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The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
How Canelo Alvarez became ‘the face of boxing'
Canelo Alvarez is the prize draw this weekend when the boxing world turns its attention to Saudi Arabia tonight, Saturday, May 3. The Mexican will hope to re-unify all the belts at super middleweight by defeating the Cuban William Scull. Canelo enters the bout with the WBA, WBO, and WBC titles, whilst Scull currently holds the IBF super middleweight strap. Victory will see Canelo become undisputed at 168 pounds for a second time, further cementing his position as the face of boxing. Such a label is both hard-earned and hard to prove, but Canelo has backed up his claim over the years. Domestic stardom served as a platform to build on globally Mexican boxing fans are some of the most passionate in the world, proudly cheering on their fighters both home and abroad. However, since Canelo Alvarez proved himself in his home country, no other fighter has come close to his popularity. Making his professional debut at 15, Canelo was quickly backed by Mexican television company Televisa, garnering both attention and jealousy. Established as a household name in Mexico, Alvarez joined Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions five years into his professional career. That coincided with Canelo's first push for a world title, going on to win the WBC super welterweight belt in 2011. Golden Boy and Canelo managed to convert the hype and momentum earned in Mexico into big crowds in America, breaking Alvarez into a new market. Canelo has not forgotten his Mexican roots, making it a tradition to fight on the weekend closest to Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day in September. This weekend is no different, and whilst Canelo will be fighting outside of North America for the first time, plenty will be watching back home. Impressive CV earned by willingness to fight big names In the modern era, boxers have become more and more concerned about preserving their unbeaten records, with the desire to remain undefeated seeing mouthwatering fights unable to be made. Whether you call it being selective or claiming that a fighter is ducking an opponent, neither truly applies to Canelo. At 23 years of age, Canelo was willing to face undefeated veteran Floyd Mayweather, who entered the bout with a perfect record of 44 wins. The bout was contested at a catchweight of 153 pounds, further hindering underdog Canelo. Aside from his lack of fear in facing a vastly more experienced opponent, Canelo also put his WBC super-welterweight title on the line. The expected happened, with Mayweather outclassing his younger opponent in a majority decision win. Not only was the Mexican shown a clinical boxing display, he also saw firsthand how a boxer can guide his own career commercially. As evidenced by his above quotes, Canelo combined his ability in the ring with solid promotion, building himself as both a boxer and a 'brand'. His commercial pull has made him a very wealthy man, with Forbes listing the Mexican as the 14th highest-paid athlete of 2024. In recent years Canelo has moved to secure a bigger slice of purses for his fight; with his promotion company, the eponymous Canelo Promotions, replacing more established promoters in his negotiations for bouts. That is directly out of the Mayweather playbook, with Floyd Mayweather forming his own self-titled promotion company, Mayweather Promotions, in 2007. But even after that experience, Canelo was keen to get back in the ring with the big dogs of the boxing world. It is difficult to face every contender, but Canelo's willingness to take on the bigger names earlier on his career has arguably given the Mexican free reign to decide who he fights. There was some thought that Canelo had avoided David Benavidez before the American's move up to light heavyweight. But Canelo did fight Genady Golovkin, Dmitry Bivol, Callum Smith, and Caleb Plant during that time. Shortly after vacating the IBF belt last year to set up a fight with Edgar Berlanga, Canelo spoke to saying: 'When you hit a certain level, there are stars and there are superstars – they make the championship, the championship does not make them. So, it is way different. I come and I do my career, I fight with [ Miguel ] Cotto with a clause, I fight with [ Floyd ] Mayweather with a clause, I fight with everybody to build the name of Canelo Alvarez." He added: "Right now, I can do what I want. I don't want to do whatever they want, I want to do whatever I want. In the position I am in, I can do whatever I want, because I deserve it because of all I have done. They have said 'you don't want to fight Golovkin' – I fought him. Lara?' – I fought [Erislandy ] Lara, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, [ Austin ] Trout, Mayweather, Cotto, [ Dmitry ] Bivol, everything. I did everything." "Now," he says, "I can do whatever I want.'
