Johannesburg – Six months after his super fight against Floyd Mayweather junior, Canelo Alvarez will be seeking redemption against fellow Mexican Alfredo Angulo in Las Vegas this weekend.
The tournament will be broadcast live on SS6 and SS6HD on Sunday morning (from 4am).
Alvarez suffered his first career defeat against Mayweather, but at just 23 and with a wealth of experience, it could be argued that his best years lie ahead of him. Mayweather himself acknowledged Alvarez as the future of boxing and if that is to be true he needs to master the power of Angulo.
“I learned a lot from fighting Floyd, but I’m ready to get back in the ring to maintain the path that I was on before,” a defiant Alvarez said on Thursday.
Angulo is as tough as they come and carries a better than decent dig – 18 KOs in 22 wins – but has failed in his biggest tests.
World class fighters James Kirkland and Erislandy Lara both had his number, although Angulo demonstrated in both fights just how dangerous he can be.
The smart money must be on Alvarez, who is an elite boxer in every sense, but expect a few rocky moments along the way with Angulo threatening to bulldoze his way to an upset.
There are two excellent world championship fights on the undercard, including Carlos Molina versus hot prospect Jermall Charlo (IBF junior-middleweight title) and Leo Santa Cruz against Christian Mijares (WBC super-bantamweight).
Meanwhile, in local fight action, SuperSport viewers will see again on Sunday why East London is regarded, with some justification, and certainly in the Border region, as the SA boxing capital.
Two SA title fights will be televised live from Mdantsane, the boxing hub just outside the Eastern Cape city.
National featherweight champion Lusanda Komanisi will make the first defence of his title when he faces Sabelo Nokhele and Jasper Seroka and Xolani Ncoteli clash for the vacant SA junior-lightweight title.
Live coverage of the tournament, to be presented by Mzi Mnguni of Eyethu Boxing Promotions at the Mdantsane Indoor Sports Centre, will be broadcast on SuperSport 9 from 2 pm to 5 pm. A recording will be shown on SS9 from 10pm on Sunday. – Sapa