. Santa Cruz
When I was growing up we used to watch Chavez videos and he used to teach me that he loved his body shots and the pleasure that when he grows forward boxing. And my dad, since I started boxing my dad always taught me that body shot, so it’s back to the fact that when you get to that level…. But, that’s what we did, always in the gym practicing, going forward. And like Chavez after he came through a title, his style after he used to fight, box, like to punch and move. That’s how we try to do. When we have to box we’re going to box, if we have to go and pressure, we’re going to go pressure. We’re trying to learn from everything.

Q
My last question is in your last fight Cesar Seda was very clever. At times he exchanged body shots with you, very exciting fight. What did you take away from that fight that you can improve on that will help you in this fight? I don’t think you were quite able to do everything you wanted to do with him and had to make adjustments. What did you learn from that experience?

L. Santa Cruz
He was a great fighter and he came ready, he wanted that title and he showed that night. But we, I think had to box a little more and I think we’re going to that now for Mijares and I’m in the gym training really hard and little by little we’re going to be practicing how to fight those kind of fighters that move a lot.

Q
The name or the fighter that guys both have in common is Victor Terrazas. Can we measure both of you guys or your fight against fighting Victor Terrazas?

C. Mijares
No, it’s very different. There’s no parameters between Victor Terrazas there’s no comparison. It’s very different. It’s about styles and Leo has a different style. But I think that we both beat Victor Terrazas. Obviously, I didn’t get the decision, but I think that I wore him down. I hurt him in the fight and I prepared him for Leo. But I’m going to be well-prepared for this fight. This is going to be a different kind of fight against Leo and I’m going to be well-prepared and I think that we’re going to be, both, giving it our all and it’s going to be a great fight.

L. Santa Cruz
Yes, I agree with Cristian. It’s very different. This is about styles. It’s a different style and even though we both fought the same guy, it doesn’t mean that you can measure us on that fight. But I’m glad that he’s training hard because I’m also training hard and I know I’m fighting a very, very good fighter in Cristian Mijares, so I have to be 100%. And that’s all I can expect. I’m going to be ready and I know he’s going to be ready and I’m sure we’re going to both make it a good fight.

Q
In your last fight with Seda you actually fought a very good disciplined fight. You kind of gave yourself a low mark in that fight, even though I thought you performed fantastically. Do you feel that you have to top each performance and each fight as you go along in your career?

L. Santa Cruz
Yeah, I think as I go I think I can be learning more and to be improving, the more I’m winning and the more I’m picking better opponents, better fighters, fighters those kind of fighters are better, so I think for every fight I need to be adjusting a little more and that’s what we’re doing in the gym. My dad is teaching me and we’re practicing and we’re trying to learn little by little so that when we get to those points we already know how to fight those fighters and in every fight we’re trying to do that more and I think that’s what’s showing and I’m just glad and I’m training harder every time.

Q
Before you fought on network television, the pre-fight segment it shows that you mainly fight for your family and, basically, for your brother and his serious medical condition. It’s been over a year later. What’s the prognosis today? How is your brother doing and has his condition gotten any better?

L. Santa Cruz
We were really like struggling and I always want to give my family a better life and thank God that he gave me the talent to become a boxer and be good at it. So, for my brother, he’s doing a lot better since I fought the Munoz fight, he was in the hospital then during that fight. But ever since that fight, he’s been great. He hasn’t gone to the hospital. He hasn’t been hurting. His muscles are better, everything.

Before like every week he used to go to the hospital because he would be hurting and when it was cold his body would swell up and he could not even walk or anything. And now, none of that has happened. I thank God that he’s been great. It’s been already I think a year and he hasn’t even gone to a doctor, only for a check up and stuff like that, but not to stay in the hospital because he’s hurting or anything. So, I’m really glad and happy to have him like that.

Q
Cristian, do you consider this your last opportunity to become a world champion?

C. Mijares
No, not at all. I don’t think about that at all. I’ve been asked that before, but I don’t think about that at all. I’m going to be a world champion. I’m going to win on March 8, I’m going to be a world champion. That’s the only thing on my mind and I’m very motivated. I’m very motivated for this fight. I know I’m fighting a very good fighter and the World Champion in Leo Santa Cruz, but I’m motivated for this fight. I will be the World Champion and I’m ready for bigger and better things, to be considered in the big fights once again. So, that’s all that’s on my mind.
Q
Do you see Leo as more of a complete fighter? He’s a two-time World Champion. Is he more of a complete fighter than Victor Terrazas when you faced him? Can you compare them?

C. Mijares
Of course he is. He’s a way better fighter, of course he is. It’s going to be a difficult fight. He’s more of a complete fighter, it’s going to be a difficult, complicated fight, but that’s what I want. That’s what motivates me. I’m concentrated on this fight 1,000 percent and, yes, that’s what motivates me, that he is such a better fighter.

Q
Leo, this is a fighter that you’ve admired when you were coming up. He was a former Champion, you followed him, you admired him. Can you talk to us a little bit about that?

L. Santa Cruz
Yes, I admired Cristian and I followed his career when he was coming up, when I was first starting, he followed his career. I admired him and I knew that at one time, sooner or later, I was going to be at that level and possibly even fight him. And, lo and behold, here we are. I’m going to be fighting Cristian Mijares.

E. Gomez
We’ll do some closing statements with both fighters and then we’ll conclude the call.

C. Mijares
Thank you all once again. It’s going to be a great honor for me to be in this card, to be fighting. I’m very gracious to be fighting against Leo Santa Cruz and it’s going to be a war, it’s going to be a very, very good fight. It’s going to be a war. We’re going to give an exciting fight to all the fans and hopefully God, both fighters don’t get hurt and may the better man win.

L. Santa Cruz
I just want to give thanks to my manager Al Haymon, Showtime, Richard Schaefer and for giving me this opportunity and keeping me fighting on this big undercard. For me it’s an honor to fight on this undercard of Canelo and to fight a great champion like Mijares. And I want to give thanks to all the fans all over the world because they’ve been supporting me and they’ve always been there to encourage me and keep me motivated to train harder.

So, I want you all, the people, to watch us on pay-per-view or to come out and support us on March 8th because we’re training really hard to give a great, great fight for you guys. And we’re just motivated and you guys are the ones that keep us motivated, so March 8th you guys are going to get a great fight because that’s what we fight for, for the fans and to able to go home happy. Thank you.

E. Gomez
Great, thank you. Thank you very much, Leo. Thank you for being on the call. And thank you, once again, to all the media that called in for this very important conference call. Once again, Saturday, March 8th, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Toe To Toe, distributed by Showtime, you can get it on Showtime Pay-Per-View. Tickets, tickets are still on sale at the MGM Grand garden office, box office. You can go on the website, www.mgmgrand.com or at Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com. Thank you very much. Have a beautiful week.

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“TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo,”a 12-round super welterweight fight taking place Saturday, March 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Carlos Molina vs. Jermall Charlo is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Warriors Boxing. This event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). “TOE TO TOE: Canelo vs. Angulo” will be shown in over 400 movie theaters nationwide. For more information and a list of theaters, go to www.fathomevents.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.mgmgrand.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @CaneloOficial, @elperro82, @leosantacruz2, @diamantemijares, @OmarFigueroaJr, @DinamitaAB, @JorgeLinares, @FutureOfBoxing, @mgmgrand and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #CaneloAngulo and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.