The legend and journey of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez moves on to Saudi Arabia this weekend. Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, his greatest current rival David “Mexican Monster” Benavidez hosted the press for his next big fight.

Remembering Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gómez

Legends are made and legends are lost.

Last week, one of the greatest Puerto Rican legends, Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez, passed away. He was 69 years old. What I remember most about Gomez was his two battles with Mexican greats Carlos Zarate and Salvador Sanchez. Some say those battles fully ignited the Puerto Rico vs Mexico rivalry.

I met Gomez about 20 years ago when he visited Southern California and we talked a bit about his fight with Sanchez. The Puerto Rican great with explosive fists was poetic and eloquent about his showdown. He wasn’t bitter about losing. but extremely sad about Sanchez dying from a car accident. Gomez went on to defeat many great fighters before retiring in 1989.

For decades, my favorite possession was a poster promoting Gomez versus Sanchez in separate fight poses. It later got lost in a flood in East L.A.

Danger and death surround us every day.

Mexico vs The World

Despite the sporadic bombings occurring in Saudi Arabia, the fight between Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) and Christian MBilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 31, at Kingdome Arena in Riyadh was not moved to a more secure location.

Several fighters, including those trained by Robert Garcia, postponed their fights due to the danger posed by bombings in Riyadh. Canelo did not.

“I really don’t pay attention to that – I’m just focused on fighting. I’m always focused on the fighting, and obviously there’s been a lot of changes, but I’m not really focused on that,” said Alvarez regarding the event and situation.

The fight card labeled “Mexico vs The World” will be streamed by DAZN pay-per-view and begins early Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Pacific Coast Time.

Among those on the fight card are Mexico’s Jaime Munguia, Rafael Espinoza, and David Picasso.

Hollywood Gathering

While Mexican fighters were landing in Riyadh, other Mexican fighters including David “Mexican Monster” Benavidez, Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Emiliano Vargas were arriving in Hollywood at the Avalon Theater to meet the boxing press on Wednesday.

Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) had been chasing a fight with Canelo for years but is now a full-fledged cruiserweight where he will face Michal Cieslak (28-2) for the WBC cruiserweight title on December 5, at the Desert Diamond Arene in Glendale, Arizona. DAZN pay-per-view will stream the Golden Boy, TGB and Top Rank fight card.

Now, Benavidez returns home to Arizona and fights for the WBC title. He already possesses the WBO title he took from Gilberto Ramirez by knockout last May in Las Vegas. He moved up to cruiserweight and easily found success.

“My last fight was probably the best fight I’ve had in my whole career. It was the heaviest I’ve been and the fastest and strongest I’ve felt,” said Benavidez at the press conference in Hollywood. “Fighting the guys at lower weight classes has helped make this transition to cruiserweight easier. I feel like my combinations and punch output is gonna be too much for anyone in this division.”

Cieslak, a cruiserweight from Poland, captured the interim WBC title with a knockout win over Jean Pascal a year ago in Canada.

“My level of confidence is very high. I’ve been working my whole life for a fight like this. I can’t wait to show everyone all that I can do,” said Cieslak.

Another amazing fight features Vergil Ortiz Jr. returning to face former welterweight champ Keith Thurman. At one time Thurman fought under the Golden Boy banner and was among the very best.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what Ortiz brings to the table. I’m gonna do everything in my arsenal to break up his rhythm,” said Thurman. “This reminds me of when I fought Diego Chaves. I’m looking forward to upsetting the apple cart and re-establishing my name.”

Ortiz is anxious to follow up on his impressive wins over Erickson Lubin and Israil Madrimov. He is on the cusp of a world championship.

“I just want to be in exciting fights. That’s the point of boxing. I want to be remembered as a guy who never said no to a fight,” said Ortiz.

Another star on the card is Emiliano Vargas the youngest son of the great Fernando Vargas. The youngster is no stranger to fighting in front of Arizona fans.

“It’s a beautiful thing to see everyone come together to make this event,” said Vargas about the mingling of promotion companies to make this event. “Every time I’ve fought in Arizona it’s been nothing but fireworks. The energy from that crowd is only going to make me fight harder.”

Tickets for the live event are on sale now and available through Ticketmaster.com.

New Star O’Shaquie Foster

A new super star has emerged as O’Shaquie Foster defeated three-division champion Emanuel Navarrete by a convincing unanimous decision after 12 incredible rounds and two knockdowns of the Mexican fighter in Texas last Saturday.

Foster demonstrated his vast array of boxing skills including hidden power that upset Navarrete’s intense pursuit of a fourth division world title.

As most boxing fans know, Mexican fighters have a style of aggression that makes them the most fan-friendly fighters in the world. They seek to destroy and do not look to simply out-point opponents with a hit and don’t get hit formula. They seek to destroy their opponents and will take incoming fire to do it.

Foster has a style of using a pinpoint strong jab and is elusive to hit. But if he is forced to brawl, he can be as deadly as the best of them and showed that against Navarrete. In the end, Foster knocked down the Mexican fighter twice in the final round to prove he can fight any style, including a blow-for-blow exchange.

It was wonderful stuff.

Fans of Foster already knew of his abilities and exploits such as his recent wins over Raymond Ford and Stephen Fulton. Against Navarrete, new fans witnessed Foster and why he has become one of the more exciting champions.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN PPV
Saul Alvarez (63-3-2) vs Christian Mbilli (29-0-1)
Jaime Munguia (46-2) vs Nikita Jon (12-0-1)
Rafael Espinoza (28-0) vs Ricardo Blandon (21-6)
David Picasso (33-1-1) vs Carl Jammes Martin (28-0).

Early prelims are scheduled for 7:00 am PT, main card 10:00 am, with the main event ring walks expected at approximately 1:30 pm

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