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Azteca Stadium to reopen 75 days before start of the 2026 World Cup
MEXICO CITY — The revamped Azteca Stadium is scheduled to reopen 75 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup with improved services around it, Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announced on Wednesday. The iconic venue closed last May for renovations ahead of next year's 48-team competition hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada. The 83,000-seat Azteca, which recently was renamed , will host five games including the tournament opener. It also hosted the first matches in the 1971 and 1986 World Cups. Brugada did not reveal further details regarding the reopening of the stadium on March 28, 2026. Stadium director Felix Aguirre said they are thinking long term. 'The stadium is moving ahead with its renovations so it can work for the next 40 or 50 years,' he said. 'We are respecting its legacy, but we also want to improve the fan experience.' The stadium owners, a company related to Televisa, Mexico's largest television network, have released images of work done on the pitch and the lower seats. The luxury boxes apparently haven't been touched because some owners refuse to release them to FIFA . Brugada also said that for the 2026 World Cup, they are going to improve a light rail line that heads toward Azteca, will enhance outdoor lighting and a pedestrian bridge around it among other things. On game days, the Xochimilco Light Rail known as Tren Ligero is one of the fastest ways to reach the stadium, located south of the city, but it currently has 20 trains and the city's government will purchase 17 more. 'We will have around 40 trains to attend a daily requirement of over 400,000 passengers,' Brugada said. The current capacity of the trains is 160,000 passengers per day and the ride from Taxqueña station, the closest metro line, to the stadium is around 15 minutes with trains departing every 10 minutes. Brugada said that with more trains the departures time will be shorter. The mayor said they will be upgrading the city's video surveillance camera system for the tournament and adding 40,000 to have a total of 123,000. Mexico City's video surveillance system is called the Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Citizen contact center known as C5. Besides the cameras, the system has 1,000 panic buttons to enhance public safety. 'The video surveillance system put us in the forefront, we are the most video-monitored city in Latin America,' Brugada said. Brugada also informed that Los Pinos, which until 2018 was the Mexican president's official office and residence, will serve as the media center. ___ AP soccer:
Korea Herald
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Korea Herald
Azteca Stadium to reopen 75 days before start of the 2026 World Cup
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The revamped Azteca Stadium is scheduled to reopen 75 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup with improved services around it, Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announced on Wednesday. The iconic venue closed last May for renovations ahead of next year's 48-team competition hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada. The 83,000-seat Azteca, which recently was renamed, will host five games including the tournament opener. It also hosted the first matches in the 1971 and 1986 World Cups. Brugada did not reveal further details regarding the reopening of the stadium on March 28, 2026. Stadium director Felix Aguirre said they are thinking long term. "The stadium is moving ahead with its renovations so it can work for the next 40 or 50 years," he said. "We are respecting its legacy, but we also want to improve the fan experience." The stadium owners, a company related to Televisa, Mexico's largest television network, have released images of work done on the pitch and the lower seats. The luxury boxes apparently haven't been touched because some owners refuse to release them to FIFA. Brugada also said that for the 2026 World Cup, they are going to improve a light rail line that heads toward Azteca, will enhance outdoor lighting and a pedestrian bridge around it among other things. On game days, the Xochimilco Light Rail known as Tren Ligero is one of the fastest ways to reach the stadium, located south of the city, but it currently has 20 trains and the city's government will purchase 17 more. "We will have around 40 trains to attend a daily requirement of over 400,000 passengers," Brugada said. The current capacity of the trains is 160,000 passengers per day and the ride from Taxqueña station, the closest metro line, to the stadium is around 15 minutes with trains departing every 10 minutes. Brugada said that with more trains the departures time will be shorter. The mayor said they will be upgrading the city's video surveillance camera system for the tournament and adding 40,000 to have a total of 123,000. Mexico City's video surveillance system is called the Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Citizen contact center known as C5. Besides the cameras, the system has 1,000 panic buttons to enhance public safety. "The video surveillance system put us in the forefront, we are the most video-monitored city in Latin America," Brugada said. Brugada also informed that Los Pinos, which until 2018 was the Mexican president's official office and residence, will serve as the media center.
