Canelo Alvarez rebounded from a Floyd Mayweather loss with a 10th-round TKO of Alfredo Angulo. (Eric Jamison/AP)
The pay-per-view show headlined by junior middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo last Saturday generated “well over 350,000” pay per view buys, Showtime said in a statement sent to SI.com. In the release, Showtime Sports Executive Vice President Stephen Espinoza called the show, which Alvarez won on a TKO in the 10th round, “a knockout success.”
“We are thrilled with the numbers from Saturday’s event,” Espinoza said. “March 8th 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.”
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Last September, Alvarez’s fight with Floyd Mayweather generated 2.2 million buys and a record $150 million in total revenue. While Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao remain the industry’s top pay-per-view attractions, the 350,000 buys generated by Alvarez-Angulo firmly establishes Alvarez as a strong individual draw.
Last year, a fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley — televised on HBO Pay Per View — generated 375,000 buys. In 2012, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Sergio Martinez generated 475,000 buys.
“The fans have spoken,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said. “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 replay of Alvarez-Angulo will air on Showtime on Saturday at 9 p.m. It will open the Showtime Championship Boxing card headlined by Danny Garcia’s junior welterweight title defense against Mauricio Herrera
– Chris Mannix
