SAN DIEGO, September 15, 2012 — Boxing heads are fired up and Twitter trash talk is raging with not one but two significant events on Saturday, September 15, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a big fight weekend for Mexican Independence Day and all the action is taking place a mile apart, while airing live on TV at the same time.
Any other night, all attention would be on the MGM Grand Arena, hosting headliners Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico (40-0-1, 29 KOs) and Californian Josesito Lopez (30-4-0, 19 KOs). But the Thomas and Mack Arena is hosting the biggest HBO pay-per-view of the year, Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez.
The Alvarez/Lopez matchup will get more viewers because it airs free to Showtime subscribers. It’s a decent fight, but Lopez beat the opponent originally intended for Alvarez, Victor Ortiz. The odds are against him tonight against the relentless young Mexican star, but Lopez pulled an upset in June and anything is possible once the fighters are in the ring.
The better match up for sheer drama and possibly the best pay-per-view buy of 2012 is Chavez Junior and Martinez. The 28-year-old Chavez (46-0-1, 32 KOs) is the son of a beloved Mexican champion. Critics have said for years he is trading off his father’s famous name, hasn’t faced a top 10 contender, and is a lazy party boy.
Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KOs) is a hard-hitting 37-year-old boxer from Argentina, who scratched his way up from poverty and obscurity to being the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the world behind two other guys you might have heard about, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Martinez doesn’t like Chavez Junior’s disrespectful attitude and doesn’t like the fact he holds a title belt taken away from Martinez due to boxing politics. Martinez is fired up about taking Junior to school.
Not to be overlooked are several excellent undercard fights which promise great entertainment too. We will follow all the action here on Communities with a live chat covering both lineups on HBO and Showtime, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern Time/6 p.m. Pacific.
Whether you are a boxing head or newcomer, all are welcome to join us ringside and enjoy the evening with Communities. We’ll give you the inside information and post photos as they are available for those not able to watch live. And we want to hear from you tonight as we enjoy a night of boxing together on Communities.
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