By Keith Idec
Oscar De La Hoya is confident we’re not headed toward another controversial conclusion May 5 in Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez’s promoter is certain that the middleweight championship rematch between Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin will end in a knockout. Their first fight resulted in a dubious draw September 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the same site where their rematch will take place.
“It’s gonna be fireworks,” De La Hoya said during an ESPN2 telecast Thursday night that featured featherweight contender Joseph Diaz Jr.’s third-round stoppage of Victor Terrazas. “There will be a knockout. I can’t guarantee it, but I’m sure there will be a knockout.”
Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) and Mexico’s Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) showed sturdy chins throughout their first fight, in which neither fighter appeared to badly hurt his opponent.
The questionable result of their HBO Pay-Per-View event was widely criticized because Golovkin appeared to do enough to beat Alvarez in their competitive 12-round fight.
Only one judge scored their fight for Golovkin, though. Dave Moretti, who gave Golovkin a 115-113 win, was overruled by Don Trella (114-114) and Adalaide Byrd, whose 118-110 score for Alvarez is commonly considered one of the worst submissions in recent boxing history.
De La Hoya believes their draw has caused some bad blood between Alvarez, 27, and Golovkin, 35, that didn’t exist before their first fight.
“Well, you know what I like is that both guys don’t like each other now,” De La Hoya said. “Both guys have this animosity because both guys thought they won the fight. So they’re knockout artists. What more do you want? Cinco de Mayo is gonna be electrifying.”
A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday night at Microsoft Square at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles to officially kick off the promotion of the Alvarez-Golovkin rematch. Tickets, priced from $300 to $5,000, also will go on sale Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (888-929-7849; www.axs.com).
2023-10-20 12:13:05