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Azteca Stadium to reopen 75 days before start of the 2026 World Cup
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The revamped Azteca Stadium is scheduled to reopen 75 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup with improved services around it, Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announced on Wednesday. The iconic venue closed last May for renovations ahead of next year's 48-team competition hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada. The 83,000-seat Azteca, which recently was renamed , will host five games including the tournament opener. It also hosted the first matches in the 1971 and 1986 World Cups. Brugada did not reveal further details regarding the reopening of the stadium on March 28, 2026. Stadium director Felix Aguirre said they are thinking long term. 'The stadium is moving ahead with its renovations so it can work for the next 40 or 50 years,' he said. 'We are respecting its legacy, but we also want to improve the fan experience.' The stadium owners, a company related to Televisa, Mexico's largest television network, have released images of work done on the pitch and the lower seats. The luxury boxes apparently haven't been touched because some owners refuse to release them to FIFA . Brugada also said that for the 2026 World Cup, they are going to improve a light rail line that heads toward Azteca, will enhance outdoor lighting and a pedestrian bridge around it among other things. On game days, the Xochimilco Light Rail known as Tren Ligero is one of the fastest ways to reach the stadium, located south of the city, but it currently has 20 trains and the city's government will purchase 17 more. 'We will have around 40 trains to attend a daily requirement of over 400,000 passengers,' Brugada said. The current capacity of the trains is 160,000 passengers per day and the ride from Taxqueña station, the closest metro line, to the stadium is around 15 minutes with trains departing every 10 minutes. Brugada said that with more trains the departures time will be shorter. The mayor said they will be upgrading the city's video surveillance camera system for the tournament and adding 40,000 to have a total of 123,000. Mexico City's video surveillance system is called the Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Citizen contact center known as C5. Besides the cameras, the system has 1,000 panic buttons to enhance public safety. 'The video surveillance system put us in the forefront, we are the most video-monitored city in Latin America,' Brugada said. Brugada also informed that Los Pinos, which until 2018 was the Mexican president's official office and residence, will serve as the media center. ___ AP soccer:
Fox Sports
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Azteca Stadium to reopen 75 days before start of the 2026 World Cup
Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The revamped Azteca Stadium is scheduled to reopen 75 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup with improved services around it, Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announced on Wednesday. The iconic venue closed last May for renovations ahead of next year's 48-team competition hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada. The 83,000-seat Azteca, which recently was renamed, will host five games including the tournament opener. It also hosted the first matches in the 1971 and 1986 World Cups. Brugada did not reveal further details regarding the reopening of the stadium on March 28, 2026. Stadium director Felix Aguirre said they are thinking long term. 'The stadium is moving ahead with its renovations so it can work for the next 40 or 50 years,' he said. 'We are respecting its legacy, but we also want to improve the fan experience.' The stadium owners, a company related to Televisa, Mexico's largest television network, have released images of work done on the pitch and the lower seats. The luxury boxes apparently haven't been touched because some owners refuse to release them to FIFA. Brugada also said that for the 2026 World Cup, they are going to improve a light rail line that heads toward Azteca, will enhance outdoor lighting and a pedestrian bridge around it among other things. On game days, the Xochimilco Light Rail known as Tren Ligero is one of the fastest ways to reach the stadium, located south of the city, but it currently has 20 trains and the city's government will purchase 17 more. 'We will have around 40 trains to attend a daily requirement of over 400,000 passengers,' Brugada said. The current capacity of the trains is 160,000 passengers per day and the ride from Taxqueña station, the closest metro line, to the stadium is around 15 minutes with trains departing every 10 minutes. Brugada said that with more trains the departures time will be shorter. The mayor said they will be upgrading the city's video surveillance camera system for the tournament and adding 40,000 to have a total of 123,000. Mexico City's video surveillance system is called the Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Citizen contact center known as C5. Besides the cameras, the system has 1,000 panic buttons to enhance public safety. 'The video surveillance system put us in the forefront, we are the most video-monitored city in Latin America,' Brugada said. Brugada also informed that Los Pinos, which until 2018 was the Mexican president's official office and residence, will serve as the media center. ___ AP soccer: recommended in this topic
