The legend and journey of Saul \u201cCanelo\u201d Alvarez moves on to Saudi Arabia this weekend. Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, his greatest current rival David \u201cMexican Monster\u201d Benavidez hosted the press for his next big fight.<\/p>\n
Remembering Wilfredo \u201cBazooka\u201d G\u00f3mez<\/p>\n
Legends are made and legends are lost.<\/p>\n
Last week, one of the greatest Puerto Rican legends, Wilfredo \u201cBazooka\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Danger and death surround us every day.<\/p>\n
Mexico vs The World<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Several fighters, including those trained by Robert Garcia, postponed their fights due to the danger posed by bombings in Riyadh. Canelo did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t pay attention to that \u2013 I\u2019m just focused on fighting. I\u2019m always focused on the fighting, and obviously there\u2019s been a lot of changes, but I\u2019m not really focused on that,\u201d said Alvarez regarding the event and situation.<\/p>\n
The fight card labeled \u201cMexico vs The World\u201d will be streamed by DAZN pay-per-view and begins early Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Pacific Coast Time.<\/p>\n
Among those on the fight card are Mexico\u2019s Jaime Munguia, Rafael Espinoza, and David Picasso.<\/p>\n
Hollywood Gathering <\/p>\n
While Mexican fighters were landing in Riyadh, other Mexican fighters including David \u201cMexican Monster\u201d Benavidez, Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Emiliano Vargas were arriving in Hollywood at the Avalon Theater to meet the boxing press on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy last fight was probably the best fight I\u2019ve had in my whole career. It was the heaviest I\u2019ve been and the fastest and strongest I\u2019ve felt,\u201d said Benavidez at the press conference in Hollywood. \u201cFighting 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cieslak, a cruiserweight from Poland, captured the interim WBC title with a knockout win over Jean Pascal a year ago in Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy level of confidence is very high. I\u2019ve been working my whole life for a fight like this. I can\u2019t wait to show everyone all that I can do,\u201d said Cieslak.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing what Ortiz brings to the table. I\u2019m gonna do everything in my arsenal to break up his rhythm,\u201d said Thurman. \u201cThis reminds me of when I fought Diego Chaves. I\u2019m looking forward to upsetting the apple cart and re-establishing my name.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to be in exciting fights. That\u2019s the point of boxing. I want to be remembered as a guy who never said no to a fight,\u201d said Ortiz.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful thing to see everyone come together to make this event,\u201d said Vargas about the mingling of promotion companies to make this event. \u201cEvery time I\u2019ve fought in Arizona it\u2019s been nothing but fireworks. The energy from that crowd is only going to make me fight harder.\u201d<\/p>\n